Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation.

Role highlights

• Conduct innovative research to advance next-generation Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology
• Collaborate with leading scientists and engineers to support direct air capture technology development.
• Join CSIRO – Australia’s leading scientific research organisation!

About CSIRO

As Australia's national science agency, CSIRO is solving the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. Many of our iconic innovations were once considered impossible until someone, just like you, joined us and took on the challenge.

Visit CSIRO.au for more information.

The opportunity

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

This CERC Postdoctoral Fellowship offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research that supports decarbonisation and climate solutions. In this role, you will help develop next-generation direct air capture solutions by assessing and designing reclamation processes for liquid absorbents used in CO2 capture. You’ll work across modelling, experimentation and pilot-scale activities, contributing to scientific publications, reports and future research opportunities while building your profile as an early career researcher. The position also provides a unique opportunity to undertake fundamental studies and collaborate with an industrial partner on technology scale-up and deployment.

Your high-level duties will include:

• Assessment of currently available process concepts for liquid absorbent reclamation including experimental evaluation of the most relevant ones.
• Development of novel reclamation process concepts through theoretical and practical analysis.
• Development of unit operation simulation models and tools to assist in understanding equipment operation and support equipment design.
• Performance of techno-economic evaluation for selected reclamation processes.
• Assist in the conduct of experimental programs such as absorbent degradation studies and development of analytical methods at the Newcastle Energy Centre as needed.

Role particulars

Location and office arrangements: Newcastle, NSW (Awabakal Country)

Salary: AU$103,390 - AU$113,251 pa (pro rata for part-time), plus 15.4% superannuation

Tenure & work schedule: Specified term of 3 years, Full-time

Reference: 101876

As the successful candidate, you will bring:

Essential criteria

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as chemical engineering, physics or chemistry. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (full-time equivalent) of relevant research experience.
• An understanding of and experience with separation processes and their associated mass transfer phenomena without and with chemical reaction.
• Demonstrated understanding of and/or practical or modelling experience with liquid absorbent-based CO2-capture processes.
• An excellent understanding of relevant chemistry/physics concepts such as reaction kinetics and thermodynamics, electrostatics and diffusion.
• Excellent analytical skills and practical knowledge of methods for gas and liquid analysis (NMR, LCMS, FT-IR, etc.).

For full details about this role, and other criteria, please review the Position Description.

Setting you up for success

We are committed to providing a recruitment process that is fair, equitable and accessible to everyone. We recognise that it may be helpful for us to adjust our process to make it equitable for your individual situation. Please contact careers.online@csiro.au and let us know how we can support you.

Life at CSIRO and flexible work arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. We can discuss flexible work arrangements with you during the recruitment process. CSIRO also offers a range of leave entitlements, benefits and career development opportunities. To find out more, visit Careers at CSIRO.

Inclusion and belonging

Solving Australia's greatest challenges takes a diversity of minds and lived experiences. We know diverse teams are more effective and deliver more innovative outcomes. As an equal employment opportunity organisation, we are committed to creating diverse and inclusive teams where people feel they belong. We recognise true diversity encompasses all ages, abilities, cultures, faiths, levels of education, genders, sexualities, diversity of thought and much more. We focus on hiring people who share our values of People First, Further Together, Making it Real and Trusted.

CSIRO holds Gold Status for the Australian Workplace Equality Index for LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and a Science in Australia Gender Equity Bronze Award.

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian Citizens, New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents or you must either hold, or be able to obtain, a valid working visa for the duration of the specified term.

Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Child safety

CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs. View our Child Safe Policy.

How to apply

Please apply online and submit a cover letter (maximum 2 pages) and CV that best demonstrates your motivation and ability to meet the essential requirements of this role.

Applications close

5 July 2026, 11:00pm AEST