Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Midwest Regional Energy Symbiosis
On-siteNotre Dame, Indiana, United States
Job Summary
Compile, manage, and integrate geospatial and infrastructure datasets to develop regional material flow inventories identifying sources, sinks, and exchange pathways. Conduct industrial symbiosis screening and simplified material flow analysis to evaluate cross-sector resource exchanges. Support the development of transparent AI-enabled assessment methods and produce technical briefs, maps, and visualizations for team coordination. Lead co-authorship of peer-reviewed publications and contribute technical content for follow-on grant proposals. This full-time, one-year renewable position serves as the central analytical lead under the technical guidance of the PI and co-investigators. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis starting September 1, 2026. The role is part of Notre Dame's Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative, advancing interdisciplinary research on energy-water-resource loops across the Midwest.
Required Qualifications
- Ph.D. (in hand by the starting date) in industrial ecology, environmental engineering, civil and environmental engineering, systems engineering, sustainable manufacturing, urban systems, architecture/engineering, environmental science, geography, data science, or a closely related field
- Demonstrated research experience in one or more of the following areas: material flow analysis, life-cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, industrial symbiosis, circular economy, resource recovery, waste management, water-energy-food systems, sustainable manufacturing, or low-carbon construction/material systems
- Strong quantitative and data-integration skills, including experience working with geospatial data, infrastructure datasets, environmental inventories, or regional-scale resource-flow data
- Ability to synthesize complex multi-sector information into clear analytical outputs, including maps, figures, diagrams, tables, technical memos, and scholarly manuscripts
- Strong writing, communication, and coordination skills, with the ability to work across a multi-institutional and interdisciplinary research team
- Interest in regional sustainability, circular resource engineering, industrial ecology, and applied research that supports energy-water-resource loop closure
- Full-time position available with an initial appointment of one-year, renewable for an additional year on the basis of satisfactory performance and availability of funding
Desired Qualifications
- Expertise with LCA/MFA tools, databases, or methods; experience with software such as SimaPro, openLCA, Brightway, Python, R, GIS platforms, or related analytical tools
- Experience with AI, machine learning, optimization, spatial analysis, scenario modeling, or decision-support methods is strongly preferred, especially when applied in transparent, interpretable, or policy-relevant contexts
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