Postdoctoral Researcher

Through cutting-edge research in the fields of ENERGY, HEALTH and MATTER, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) solves some of the pressing societal and industrial challenges of our time. Join our 1.500 employees from more than 50 nations at one of our six research sites and help us moving research to the next level

At the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), innovative technologies for the circulareconomy are developed to provide and use mineral and metal-bearing rawmaterials more efficiently and to recycle them in an environmentally friendly way.

The Department of Process Metallurgy is looking for a **Postdoctoral Researcher / Scientist (f/m/d) in process hydrometallurgy and circular economy**. The position will be available from 1 September 2023. The employment contract is limited to two years.

**Your tasks**:

- Development of processes based on solution chemistry, speciations, membranes (supported or modified), hydrometallurgy with focus on technical and critical metals (Li, Co, Cu, Zn, V, Ni, REEs, In, Ge, Ga, etc) recovery through complex hydrometallurgical techniques and piloting.
- Initiation of new multilateral and industrial projects on circular economy topic.
- Applications of developed processes for different primary and secondary feeds for high purity metal recovery
- Commissioning, supervision, operation and optimization of complex hydrometallurgical and membrane separation pilot plants.
- Execution of supplementary metallurgical experiments on lab scale and scaling up further on pilot scale.
- Willingness to closely cooperate with academic and industrial partners and other departments
- Co-supervision of masters and PhD students, regular laboratory and piloting facilities management
- Presentation, reporting and follow up proposals writing to national and European agencies

**Your profile**:

- PhD Degree in Separation/Analytical/Inorganic/Solution chemistry, metallurgy, process engineering, membrane based separations of metals, chemical engineering or a comparable degree program
- Interest in solving complex metal separation and circular economy problems, experience in development and operating hydrometallurgical and membranes (supported liquid and chemically modified) based methods for metals separations is advantageous
- Strong technical and experimental understanding, especially related to pilot plants and large scale chemicals handling
- Knowledge of metallurgical processes (e.g. mass flow phenomenon, chemical modification for desired selectivity, solvent extraction, electrolysis) in relation to the critical and technology metals is advantageous
- Knowledge of designing and chemical modification of membranes and multivalent ligands with synthetic organic chemistry will be advantageous
- Independent, responsible, multicultural and team-oriented working style as well as the ability to document results with FAIR principles and in a structured manner
- English (ILR Level 4 - Full professional proficiency) required, German advantageous

**Our offer**:

- A vibrant research community in an open, diverse and international work environment
- Scientific excellence and extensive professional networking opportunities
- A wide range of qualification opportunities and individual career counseling provided by the Postdoc Center HZDR-TUD
- Salary and social benefits in accordance with the collective agreement for the public sector (TVöD-Bund) including 30 days of paid holiday leave, company pension scheme (VBL)
- We support a good work-life balance with the possibility of part-time employment, mobile working and flexible working hours
- Numerous company health management offerings
- Employee discounts with well-known providers via the platform Corporate Benefits

**Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology**

**Place of work**:
Freiberg

**Hire date**:
1 September 2023

**For any questions, do not hesitate to ask**:
Dr. Ajay Bhagwan Patil Tel.: +49 351 260 4411

**Deadline**:
3 July 2023

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Job-Id: 2023/118 (1702)

Helmholtz-Zentrum
Dresden-Rossendorf
Bautzner Landstraße 400
01328 Dresden