Building Operations & Controls Engineer 2

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory•UNAVAILABLE, UNAVAILABLE

About The Position

The Buildings Systems Group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is seeking a Building Operations and Controls Engineer to improve energy and water efficiency and resilience, test and demonstrate technologies and methodologies, and support complex controls-system integration in federal and commercial facilities. The role includes opportunities to develop and apply approaches to Building Re-tuning™, building control systems integration, and predictive fault detection and diagnostics. The candidate will apply building science and engineering principles to address building operations and controls challenges, develop technical approaches for building controls and HVAC research, and guide junior staff. The position leads technical products such as reports and journal articles, presents at conferences and technical forums, defines and leads project tasks, reports results on time and within budget, contributes leadership to proposals, collaborates across teams, and mentors junior staff or students. The Buildings Systems Group conducts applied research to improve building energy and water efficiency, occupant productivity, and resilient operation of buildings and connected energy and water systems. Its research includes building performance evaluation, building control system optimization, and site-level energy and water resilience assessment and planning. The engineer is accountable to project managers and task leads for assigned work, applicable project and field procedures, and timely, within-budget task performance; and to the Buildings Systems Group Leader and Team Leader for staff development, performance evaluation, and operational discipline, including safe operations. Travel of up to 25% may be required for field work, technology demonstrations, sponsor engagements, and related activities. The position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a federal security clearance and a federal background investigation. U.S. citizenship is required. This is a Testing Designated Position subject to pre-employment and random drug testing.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and 2 years of relevant experience, or a master’s degree, or a Ph.D.
Ability to obtain and maintain a federal security clearance and meet federal background-investigation eligibility requirements.
U.S. citizenship.
Ability to demonstrate non-use of illegal drugs, including marijuana, for the 12 consecutive months preceding completion of the required national security questionnaire.
Ability and willingness to travel up to 25% for project-related activities.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary and geographically distributed teams.
Demonstrated ability to communicate technical concepts clearly in written reports, presentations, and interactions with project sponsors and stakeholders.
Demonstrated initiative, curiosity, and commitment to continuous learning in building energy systems, energy efficiency, and resilience.
A technical writing sample will be requested during the interview process.

Nice To Haves

Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, Building Science, Architectural Engineering, or a related field.
Experience analyzing building- or campus-scale energy and water systems to evaluate performance and identify energy and water efficiency improvements, such as through an ASHRAE Level II assessment.
Experience using whole-building energy modeling and simulation tools such as eQUEST or EnergyPlus.
Experience analyzing building automation system or building control system data to evaluate HVAC performance and identify operational improvements.
Experience supporting experimental research, technology demonstrations, or pilot projects.
Experience using programming or scripting languages such as Python or R for data analysis, automation, or visualization.
Experience supporting research or engineering projects at Department of Defense installations or other federal facilities.

Responsibilities

Improve energy and water efficiency and resilience in federal and commercial buildings.
Test and demonstrate new technologies and methodologies, and facilitate complex controls-system integration.
Develop and apply approaches to Building Re-tuning™, building control systems integration, and predictive fault detection and diagnostics.
Apply building science and engineering principles to propose ideas and solve building operations and controls challenges.
Develop technical approaches to building controls and HVAC-related research challenges and provide guidance to junior staff.
Lead development of technical products, including technical reports and journal articles, and present at national conferences and technical forums.
Define and lead projects or tasks and report results on time and within budget.
Provide leadership to proposals for new work.
Collaborate with staff across the group and division to share resources and optimize approaches.
Mentor junior staff and/or students.
Perform assigned roles according to project and field procedures and complete tasks on time and within budget.
Support staff development, performance evaluation, and operational discipline, including safe operations.
Travel as needed, up to 25%, for field work, technology demonstrations, sponsor engagements, and other project-related activities.