Postdoctoral Researcher, Smart Building Systems

~ The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a leader in the U.S. Department of Energy's effort to secure an energy future that is both environmentally and economically sustainable. ~

With locations in Golden, Boulder and Washington D.C., NREL is the primary laboratory for research, development and deployment of renewable energy technologies in the United States. The NREL mission is to develop renewable energy and energy efficient technologies and practices, advance related science and engineering, and transfer knowledge and innovation to address the nation's energy and environmental goals. 

NREL's buildings research teams lead efforts in developing cutting-edge technical solutions to improve the energy efficiency of both residential and commercial buildings, and to accelerate the integration of renewable energy technologies with buildings.  

Position Overview 

NREL's Buildings and Thermal Systems Center has an immediate opening for a full-time Postdoctoral Researcher in the Residential Buildings Research Group. The initial appointment is for one year, with possible renewal for up to a total of three years.

The successful candidate will join team members on a multi-year cutting-edge laboratory, analytical, and field project to research, develop, evaluate and integrate energy management algorithms, devices, and systems that deliver cost-effective energy savings in residential buildings and neighborhoods.

This position will support NREL's Advanced Residential Buildings program goals and will report directly to his/her assigned Section Leader in Residential Buildings.

Laboratory work will be conducted in several NREL laboratories including the Smart Power Laboratory (SPL) at the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF), and the Thermal Test Facility (TTF), both located on NREL's main campus.

SPL features three complete "smart home" test beds that enable simulated occupancy, smart meters, demand-response enabled appliances, circuit-level monitoring, on-site renewables and EV-charging, HVAC environmental chambers community-scale interactions and a flexible power grid infrastructure. 

Responsibilities  

Job Duties Under the general direction of senior staff, the successful candidate will: 

• engage in laboratory, analytical and field evaluations of energy management systems; 
• develop standardized approaches for integrating energy management functions within home area networks (HANs), utility demand-response and variable pricing programs, security systems, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) systems, transactive control structures and Smart Grids; 
• demonstrate simplified user experiences through greater product interoperability and improved data visualizations; 
• develop cost-effective combinations of energy management control strategies to reduce whole-house energy consumption; and 
• collaborate with the analysis team to quantify net, aggregate energy savings provided by energy management systems in existing and new homes, multifamily buildings, and mixed-use developments. 

Qualifications 

Required Education and Experience: 

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

Additional Required Knowledge, Skills and Attributes: 

• Ph.D. with strong academic record and relevant education in electrical engineering, computer science, applied mathematics, or relevant dissertation research in other engineering or science field.
• Strong interpersonal communication skills (oral and written). 

Demonstrated experience in: 

• machine learning, model predictive controls, or similar adaptive algorithms; 
• design, execution, and analysis of laboratory or field experiments; 
• building science, energy engineering or systems engineering; 
• research in intelligent systems for building energy use; and/or 
• practical electronics knowledge (both controls and power electrnics) and interest or expertise in network protocols and wireless network systems. 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Practical experience in plug loads, low-power wireless/wired communication (PLC, ZigBee SEP/HAP, 802.11x, Z-Wave or similar), mesh networking, COTS electronics, and/or hands-on systems automation is strongly preferred.
• Background in applied mathematics (applied statistical methods, design of experiments, multi-objective optimization, autonomous/multi-agent systems, machine learning, cloud computing, data mining, and/or artificial intelligence or similar) is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated excellence in cybersecurity in emerging technologies and non-standard networks is strongly preferred.
• Experience with Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) systems, including application of Matlab/Simulink, is preferred.
• Experience in smart grid systems, behavioral analytics, or thermal science is a plus.
• Experience in building simulation, residential construction/retrofit, and/or building monitoring and control systems is a plus. 

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