Graduate (Year-Round) Intern - Industrial and Fuel Supply Optimization Modeling/Analysis

National Laboratory of the Rockies • Golden, CO

21h • Onsite

About The Position

The Integrated Modeling and Economic Analysis Group develops and applies energy and economic models to evaluate and inform the evolution of the energy system and the associated implications for the economy, environment, and society. We are looking forward to welcoming a new researcher to our team to contribute to a growing body of research evaluating alternative pathways to satisfy increasing energy demand from the US economy. Working with senior researchers, the successful candidate will assist with data management and complementary coding for the Fuels and Industry Integrated Optimization (FINITO) model—a new model simulating the evolution of the US industrial and fuel supply sectors—with applications towards a range of research topics, including: evaluation of the implications of alternative policy designs for energy technologies, evaluation of effects of research and development (R&D) driven improvements to the cost and performance of energy technologies, evaluation of how energy changes in the industrial sector would interact with other energy sectors (e.g., electricity), explore impacts of different manufacturing energy decisions on US manufacturing competitiveness. In particular, the intern will contribute to identifying, synthesizing, and implementing new data within the FINITO modeling structure; editing processing scripts; coordinating data workflow and updates; visualizing data via Tableau. In addition, the intern will assist in communication products, including presentations to deliver at workshops/conferences, technical articles for submission to peer-reviewed journals, as well as shorter written products for policy audiences. The ideal candidate will have a high level of enthusiasm to expand one’s knowledge of the energy system, learn new skills, and apply such knowledge and skills to help identify how the US can increase energy choices while decreasing environmental impacts. We welcome applicants pursuing advanced degrees from any field, but a strong applicant must have experience developing and applying python scripts and a solid background in data management and analysis. General job duties include: Assist in research that generates independent, high quality, and reproducible results, Research, acquisition, and analysis of complex datasets requiring substantial pre-processing and harmonization, Assist in development of new data architectures to flexibly describe infrastructure systems, Assist in executing scenarios and visualizing, analyzing, and interpreting results, Assist senior researchers in the design, implementation, and reporting of the research project, Contribute to technical reports, journal articles, and presentations.

Requirements

• Minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.
• Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a master’s degree program from an accredited institution.
• Earned a master’s degree within the past 12 months.
• Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.
• Completed master’s degree and enrolled as PhD student from an accredited institution.
• Demonstrated experience in code-based data management and analysis using leading coding environments: e.g., Python
• Working knowledge of industrial energy and fuels literature
• Exceptional teaming and organizational skills
• Familiarity with GAMS

Nice To Haves

• Working knowledge of all subsectors of the US energy system and associated markets, policies, and regulations
• Pursuing a PhD in economics (with a focus on energy/environment), policy, engineering or other related field; however, we encourage applicants with training in any field to apply if they have interest and experience in the energy sector and experience with quantitative methods, especially optimization
• Familiarity with developing and applying optimization models (ideally in energy system applications) and experience with leading modeling coding environments, e.g., GAMS, MPSGE, Julia
• Experience working with git for code management in a collaborative development setting

Responsibilities

• Assist in research that generates independent, high quality, and reproducible results
• Research, acquisition, and analysis of complex datasets requiring substantial pre-processing and harmonization
• Assist in development of new data architectures to flexibly describe infrastructure systems
• Assist in executing scenarios and visualizing, analyzing, and interpreting results
• Assist senior researchers in the design, implementation, and reporting of the research project
• Contribute to technical reports, journal articles, and presentations

Benefits

• medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 403(b) Employee Savings Plan with employer match
• sick leave (where required by law)
• performance-, merit-, and achievement- based awards that include a monetary component
• relocation expense reimbursement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern