Associate Trading Analyst

Xcel Energy•Denver, CO

2d•$84,900 - $120,567•Onsite

About The Position

Design and perform quantitative analyses to evaluate wholesale energy markets, quantify and hedge risk, and support portfolio decisions. This position will have a particular focus on transmission congestion, Financial Transmission Rights, Auction Revenue Rights, and related market risks. Develop and apply analytical tools to large market, operational, and settlement datasets using Python and other data-analysis technologies. Analyze historical results, forecast market conditions, evaluate hedge performance, and identify emerging risks and potential portfolio opportunities. Translate complex quantitative findings into practical recommendations supporting trading, risk management, regulatory, and commercial decisions. The successful candidate will combine strong programming and statistical capabilities with commercial judgment, trading instincts, and intellectual curiosity. The individual must be motivated to understand why market outcomes occurred, investigate unexpected results, challenge assumptions, and continually improve the analyses used to support portfolio decisions.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in mathematics, engineering, applied sciences, or related fields.
Prefer mechanical engineering background or individuals with power plant operations experience coupled with strong computer skills and analytical thinking.
Preference given to individuals with at least 6 months experience with generation cost modeling software such as Plexos, Aurora, Prosym, Promod, or Gentrader.

Nice To Haves

Experience in organized wholesale electricity markets, commodity trading, portfolio management, risk management, or utility operations.
Knowledge of nodal electricity markets, LMP formation, transmission congestion, binding constraints, and ISO/RTO settlements.
Familiarity with FTRs, ARRs, congestion hedging, transmission rights, or ISO/RTO auction markets.
Knowledge of MISO or another organized wholesale electricity market.
Experience using SQL, R, Power BI, Tableau, Git, APIs, automated data pipelines, or similar analytical technologies.
Experience with Python analytical libraries such as pandas, NumPy, SciPy, statsmodels, scikit-learn, or comparable tools.
Experience analyzing large market, operational, settlement, financial, or time-series datasets.
Experience with generation-cost, production-cost, or power-flow modeling software such as PLEXOS, Aurora, PROMOD, ProSym, Gentrader, DAYZER, PowerWorld, GridView, UPLAN, or comparable applications.
Experience developing repeatable analytical tools, automated processes, dashboards, or decision-support models.
Demonstrated commercial judgment or trading instincts, including the ability to connect quantitative results with market risks and potential opportunities.
Intellectual curiosity and a demonstrated willingness to question assumptions, investigate anomalies, and understand the fundamental drivers of market outcomes.
Ability to communicate technical findings effectively to traders, management, regulatory personnel, and other stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Design and perform quantitative studies of historical and forecasted prices, system loads, fuel costs, and determination of the natural position of XE's power system portfolios.
Support trading and risk management activities through quantifying the natural position of each XE regulated operating company.
Troubleshoot daily operation of XE's regulated electric operating companies and provide technical support to real-time traders during daily operation of the systems.
Assist Fuels in the determination of forward fuel requirements and the daily gas nomination process.
Identify opportunities to improve system operations. Design and create analytical studies to model opportunities and determine costs/savings (e.g. rescheduling plant maintenance, alternative operating strategies for certain resources, etc.).
Help plant operations personnel understand the market implications of plant operating decisions.
Create and run modeling scenarios to optimize daily unit commitment, additional purchases/sales, and long-term energy limited or constrained seasonal purchases.
Verify accuracy of results through extensive post-analysis of XE system performance.
Develop short-term load forecasts, current plant/contract availability, fuel costs, and market conditions.
Determine quantities of energy to buy/sell, optimal scheduling of constrained resources, and optimal commitment decisions for plants/contractual resources.
Bid load and offer generation into organized markets on behalf of the company.
Design and perform post-analysis models of previous day system operation to determine opportunities for dispatch efficiency and purchase/sales improvements.
Perform benchmarking of models as appropriate to assure analysis integrity.
Verify accuracy of sales costing.
Seek improvements to processes and analyses used for purchasing/selling commodities, scheduling of contracted resources, and commitment/dispatch of XE generation assets.
Perform pricing and costing of Real-Time Pricing Program sales and wholesale sales.
Develop knowledge of regulatory requirements.
Identify opportunities to automate solutions for data transfers.
Recommend trading strategies based on technical and fundamental market analysis.