R&D Staff - Urban Energy Modeler

Requisition Id 14606 

Overview: 

The Grid Interactive Controls (GIC) Group in the Electrification and Energy Infrastructure Division (EEID) within the Energy Science and Technology Directorate (ESTD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking a Research Professional. The Grid Interactive Controls group specializes in pioneering innovations at the edge of today’s power grid, concentrating on fortifying grid security, enhancing reliability, and bolstering resilience. Our primary focus lies in the comprehensive 'Everything-to-Grid' (X2G) strategies, developing cutting-edge solutions in grid-edge integration and control. Our commitment revolves around seamlessly incorporating emerging distributed energy resources, including demand response emerging at the grid edge, providing essential services crucial to its reliable operation. Employing a diverse range of disciplines such as urban modeling, control theory, optimization, economics, game theory, data analytics, and machine learning, the GIC Group delves deeply into understanding intricate grid-edge interactions and operations. Researchers are dedicated to laying the groundwork for optimal X2G integration and utilization. Group initiatives encompass advanced urban system modeling, analysis & visualization, low-cost wireless sensing technologies, and interoperable & scalable control mechanisms tailored for the grid edge. Research promotes grid-interactive efficient buildings as a pivotal component in advancing building-to-grid integration, amplifying advanced equipment’s’ role in shaping the future grid.

Specifically, the urban energy modeling team within the GIC Group has created and simulated a model of every U.S. building. This involves urban-scale building energy modeling at the resolution of individual buildings and at the scale of nations to analyze energy efficiency, demand response, and cost-effective opportunities toward a resilient built environment. These activities involve multi-disciplinary collaboration across ORNL, collaborative partnerships and NDAs with over 50 well-known companies, and significant awards on world-class computational resources. This team achieved world-first simulation of 125.7 million U.S. buildings, public release of 122.9 million building energy models (bit.ly/ModelAmerica1), new information for 141.5 million U.S. buildings, and scaled EnergyPlus to over 1 million annual building simulations per hour on supercomputers. In partnership with major organizations, the team is actively improving the data and algorithms of the Automatic Building Energy Modeling (AutoBEM, bit.ly/AutoBEM) software suite which involves big data processing, data analytics, machine learning, high-performance computing resources, computer vision, and building science to create, model, simulate, validate, and analyze building performance to create software prototypes (e.g. dashboards, bit.ly/virtual_epb) for actionable use of building data, models, or analysis by specific stakeholders while leveraging over 100 million core-hours from competitively-awarded time on high performance computing resources.

Selection will be based on qualifications, relevant experience, skills, and education. You should be highly self-motivated and independent in conducting research under general guidance and is expected to prepare manuscripts for scientific publication and present the work to sponsors and at conferences. This position requires development of innovative software techniques, integration with source code versioning systems, familiarity with building energy modeling, multi-sector grid edge technology integration, frequent and consistent review of related literature. It also requires frequent interactions and collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from universities, national laboratories, and private industry for the development of technical capabilities, demonstrations, proposals, oral presentations, and publications.

As part of the urban energy modeling team, you will assist in the development and implementation of data organization and software development for scalable use and analysis of business-sensitive data by supporting Distinguished R&D staff in 1) the invention or improvement of innovative algorithms for detection or estimation of building characteristics, 2) validation against known data sources, 3) scalable generation/simulation of buildings using OpenStudio and EnergyPlus, 4) use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to quantify and improve city-to-nation scales of individual building energy models, and/or 5) visualization of analysis results for use by stakeholders. As part of the R&D, the candidate will be required to apply the computational skills to manage big data, create and extend existing software capabilities, and develop user-centered web interfaces; and utilize the system engineering knowledge to ensure seamless integration of data, algorithms, and knowledge into comprehensive solutions.

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Proven RDD&D experience in building energy modeling, software development, or Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence (ML/AI).
• Design, implement, and optimize scalable software systems to manage and process large datasets related to building energy modeling and data visualization.
• Design and implement algorithms and techniques for integrating multi-system energy technologies, supporting comprehensive simulations and analyses at various scales.
• Creation and manipulation of OpenStudio measures and EnergyPlus models.
• Create user interfaces for software applications that facilitate stakeholder interaction with building data.
• Excellence in communication skills for conveying technical material to both scientists and non-scientists in both written and oral presentations.
• Self-disciplined work ethic and eagerness to tackle challenging research problems.
• Successfully working in a team environment.
• Function well in a fast-paced research environment, set priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to changing needs
• Motivated and conscientious self-starter with the ability to work independently, follow-up on all action items, and participate creatively in collaborative teams across the laboratory

• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote equal opportunity by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

Basic Qualifications:

• A PhD in computer science, industrial engineering, electrical and computer engineering, or related field with two years of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Development or demonstration of urban-scale building energy modeling/analysis.

• Excellent programming skills, including Python.
• Experience with geospatial data visualization tools such as ArcGIS, or similar.
• Experience with network optimization techniques and system engineering applications.
• Experience with modern programming languages, and Git version control system.
• Familiarity with creation, submission, and management of open-source data (e.g., Zenodo, ESS-Dive).
• Familiarity with developing or debugging software for world-class high-performance computing resources.
• Demonstration of projects involving big data management (esp. TBs).
• Experience working in Agile/SCRUM teams
• Excellent written and oral communication skills

About ORNL

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an impressive 80-year legacy of addressing the nation’s most pressing challenges. Our team is made up of over 7,000 dedicated and innovative individuals! Our goal is to create an environment where a variety of perspectives and backgrounds are valued, ensuring ORNL is known as a top choice for employment. These principles are essential for supporting our broader mission to drive scientific breakthroughs and translate them into solutions for energy, environmental, and security challenges facing the nation.

ORNL offers competitive pay and benefits programs to attract and retain individuals who demonstrate exceptional work behaviors. The laboratory provides a range of employee benefits, including medical and retirement plans and flexible work hours, to support the well-being of you and your family. Employee amenities such as on-site fitness, banking, and cafeteria facilities are also available for added convenience.

Other benefits include the following: Prescription Drug Plan, Dental Plan, Vision Plan, 401(k) Retirement Plan, Contributory Pension Plan, Life Insurance, Disability Benefits, Generous Vacation and Holidays, Parental Leave, Legal Insurance with Identity Theft Protection, Employee Assistance Plan, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, Wellness Programs, Educational Assistance, Relocation Assistance, and Employee Discounts.

If you have difficulty using the online application system or need an accommodation to apply due to a disability, please email: ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.

This position will remain open for a minimum of 5 days after which it will close when a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.

We accept Word (.doc, .docx), Adobe (unsecured .pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and HTML (.htm, .html) up to 5MB in size. Resumes from third party vendors will not be accepted; these resumes will be deleted and the candidates submitted will not be considered for employment.

If you have trouble applying for a position, please email ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.

ORNL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply.  UT-Battelle is an E-Verify employer.