Postdoctoral Researcher - Transportation Modeling and Software Development

Posting Title

Postdoctoral Researcher - Transportation Modeling and Software Development

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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.

We invite all interested candidates to apply for this opportunity. While we recognize that job seekers may hesitate if they don't meet every requirement, we encourage dedicated individuals who meet all the basic and additional required qualifications of the role to submit an application. We value the opportunity to consider those who believe they have the necessary skills and ambition to succeed at NREL.

Job Description

Seeking a high-caliber postdoctoral candidate to join our group and to conduct research related to mobility and energy impacts of emerging transportation technologies. Candidates with knowledge and experience in transportation data analysis, geospatial analysis, high performance computing, and software development are encouraged to apply. Prior knowledge and/or experience in software or tool development as well as application of machine learning techniques to travel behavior or vehicle modeling are desired. Specific activities may include:

• Working with travel demand models, particularly integrating NREL developed tools such as the Mobility Energy Productivity (MEP) metric, Freight MEP metric and Route Energy Prediction Model (RouteE) into existing travel demand models.

• Building, enhancing, and validating modeling and simulation tools such as the Freight Integrated Simulation Model (FRISM).

• Developing and applying tools such as RouteE and the Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator (FASTSim) to optimize multiple objectives, including energy consumption, for fleets of vehicles.

• Perform big data analytics, visualization, and interpretation.

• Work with cloud-based web applications and scalable data analysis pipelines, refactoring data science scripts as cloud-native software.

• Support other research projects and activities, such as data processing, analysis, and insights extraction from large-scale geospatial and mobility data sets.

• Assist in producing high-quality publications, reports and research proposals.

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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

Preferred Qualifications

Highest priority preferred qualifications

• Familiarity with programming languages (such as Python, R, Rust, and Julia), database tools, GIS software programs (ArcGIS, QGIS etc.), modeling/analysis, and data visualization tools.

• Experience with data analytics, big data management, scraping data off the web, high-performance/distributed computing, machine learning and/or deep learning.

• Application development experience in a general-purpose programming language such as C/C++, JavaScript, Java, Scala, or Rust.

• Experience identifying/acquiring and working with large transportation datasets (such as travel activity data, traffic or probe vehicle data, freight movement data, vehicle telematics data, geo-spatial data, land use data, accessibility and equity-related data, and/or travel survey data and methods-including statistical analysis and data expansion techniques).

Additional preferred qualifications

• Knowledge of cloud computing services such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.

• Familiarity with accessibility theory and metrics.

• Capabilities with HPC and databases, including PostGres, and slurm.

• Experience in transportation and/or computational sciences.

• Basic understanding of how various vehicle powertrain technologies work.

• Experience with collaborative software development and use of Git/GitHub for project management and version control.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• Cumulative undergraduate/graduate GPA over 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.

Please include all relevant experience and qualification information on the uploaded PDF (or MS Word) copy of your resume or CV.

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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

Badging Requirement

NREL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which includes a favorable background investigation.

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.

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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a leader in the U.S. Department of Energy's effort to secure an environmentally and economically sustainable energy future. With locations in Golden and Boulder, Colorado, and a satellite office in Washington, D.C., NREL is the primary laboratory for research, development, and deployment of renewable energy technologies in the United States.

NREL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All candidates must be authorized to access the facility per DOE rules and guidance within a reasonable time frame for the specified position in order to be considered for an interview and for hiring. DOE rules for site access during the interview process depend on whether the candidate is interviewed on-site, off-site, or via telephone or videoconference. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which includes a favorable background investigation. Additionally, DOE contractor employees are prohibited from participating in certain Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Programs (FGTRPs). If a candidate is currently participating in an FGTRP, they will be required to disclose their participation after receiving an offer of employment and may be required to disengage from participation in the FGTRP prior to commencing employment. Any offer of employment is conditional on the ability to obtain work authorization and to be granted access to NREL by the Department of Energy (DOE).

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.

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