Posting Title

Commercial Buildings Research Engineer – Building Science and Energy Modeling

.

Location

CO - Golden

.

Position Type

Regular

.

Hours Per Week

40

.

Working at NREL

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for research and development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

From day one at NREL, you’ll connect with coworkers driven by the same mission to save the planet. By joining an organization that values a supportive, inclusive, and flexible work environment, you’ll have the opportunity to engage through our ten employee resource groups, numerous employee-driven clubs, and learning and professional development classes.

NREL supports inclusive, diverse, and unbiased hiring practices that promote creativity and innovation. By collaborating with organizations that focus on diverse talent pools, reaching out to underrepresented demographics, and providing an inclusive application and interview process, our Talent Acquisition team aims to hear all voices equally. We strive to attract a highly diverse workforce and create a culture where every employee feels welcomed and respected and they can be their authentic selves.

Our planet needs us! Learn about NREL’s critical objectives, and see how NREL is focused on saving the planet.

Note: Research suggests that potential job seekers may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who is interested in this opportunity to apply. We seek dedicated people who believe they have the skills and ambition to succeed at NREL to apply for this role.

Job Description

The Communities and Urban Sciences Research Group in the Building Technologies and Science Center at NREL conducts leading research on the integration of systems for optimized energy consumption, generation, and storage in the built environment at multiple scales. Our research focuses on efficiency, decarbonization, resiliency, affordability of energy systems, and equitable deployment across the United States and the world.

Communities and Urban Sciences Research Group at NREL is hiring a Building Science Researcher who will work on district energy system modeling, commercial building energy modeling, and urban-scale modeling and model development. The successful applicant will be responsible for research-level energy analyses, with a focus on district thermal energy modeling and whole building research relevant to the commercial buildings sector. Work will consist primarily of using EnergyPlus, OpenStudio, and URBANopt to develop and analyze building energy models from individual buildings to campus/district scales. Work will include using as-built drawings, trend data, and other information to build and calibrate models of existing buildings. The successful applicant will work collaboratively to identify planning, design and operational strategies that allow buildings to operate as efficient, grid-integrated resources, and will work with industry to advance the next generation of highly efficient commercial buildings and districts.

The role requires a candidate who has knowledge of building science, building and community energy systems, buildings industry, utility programs, and government entities.  The successful applicant will be expected to publish relevant research outcomes in peer-reviewed scientific journals and must be comfortable working across interdisciplinary teams to develop integrated solutions that address complex challenges and unique opportunities in buildings, districts and communities. There is the opportunity to engage with external stakeholders and demonstrate expertise in strategies for achieving energy efficient and decarbonized buildings.
 

The Communities and Urban Science Research Group is excited to welcome our new team members. We are committed to fostering a creative, curiosity-driven, diverse, inclusive workplace, and to supporting and mentoring research staff as they progress from task execution to principal investigator and beyond.

.

Basic Qualifications

Relevant PhD . Or, relevant Master's Degree and 3 or more years of experience . Or, relevant Bachelor's Degree and 5 or more years of experience . Demonstrates broad understandi