Job Description

General Description PREP Research Associate (US Citizen) This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration. The position is in the Applied Economics Office (AEO), a part of the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at NIST, which provides economic products and services through research and consulting to industry and government agencies in support of productivity enhancement, economic growth, and international competitiveness, with a focus on improving the life‑cycle quality and economy of constructed facilities and manufacturing processes that support social and economic functions. AEO is integrated within EL's major research thrusts. AEO delivers high quality research and tool development that informs and assists stakeholders in their decision‑making processes. Research Title Life Cycle System Science of Materials and Engineered Systems We are looking for a life cycle assessment (LCA) researcher (US Citizen) to join our team in evaluating materials and engineered systems using life cycle system science. The position will collaborate with NIST researchers and NIST's external collaborators in a variety of topics relevant to their work including economists, engineers, and scientists – connecting LCA to fundamental research, life‑cycle analysis, and decision support tools related to activities across a range of research topic areas: building and infrastructure, energy, circular economy, resilience, and decision science. Initial activities will include developing and updating of LCA models for a variety of construction materials and building systems and emerging technologies and material recovery pathways that will be published and maintained in repositories on the Federal LCA Commons. Specifically, this will include developing and publishing open‑source models based on public data for large format battery manufacturing and material recovery pathways and complete a life cycle inventory (LCI) data gap assessment. The position will also be responsible for collaborating with a computer scientist in developing a large language model (LLM) based web application to digitize PDF‑based environmental product declaration (EPD) claims using the OpenEPD schema. Additionally, the position will complete statistical analysis of the battery LCA modeling literature as well as assist in validating an LLM literature review support tool. The position will also be responsible for geospatial analysis as needed. Key Responsibilities Review, assessment, and improvements to NIST's existing LCA data models and decision support tools Identify, quantify, and prioritize data gaps for large format batteries and other product categories of interest to NIST Develop and maintain a repository on the Federal LCA Commons for large format batteries Identify research and data gaps in current LCA‑related activities at NIST Validate LLM‑based tools Write research slide decks, reports, and/or journal articles Participate in ACLCA committees and sub‑committees and LCA‑relevant NIST consortia as appropriate Qualifications US Citizen Master's in Engineering, Environmental Science, or related field Experience in ISO compliant LCA modeling and related research Experience using OpenLCA Experience using public life cycle inventory (LCI) databases, including the Federal LCA Commons repositories and GREET suite of tools Experience using technical document reference software (e.g., Zotero, EndNote) Knowledge of construction materials and building sciences and systems Extensive knowledge of EPDs and OpenEPD JSON schema Knowledge of large language model (LLM) applications for document parsing, information formatting, and text summary Experience in life cycle assessment of at least 5 of the following: large format batteries, concrete, cement, asphalt, gypsum, other building materials and systems, material recovery pathways, and whole buildings Proficient in spatial analysis using GIS‑based software (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS) Experience in solving complex LCA‑related problems (e.g., long supply chains and production processes, and evaluation of multiple impact indicators and methods) Experience writing literature reviews and conducting statistical analysis Excellent writing and communication skills, including at least 2 technical publications and at least 2 conference presentations Self‑driven and capable of working independently with minimal supervision Salary Range The referenced salary range represents the minimum and maximum salaries for this position and is based on Johns Hopkins University's good faith belief at the time of posting. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. The actual compensation offered to the selected candidate may vary and will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate's geographic location, skills, work experience, internal equity, market conditions, education/training and other factors, as reasonably determined by the University. Total Rewards Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here: Equal Opportunity Employer The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristic. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved. Background Checks The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre‑employment background check including education verification. EEO is the Law Vaccine Requirements Johns Hopkins University strongly encourages, but no longer requires, at least one dose of the COVID‑19 vaccine. The COVID‑19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida. We still require all faculty, staff, and students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. This change does not apply to the School of Medicine (SOM). SOM hires must be fully vaccinated with an FDA COVID‑19 vaccination and provide proof of vaccination status. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit and all other JHU applicants should visit #J-18808-Ljbffr Johns Hopkins University

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