Reconstruct Research Assisant 2

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Overview 

Reconstruct : Building Energy Retrofit Solutions for Canada, is a five-year project funded through an NSERC Alliance grant (2022-2026), led by Prof. Michael Jemtrud who holds the Chair in Architecture, Energy and Environment at McGill. Reconstruct aims to develop solutions to realize deep energy retrofits (DERs) of buildings, to test them through pilot projects, and to develop and implement a roadmap to accelerate their deployment to thousands of buildings across Quebec and Canada.  

Buildings account for 40% of carbon emissions around the globe, and an estimated 80% of the buildings that will be standing in 2050 in Canada already exist. DERs are defined as retrofits that reduce a building’s energy usage by 50 to 70%, and have many benefits beyond energy savings, including extending building lifespan, increasing resilience, improving resident health and well-being, and easing strain on the electricity grid through decreased peak loads. Substantial funding is being allocated to accelerate their mass deployment, notably in the residential sector. Our fabric-first approach plans to use prefabricated exterior over-cladding panel solutions to facilitate the mass deployment of low-carbon DERs, complemented with high-performance active systems. We use a pilot-to-pipeline strategy whereby buildings for pilot projects are strategically selected so that solutions and processes developed and implemented in these projects can then be applied to a vast pool of similar buildings with relatively minor adjustment. Reconstruct currently intends to focus on specific building types with a high potential for impact, including schools, community centres and public multi-unit residential buildings. 

The multidisciplinary Reconstruct team is made up of academic researchers and research labs collaborating with governmental, industry and community partners. It includes members from the fields of architecture, urban planning, engineering, computer science, geography, public health, industrial ecology, finance, and data science.  

Responsibilities 

The Research Assistant 2 will support the development and refinement of digital tools designed to assess the suitability of buildings from large stocks for Deep Energy Retrofits (DERs). These tools include, but are not limited to, an environmental assessment platform (BREA-tool), DER cost estimation tool (DER-Calc), building identification tool, and a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework. 

Key responsibilities include: 

• Lead and contribute to the conceptual and technical development of decision-support tools to evaluate DER feasibility across multiple domains. 

• Design and implement data acquisition strategies through web scraping, stakeholder engagement, and machine vision techniques to inform MCDA evaluation domains such as technical feasibility, energy performance, environmental impact, building condition, health and well-being, and climate resilience. 

• Contribute to the operationalization and integration of analytical tools, ensuring interoperability and usability in practical decision-making workflows. 

• Conduct literature reviews and environmental scans of existing models, methodologies, and case studies related to MCDA, life-cycle assessment (LCA), and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA). 

• Provide technical guidance and training to research staff, including Research Assistants 1, Undergraduate/Graduate Student Research Assistants and Technicians, in the execution of tasks related to research projects

• Produce technical documentation, reports, and publishable articles; synthesize findings for both academic dissemination and stakeholder engagement. 

• Develop and deliver presentations and visual communication materials; assist with public consultations, workshops, and events. 

• Liaise with interdisciplinary researchers and external stakeholders, including community organizations and public sector actors, to foster knowledge exchange and align tool development with policy and market needs. 

• Performs various administrative tasks related to the project.

Please note that the above list is representative but not exhaustive. Additional tasks may be assigned within the scope of the project. 

Education 

• Master’s degree in Engineering, Architecture, Sustainability or a related discipline. 

Qualifications 

• Minimum of one year of experience in research or professional roles related to building science, sustainability, or environmental assessment. 

• Demonstrated expertise in building stock analysis and development of analytical tools. 

• Proficiency with Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC), and Cost Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) methodologies. 

• Strong experience in data collection, cleaning, harmonization, and the development of digital workflows and decision-support platforms. 

• Familiarity with policy and regulatory frameworks related to energy efficiency and decarbonization in the Canadian building sector, with particular insight into the Quebec context. 

• Proven experience in stakeholder engagement, cross-sector collaboration, and research. 

• Excellent communication skills in both English and French, including technical writing, data visualization, and presentation. 

• Experience in project coordination, including event planning, work plan development, and inter-team communication. 

• Knowledge of DER strategies, Energiesprong model, and prefabricated retrofit solutions. 

• Proficiency with the following software: 

• Fluent use: Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), Microsoft Office Suite (especially Excel), AutoCAD, Rhino, RStudio, ArcGIS. 

• Working knowledge: Grasshopper, Revit, Vray, Enscape, Python. 

Hourly Salary:

$31.52

Hours per Week:

35 (Full time)

Location:

MacDonald Harrington

Supervisor:

Associate Professor

Position Start Date:

2025-06-16

Position End Date:

2026-06-16

Deadline to Apply:

2025-04-23

This position is covered by the Association of McGill University Research Employees (AMURE) collective agreement.

McGill University hires on the basis of merit and is strongly committed to equity and diversity within its community. We welcome applications from racialized persons/visible minorities, women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as from all qualified candidates with the skills and knowledge to productively engage with diverse communities. McGill implements an employment equity program and encourages members of designated groups to self-identify. Persons with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations for any part of the application process may contact, in confidence, accessibilityrequest.hr@mcgill.ca.