Undergraduate Summer Intern – Visualization Researcher

NREL • Golden, CO

13h

About The Position

NLR is located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for energy systems research and development. Join the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NLR stands out in the research community for its commitment to an affordable and secure energy future. Spanning foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, we focus on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions. Our work helps strengthen U.S. industries, support job creation, and promote national economic growth. At NLR, you'll find a mission-driven environment supported by state-of-the-art facilities, multidisciplinary research teams, and strong collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories. We offer robust professional development opportunities, and a competitive benefits package designed to support your career and well-being. The Data, Analysis, and Visualization Group within NLR’s Computational Science Center has an opening for a graduate student researcher focusing on Visualization and Human-Computer Interaction techniques, with special emphasis on interactive data-driven visual interfaces and immersive/creative visualization workflows. The successful candidate will collaborate with NLR staff and researchers to design, develop, and implement custom data-driven visualization applications.

Requirements

• Minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.
• Undergraduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a bachelor’s degree program from an accredited institution.
• Post Undergraduate: Earned a bachelor’s degree within the past 12 months.
• Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.
• Graduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a master’s degree program from an accredited institution.
• Post Graduate: Earned a master’s degree within the past 12 months.
• Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.
• Graduate + PhD: Completed master’s degree and enrolled as PhD student from an accredited institution.
• Please Note: Applicants are responsible for uploading official or unofficial school transcripts, as part of the application process. If selected for position, a letter of recommendation will be required as part of the hiring process. Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date. Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date
• Computer programming, visualization and application development, excellent communication skills.

Nice To Haves

• Hand's on data visualization experience a plus.

Responsibilities

• Developing interactive visualization prototypes.
• Supporting integration of immersive or creative interfaces for scientific exploration (e.g., handling shader logic, real-time rendering concepts, or user interaction workflows).
• Assisting with data ingestion, transformation, and visual mapping for exploratory analytics.
• Participating in team meetings to help shape visualization designs and user experience approaches.
• Documenting code, UI designs, and workflow considerations to support team uptake and future enhancements.

Benefits

• Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; 403(b) Employee Savings Plan with employer match; and sick leave (where required by law).
• NLR 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.
• Internships projected to be less than 20 hours per week are not eligible for medical, dental, or vision benefits.

What This Job Offers

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