Senior Grid Planning & Analysis Researcher

$95,500 - $171,900/Yr

National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Golden, CO

Full-time - Senior

Golden, CO

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

The Senior Grid Planning & Analysis Researcher at NREL will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of electricity systems by developing innovative planning and analysis techniques. This position involves collaborating with a diverse team of researchers to optimize the design and analysis of distribution and bulk power systems, addressing both domestic and international grid challenges. The researcher will engage with various stakeholders, including utilities and public commissions, to inform and support the transition to clean energy systems.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate on cutting-edge research on electricity planning questions.
• Use a mix of industry standard and research modeling tools to ensure grid reliability and technoeconomic viability of clean energy futures.
• Interface with external partners from industry, communities, government, and academia.
• Develop, use, and/or lead others in creating and applying new approaches and tools for distribution and/or bulk power systems.
• Translate raw outputs into informative results and actionable insights for a range of technical and non-technical audiences.
• Assess the quality and accuracy of results, debug issues, and contribute to validation, verification, and quality assurance.
• Lead/co-lead small to mid-sized teams of researchers on high-impact projects.
• Lead the development of high-impact industry partnerships and research proposals.
• Look across NREL and outside research activities and connect with others for innovation and collaboration.
• Provide technical expertise for technical reports, conference papers, and journal articles.
• Present work at conferences, workshops, and project meetings.

Requirements

• Relevant PhD and 4 or more years of experience, or relevant Master's Degree and 7 or more years of experience, or relevant Bachelor's Degree and 9 or more years of experience.
• Applies extensive engineering technical expertise, and has full knowledge of other related disciplines.
• Considered a technical resource with demonstrated leadership in several areas of team, task or project lead responsibilities.
• Demonstrated experience in management of projects.
• Excellent writing, interpersonal and communication skills.

Nice-to-haves

• Expertise with tools used in distribution or transmission systems modeling and operations, including capacity expansion, production cost modeling, distribution analysis, or powerflow stability.
• Experience translating results into actionable insights for a range of technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience with a software programming language, such as Python, R and/or Julia.
• Experience with working with large data sets.
• Familiarity with key power system issues such as reliability, resilience, and resource adequacy.
• Familiarity with various energy regulatory environments/jurisdictions and their impacts on grid planning and operations.
• Familiarity with wholesale electricity market design, electric utility retail regulation, and retail rate design.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Short- and long-term disability insurance
• Pension benefits
• 403(b) Employee Savings Plan with employer match
• Life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance
• Personal time off (PTO) and sick leave
• Paid holidays
• Tuition reimbursement