Posting Title
Postdoctoral Researcher – Optimization and Machine Learning for Transportation Systems

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Location
CO - Golden

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Position Type
Postdoc (Fixed Term)

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Hours Per Week
40

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Working at NREL
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for research and development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

From day one at NREL, you’ll connect with coworkers driven by the same mission to save the planet. By joining an organization that values a supportive, inclusive, and flexible work environment, you’ll have the opportunity to engage through our eight employee resource groups, numerous employee-driven clubs, and learning and professional development classes.

NREL supports inclusive, diverse, and unbiased hiring practices that promote creativity and innovation. By collaborating with organizations that focus on diverse talent pools, reaching out to underrepresented demographics, and providing an inclusive application and interview process, our Talent Acquisition team aims to hear all voices equally. We strive to attract a highly diverse workforce and create a culture where every employee feels welcomed and respected and they can be their authentic selves.

Our planet needs us! Learn about NREL’s critical objectives, and see how NREL is focused on saving the planet.

Note: Research suggests that potential job seekers may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who is interested in this opportunity to apply. We seek dedicated people who believe they have the skills and ambition to succeed at NREL to apply for this role.

Job Description

The Complex Systems Simulation and Optimization (CSSO) Group in the NREL Computational Science Center has an opening for a full-time Postdoctoral Researcher in Modeling, Simulation, Optimization and Machine Learning (ML) and its application to the operation and planning of transportation systems. We are looking for a dynamic researcher with a strong technical background to help us decarbonize and improve energy efficiency of transportation systems through optimization and machine learning.

The successful candidate will participate in research formulating and solving optimization problems that arise in the optimal control and operation of transportation systems, as well as processing and analyzing high-fidelity transportation data sets to formulate ML-based surrogate models useful for transportation systems planning purposes.

Our focus is primarily in energy efficient planning and operation and decarbonization of mobility systems. We seek candidates capable of pursuing research directions that involve effective utilization of the modern parallel computing architectures available at NREL as well as cloud-based computing resources. Candidates with creative problem-solving skills, interest in cross-disciplinary collaboration, and a passion for the mission and goals of both NREL and EERE are of particular interest.

Responsibilities:

• Adopt existing – or develop new – optimization methods and machine learning methods to address NREL problems in energy-efficient optimal planning, operation and decarbonization of transportation systems
• Model emerging technologies in transportation systems and develop high performance simulations.
• Author publications and contribute to proposals to sustain research directions.

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Basic Qualifications
Must be a recent PhD graduate within the last three years.

* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

At least one of:

• Experience formulating optimization problems
• Extensive experience in python programming
• Experience in parallel computing

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with transportation systems modeling and simulation.
• Experience with developing surrogate modeling with machine learning.
• Experience with scalable machine learning frameworks, e.g, PyTorch.
• Experience with processing and analyzing spatial-temporal transportation system data.
• Experience working with diverse, inclusive, and cross-disciplinary research teams

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Annual Salary Range (based on full-time 40 hours per week)
Job Profile: Postdoctoral Researcher / Annual Salary Range: $71,300 - $117,600

NREL takes into consideration a candidate’s education, training, and experience, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value, including seniority and merit systems, and internal pay alignment when determining the salary level for potential new employees. In compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, a potential new employee’s salary history will not be used in compensation decisions.

Benefits Summary
Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; short-term disability insurance*; pension benefits*; 403(b) Employee Savings Plan with employer match*; life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance; personal time off (PTO) and sick leave; and paid holidays. NREL 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.

* Based on eligibility rules

Drug Free Workplace

NREL is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace in accordance with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act and complies with federal laws prohibiting the possession and use of illegal drugs. Under federal law, marijuana remains an illegal drug.

If you are offered employment at NREL, you must pass a pre-employment drug test prior to commencing employment. Unless prohibited by state or local law, the pre-employment drug test will include marijuana. If you test positive on the pre-employment drug test, your offer of employment may be withdrawn.

Submission Guidelines

Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any position at NREL you must submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified. Applications are not kept on file for future positions. Please include a cover letter and resume with each position application.

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EEO Policy

NREL is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard basis of age (40 and over), color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic partner status, military or veteran status, national origin/ancestry, race, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding), sexual orientation, and any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local laws.

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