Posting Title

Post-Undergraduate/Graduate Intern: Molecular Modeling

.

Location

CO - Golden

.

Position Type

Intern (Fixed Term)

.

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 energy systems research and development.

Join the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NREL stands out in the research community for its commitment to an affordable and secure energy future. Spanning foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, we focus on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions. Our work helps strengthen U.S. industries, support job creation, and promote national economic growth.

At NREL, you’ll find a mission-driven environment supported by state-of-the-art facilities, multidisciplinary research teams, and strong collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories. We offer robust professional development opportunities, and a competitive benefits package designed to support your career and well-being.

Job Description

The Microbiology and Biochemistry group at NREL is seeking a full-time intern specializing in molecular modeling to support ongoing projects in computational biology.

Key responsibilities include:

• Utilize high-performance computing resources to perform protein structure predictions, ligand docking (diffdock, autodock) and explore dynamics of enzyme-substrate complexes in solvated environments
• Set up and run molecular dynamics simulations (using AMBER or CHARMM or NAMD)
• Develop and contribute code for high-throughput computational simulations, data analysis, visualization and software development. Develop and execute scripts with Python, Jupyter Notebooks, and Bash to automate computational workflows
• Visualize and analyze protein structures and simulation outputs using tools such as PyMOL, Chimera, VMD, rosetta, alphafold, diffdock and matplotlib
• Document findings, assist in preparing reports, and communicate results effectively to the team

This position provides an excellent opportunity to gain practical experience and domain knowledge in protein engineering, molecular modeling and software development while working closely with a collaborative research team. The candidate will get access to state-of-the art high-performance computing (HPC) clusters onsite.

.

Basic Qualifications

Minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.

Undergraduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a bachelor’s degree program from an accredited institution.
Post Undergraduate: Earned a bachelor’s degree within the past 12 months. Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.

Graduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a master’s degree program from an accredited institution.
Post Graduate: Earned a master’s degree within the past 12 months. Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.
Graduate + PhD: Completed master’s degree and enrolled as PhD student from an accredited institution.

Please Note:
• Applicants are responsible for uploading official or unofficial school transcripts, as part of the application process.
• If selected for position, a letter of recommendation will be required as part of the hiring process.
• Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a Bachelor’s or Master’s program in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Computer science or a related field, OR currently enrolled in a PhD program in these fields
• Experience with molecular modeling techniques, such as molecular dynamics simulations, quantum mechanics, protein structure prediction, and docking
• Proficiency with at least one or more molecular modeling and visualization tools such as (e.g., PyMOL, Chimera and/or VMD). Experience with jupyter notebooks, matplotlib etc