CSIR-NCL Project Associate-I Continuous Manufacturing 2026

CSIR-NCL Project Associate-I Recruitment 2026: Overview

CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune, is filling four Project Associate-I positions in its Chemical Engineering and Process Development (CEPD) Division. All four posts sit under the Centre for Sustainable and Continuous Manufacturing at NCL, an industry-sponsored project (project code CSR001626).

The centre works on continuous flow chemistry — making chemicals in steady-running flow reactors instead of one batch at a time. That means daily lab synthesis, tuning reaction conditions and producing the data needed to scale processes up. The notice describes two kinds of candidate it wants: a chemical engineer strong in reaction engineering, or an organic chemist with flow-reactor experience. This is a temporary project engagement, not a regular CSIR job.

The NCL portal lists the notice as "Project Associate (PAT-I) Positions"; apply against advertisement 2026/CSIR-NCL/CEPD/CSR001626/893.

Posts and Disciplines

• Chemical Engineering profile: you should understand chemical reaction engineering and transport phenomena and have worked on continuous flow synthesis and reactor design, CFD simulations, or process development and optimisation. Hands-on scale-up work is listed as essential.
• Organic Chemistry profile: you need solid organic synthesis skills — reaction mechanisms, stereochemistry and functional group changes — plus hands-on use of flow reactors, microreactors or tubular systems and analytical tools like HPLC, GC, NMR and LC-MS.

Service Conditions and Caveats

• Desirable experience: The notice asks for at least one year of relevant experience in academia or industry for the chemical engineering profile — treat it as a strong plus when you apply.
• Two pay rates: Your monthly rate depends on whether you have cleared a national test such as CSIR-UGC, ICAR or ICMR NET (including lectureship or assistant professorship), GATE, or a national exam run by central departments such as DBT or DST.
• Tenure: The engagement lasts only as long as the sponsored project, and it continues only with satisfactory performance and conduct.
• No claim to a CSIR post: This is not a CSIR/NCL appointment and gives you no right to be considered for any CSIR-NCL post or fellowship later.
• Shortlisting: A Screening Committee may call only the strongest profiles for interview, so list your flow chemistry, scale-up and analytical experience in full.
• Online interview and joining: The interview link comes by email, no call letter or TA/DA is given, and selected candidates must join immediately.

Application Submission Notes

CSIR-NCL takes applications only online through its project jobs portal. Register with a valid email address and read the portal's How to Apply guidelines before filling the form. Late applications are not considered. For shortlisting updates, the contact is Dr. Amol A. Kulkarni (aa.kulkarni@ncl.res.in).

• Design and carry out organic synthesis of different molecules at lab scale
• Optimise reaction conditions to improve yield and selectivity
• Run continuous flow synthesis experiments in flow reactors
• Generate scale-up data for promising processes
• Monitor reactions and characterise products with HPLC, GC, NMR and LC-MS
• Handle chemicals safely in the lab and in continuous-flow set-ups