Full Professional Researcher - Thermal Systems, Advanced Heat Exchangers, and Data Center Cooling Technologies

The Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC) seeks to hire a Research Professional to lead and expand a multidisciplinary research program focused on advanced thermal-fluid systems, high-performance heat exchangers, liquid cooling technologies, and energy-efficient thermal management solutions for emerging industrial, building, and data center applications. The research program will encompass the following areas:

* Advanced heat exchanger technologies, including the design, development, and demonstration of compact microchannel heat exchangers for applications spanning a wide range of operating temperatures and pressures.

* Thermal management technologies for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), edge computing, and future-generation data centers, including direct-to-chip cooling, hybrid liquid-air systems, and liquid-cooled infrastructure.

* Advanced manufacturing processes for thermal systems, including additive manufacturing, laser welding, polymer fabrication, and scalable manufacturing methods for thermal-fluid devices.

* Building energy and thermal systems, including heat pumps, thermal energy storage, waste heat recovery, low-GWP refrigeration systems, and industrial decarbonization technologies.

* Development of integrated thermal-fluid modeling, optimization, controls, diagnostics, and performance prediction tools for complex thermal systems.

* System-level design, testing, demonstration, and technoeconomic analysis of energy-efficient cooling and heating technologies.

* Technology commercialization activities, development and cultivation of industry partnerships, and technology transfer of innovations into deployable products and systems.

The researcher will provide intellectual leadership for the development, execution, and growth of sponsored research programs. Responsibilities include:

* Conceiving, initiating, and leading independent and collaborative research programs.

* Developing and managing proposals and sponsored research projects funded by federal, state, utility, industrial, and private sponsors.

* Directing laboratory experiments, prototype development, performance testing, and validation activities.

* Supervise postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, undergraduate researchers, and staff engineers.

* Managing project budgets, schedules, sponsor communications, and reporting requirements.

* Establishing collaborations with university researchers, national laboratories, industry partners, utilities, and government agencies.

* Publishing research results in peer-reviewed journals and presenting findings at national and international conferences.

* Contributing to invention disclosures, patent development, technology licensing, startup activities, and other technology transfer efforts.

* Providing strategic leadership in the development of new research directions and large-scale multidisciplinary initiatives.

* Applicants must possess a Ph.D. in a relevant engineering discipline and have a minimum of ten (10) years of post-Ph.D. experience, including a demonstrated record of independent research leadership, scholarly achievement, proposal development, project management, and mentoring of students or research staff.

* The successful candidate will have an established record of independent research accomplishments in one or more of the following areas:

o Heat transfer and fluid mechanics.

o Thermal system design and optimization.

o Advanced heat exchanger technologies.

o Data center thermal management and liquid cooling systems.

o Energy-efficient heating, cooling, and refrigeration technologies.

o Thermal energy storage systems.

o Advanced manufacturing and thermal-fluid device fabrication.

o Computational modeling, simulation, controls, and optimization of thermal systems.

* Applicants must have demonstrated:

o A strong record of peer-reviewed publications and scholarly contributions.

o Successful leadership or co-leadership of externally sponsored research projects.

o Experience developing competitive proposals for federal, state, industry, or utility-funded research programs.

o Experience planning, executing, and managing complex experimental research activities.

o Excellence in mentoring and supervising graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, engineers, and research staff.

o Strong written and verbal communication skills, including preparation of technical reports, sponsor deliverables, and scientific publications.

* Experience serving as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on large multidisciplinary projects.

* Experience working with U.S. Department of Energy programs, ARPA-E, NSF, California Energy Commission, utility-sponsored programs, or industrial sponsors.

* Experience leading technology demonstration and field deployment projects.

* Experience with intellectual property development, patents, startup formation, and technology commercialization.

* Demonstrated national or international recognition in a relevant technical field.

* Applicants must demonstrate the ability to establish and maintain effective collaborations with academic researchers, industry partners, sponsors, utilities, government agencies, and diverse stakeholder groups.

• 3-6 required (contact information only)

Applicants must provide the names and contact information of their references. The hiring unit will contact references for final candidates

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

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