Postdoctoral Fellow in Mechanical Engineering
Colorado School of Mines
United States

Position Details

Institution: Colorado School of Mines (in partnership with NIST PREP)
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Position Title: Postdoctoral Fellow / PREP Research Associate
Location: Golden, Colorado
Employment Type: Full-time, Postdoctoral / Research Associate
Salary: $60,000 – $70,000 annually
Start Date: Flexible / Open until filled
Application: Online via Mines portal (upload CV and 3 references)


Program Overview

This role is part of the NIST Professional Research Experience Program (PREP), a partnership between Mines and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Goal: Conduct cutting-edge research on fatigue and failure in additively manufactured metals, focusing on surface measurement science and quality assurance to improve fatigue life prediction.

Dual Mentorship: Collaborate with both Mines faculty and NIST scientists.


Key Responsibilities

  • Surface roughness measurement and analysis for additively manufactured (AM) metals

  • Fatigue testing and fractography for AM metals

  • Fatigue modeling and computational analysis for AM metals

  • Publish results in peer-reviewed journals and present findings at meetings

  • Document protocols, software, and experimental data for organizational sharing


Required Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, Computer Science, or a related field

  • Proficiency with:

    • X-ray micro computed tomography (µCT)

    • Laser confocal scanning microscopy

    • Focus variation microscopy

    • Fatigue testing and fractography

    • Fatigue modeling

  • Strong oral and written communication skills

Supervisors: Dr. Joy Gockel (Mines) and Dr. Nik Hrabe (NIST)


Benefits

  • Flexible health and dental care options

  • 13 paid holidays per year, including week-long winter break

  • Fully vested retirement plan on first day, with generous employer contribution

  • Tuition benefits: 6 credits/year for employees, 50% discount for dependents

  • Free RTD Ecopass

  • Access to campus Recreation Center, Outdoor Rec equipment rentals, athletics, and on-campus daycare


Location Highlights

  • Mines is located in Golden, CO, near Denver and the Rocky Mountains

  • Offers outdoor recreation, historic downtown, and high-altitude climate

  • R1 “Very High Activity” research institution with ~7,000 students


How to Apply

Required Materials:

  1. Curriculum Vitae (including publication list)

  2. List of three professional references

Contacts for Reasonable Accommodations / Questions:


Focus: This position is ideal for candidates with expertise in mechanical testing, additive manufacturing, and surface characterization, looking for a hands-on research postdoc with strong opportunities for collaboration with NIST.


If you apply for this position please say you saw it on Academicoxy

Apply

All Jobs

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
LINKEDIN

Argonne National Laboratory

Drexel University

Duke University

Emory University

Florida Institute of Technology

Illinois Institute of Technology

Iowa State University

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Louisiana Tech University

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Princeton University

Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center

Syracuse University

Tufts University

Tulane University

University of Denver

University of Houston

University of Miami