Research Engineer II - Building Energy Analysis

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory•Portland, OR

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Research Engineer II will work in the Building Simulation and Design Group (BS&DG) within PNNL’s Electricity Infrastructure and Buildings Division. The group models and analyzes building energy policies, codes, and standards; develops tools and workflows for building research and decision making; and supports adoption of energy-efficient technologies. The position contributes to project teams as an individual contributor, applying building engineering principles and economic analysis to evaluate building energy performance, technologies, equipment, and energy-efficiency policies. Work includes analyzing field observations, operational measurements, survey data, product information, cost data, and simulation results; developing analytical approaches and reusable tools; and improving reproducible workflows. The Research Engineer II reviews research quality, contributes to technical reports, journal articles, proposals, and presentations, and communicates findings and limitations to project teams and collaborators. The role also includes independently completing recurring assignments and leading small tasks or projects within assigned scope, schedule, and budget. The position is based at a PNNL office in Portland, Oregon; Richland, Washington; or Seattle, Washington, with an on-site presence expected. Hybrid arrangements may be available subject to laboratory policy, project needs, and team expectations. Remote work may be considered for candidates with strong technical expertise and a demonstrated record of remote work success.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, architectural engineering, building energy systems, or a related technical field and 2 years of relevant building energy systems experience; or a master’s or doctoral degree in one of these fields or a related technical field.
Programming proficiency to process, analyze, and visualize technical data.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, demonstrated through technical writing, publications or presentations, and effective cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Nice To Haves

Graduate degree in mechanical engineering, architectural engineering, building science, or a closely related field, with at least two years of relevant experience and evidence of growing independence in technical work and project contributions.
Strong knowledge of building energy systems, including how building characteristics, equipment, controls, and operating conditions affect energy use and performance.
Strong programming and data-analysis skills using Python, R, or comparable tools, including experience developing reusable scripts and reproducible workflows for data preparation, quality assurance, analysis, and reporting.
Experience organizing and integrating technical datasets from multiple sources, investigating data-quality issues, applying appropriate statistical methods, and interpreting findings using engineering principles; experience with sampling, weighting, normalization, or uncertainty analysis is a plus.
Experience evaluating building technologies, equipment, energy performance, or the impacts of energy-efficiency policies, codes, and standards.
Experience collecting and evaluating cost data and applying engineering economic methods to assess building technologies or equipment, including incremental first costs, operating costs, life-cycle costs, and savings.
Familiarity with sensitivity or scenario analysis.
Experience creating and maintaining data visualizations and updating datasets underlying dashboards, infographics, or other analytical products; familiarity with Tableau or comparable tools is a plus.
Experience with version control, testing, and documentation for collaborative research tools and analytical workflows; familiarity with SQL, relational databases, or data pipelines is a plus.
Demonstrated ability to independently complete defined technical analyses, contribute to analytical approaches, and deliver technically sound results within assigned scope, schedule, and budget.
Experience applying building energy codes and standards in building design or compliance evaluations, or analyzing their energy and cost impacts, is a plus.
Experience applying AI or machine-learning methods to engineering data analysis or research workflow automation is a plus.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a full academic or research CV.

Responsibilities

Perform assigned roles under the direction of Project and/or Task Managers, follow applicable project and field procedures, and complete tasks on time and within budget.
Apply building engineering principles and contribute to analytical approaches, including methods, assumptions, evaluation metrics, and study boundaries.
Organize, integrate, and analyze building and equipment datasets from field studies, operational measurements, surveys, product information, cost sources, and simulation results.
Conduct and help design studies evaluating building technologies, equipment, energy-efficiency policies, codes, and standards; select baselines, compare performance and energy use, and conduct sensitivity, scenario, and uncertainty analyses as appropriate.
Collect and evaluate equipment, installation, maintenance, and operating cost data; apply engineering economic methods to assess incremental first costs, life-cycle costs, and savings; and collaborate with economists and technical specialists as needed.
Develop reusable tools and improve reproducible workflows for data preparation, integration, quality checks, analysis, and reporting; maintain organized research datasets and collaborate with database and software developers.
Apply data validation and results-review procedures, investigate data-quality issues and unexpected findings, and assess physical and analytical consistency using engineering principles, reference data, and appropriate statistical methods.
Create and maintain visualizations and update data underlying dashboards, infographics, and other research products.
Independently complete recurring assignments and define and lead small tasks or projects, coordinating contributors and delivering technically sound results within assigned scope, schedule, and budget.
Work with project teams and collaborators to understand research needs, contribute to technical approaches, and communicate progress, findings, and limitations.
Contribute to technical reports, journal articles, and conference presentations; lead elements or sections of technical products; and present findings in project meetings and technical forums.
Contribute research ideas and technical content to proposals for research and capability-development opportunities.
Collaborate across the group and division to share methods, strengthen research capabilities, and identify related research opportunities.
Maintain accountability to Project and/or Task Managers, the Group Leader, and the Team Leader for assigned responsibilities, project execution, professional development, and operational discipline, including applicable procedures, training, and quality, safety, and security expectations.