Job Description

Posting Title

Postdoctoral Researcher – Communities and Urban Science Group

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Location

CO - Golden

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Position Type

Postdoc (Fixed Term)

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Hours Per Week

40

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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

NREL's Communities and Urban Science Research group has an immediate opening for a post-doctoral position focusing on energy modeling and analysis of new and existing buildings, and district thermal energy systems. The successful candidate will join team members on projects to analyze the performance of existing and emerging building HVAC systems, and advanced district thermal energy systems, incorporating water-source heat pumps and environmental heat sources and sinks.

The successful candidate should have a strong background and understanding of thermodynamics and heat and mass transfer, and applications of these principles to building and district HVAC systems.

Under the general direction of senior staff, the successful candidate will:

• Apply existing energy modeling approaches to building and district applications
• Develop new component energy models as appropriate, to assess the performance of building and district HVAC systems
• Assess energy modeling results in the context of existing data and make recommendations on implementation strategies
• Publish papers in conference proceedings and journals.

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Basic Qualifications

Must be a recent PhD graduate within the last three years.

* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

Ph.D. with strong academic and research record in relevant heat transfer, thermodynamics, or mass transfer field, with emphasis on modeling research applied to HVAC. Architectural engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, civil engineering, or relevant dissertation research in other engineering or science field.

Demonstrated experience in the following:

• Heat and mass transfer and thermodynamic fundamentals
• HVAC fundamentals
• Building or district energy modeling
• Experience programming in Matlab, Engineering Equation Solver (EES), EnergyPlus, Python, or similar tools

Strong interpersonal communication skills (oral and written) and demonstrated ability to work independently

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in modeling of district HVAC systems using Modelica
• Experience in building energy modeling using EnergyPlus/OpenStudio
• Experience in modeling existing buildings using meter data and information gathered from energy audits
• Familiarity with emerging heat-pump based building and district HVAC systems, and ability to make specific and practical implementation recommendations
• Familiarity with high-temperature (hot water or steam) building hydronic systems, and ability to make practical retrofit recommendations for compatibility with water-source heat pumps
• Familiarity with common and emerging building load reduction measures, and ability to make recommendations on their suitable applications
• Interest or experience with including diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in technology development or research

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Job Application Submission Window

The anticipated closing window for application submission is up to 30 days and may be extended as needed.

Annual Salary Range (based on full-time 40 hours per week)

Job Profile: Postdoctoral Researcher / Annual Salary Range: $73,200 - $120,800

NREL takes into consideration a candidate’s education, training, and experience, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value, including seniority and merit systems, and internal pay alignment when determining the salary level for potential new employees. In compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, a potential new employee’s salary history will not be used in compensation decisions.

Benefits Summary

Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; short-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; and paid holidays. NREL employees may be eligible for, but are not guaranteed, performance-, merit-, and achievement- based awards that include a monetary component. Some positions may be eligible for relocation expense reimbursement.

* Based on eligibility rules

Drug Free Workplace

NREL is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace in accordance with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act and complies with federal laws prohibiting the possession and use of illegal drugs. Under federal law, marijuana remains an illegal drug.

If you are offered employment at NREL, you must pass a pre-employment drug test prior to commencing employment. Unless prohibited by state or local law, the pre-employment drug test will include marijuana. If you test positive on the pre-employment drug test, your offer of employment may be withdrawn.

Submission Guidelines

Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any position at NREL you must submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified. Applications are not kept on file for future positions. Please include a cover letter and resume with each position application.

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EEO Policy

NREL is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard basis of age (40 and over), color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic partner status, military or veteran status, national origin/ancestry, race, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding), sexual orientation, and any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local laws.

EEO is the Law | Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination | Reasonable Accommodations

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