Researcher I/II – Data Engineering

Posting TitleResearcher I/II – Data Engineering

.

LocationCO - Golden

.

Position TypeRegular

.

Hours Per Week40

.

Working at NRELThe 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 ten 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.

We invite all interested candidates to apply for this opportunity. While we recognize that job seekers may hesitate if they don’t meet every requirement, we encourage dedicated individuals who meet all the basic and additional required qualifications of the role to submit an application. We value the opportunity to consider those who believe they have the necessary skills and ambition to succeed at NREL.

Job Description

NREL is seeking a highly motivated Research Data Engineer to contribute to critical data management, pipelines, and dissemination projects. This role will contribute to critical data management workflows, supporting key projects such as the Pipeline for Integrated Projects in Energy Systems (PIPES) and the Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI). In this role, you will work closely with diverse modeling staff across the lab to translate modeling requirements into structured configurations and to make recommendations regarding data dissemination standards. The ideal candidate will have strong technical skills in data management and be comfortable engaging with users to ensure that the data pipelines, configurations, and formats align with the needs of various energy modeling projects. This position offers a unique opportunity to help drive energy research by facilitating seamless data integration and pipeline optimization. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Requirement Translation: Collaborate with teams to understand and translate data and modeling requirements into structured configurations that align with project needs. 
• User Engagement and Technical Support: Act as a liaison between internal users and the development team, providing technical assistance, troubleshooting data-related issues and refining platform functionalities. 
• Data Pipeline Support: Assist in the design and maintenance of data pipelines, ensuring smooth data integration and flow, while collaborating with DevOps teams on automation and optimization. 
• Data Management: Contribute to the management of large-scale energy datasets, ensuring their integrity, quality, and accessibility to internal and external stakeholders. 
• Data Quality: Implement data quality checks and ensure validation of datasets for project readiness. 
• Collaboration: Work closely with software developers and DevOps engineers to ensure alignment between data needs and infrastructure solutions. 
• Automation: Support the automation of data workflows, enhancing efficiency and streamlining data management processes. 
• Documentation: Maintain detailed documentation of data workflows and configurations for internal users and platform development. 

Our Team: 

The Data Engineering team is a multi-disciplinary team of data and software engineers, data scientists, and product developers that are at the forefront of developing advanced data solutions for strategic energy analysis at scale. Our work is focused on making energy data and software more accessible, usable, and actionable for researchers and engineers at NREL and beyond. We are tackling the climate challenge head-on and need your expertise to build the data frameworks that power the clean energy transition. 

Level I: At this level, the data engineer will perform technical tasks under some supervision. They’ll handle routine problems with limited complexity and support more experienced team members in solving technical challenges. 

Level II: Engineers at this level work more independently, handling more complex tasks across multiple projects. They troubleshoot and solve moderate-level technical problems, collaborating with others while taking greater responsibility for project success. 

What We Offer: 

• A dynamic, interdisciplinary research and development environment at a leading national laboratory. 
• Opportunities to collaborate with a diverse group of experts in software, data, and engineering domains.  
• Work developing cutting-edge projects and contributing to research in the renewable energy industry. 
• Access to world-class computational resources and datasets. 
• A flexible work environment with hybrid remote and onsite work options. 
• Professional development opportunities, including mentoring, training, and networking. 

Please submit a cover letter with application materials. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

.

Basic QualificationsResearcher I Requirements: Relevant Bachelor's Degree . Limited use and application of scientific principles, theories and concepts. Good written and verbal communication skills. Ability to use various computer software programs.

Researcher II Requirements: Relevant Master's Degree . Or, relevant Bachelor's Degree and 2 or more years of experience . General knowledge and application of scientific technical standards, principles, theories, concepts and techniques. Training in team, task or project leadership responsibilities. Intermediate abilities and knowledge of practices and techniques. Beginning experience in project management. Good technical writing, interpersonal and communication skills.

* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

• Familiarity with data engineering technologies (e.g., Python, SQL, ETL processes)  
• Ability to translate technical requirements into structured data configurations. 
• Strong understanding of data management concepts, data quality, and data cleaning. 
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills for engaging with both technical and non-technical users. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for documenting workflows and explaining technical concepts. 
• Ability to collaborate effectively in a team setting to meet project objectives. 

Preferred Qualifications

• May have some qualifications in non-technical areas. 
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud). 
• Experience with open data platforms and data-sharing initiatives. 
• Experience with diversity of data stores (relational and non-relational databases, data lakes). 
• Proficiency in GitHub for version control. 
• Experience in user engagement and addressing data system needs. 
• Familiarity with command line interfaces and high-performance computing. 
• Object-oriented programming experience. 
• Exposure to containerization (Docker, Kubernetes). 
• Knowledge of data security and governance best practices. 
• Experience with data visualization tools. 
• Familiarity with diverse data types and formats. 
• Familiarity with energy systems and datasets, including timeseries data, is a plus. 

.

Job Application Submission Window

The anticipated closing window for application submission is up to 30 days and may be extended as needed.

Annual Salary Range (based on full-time 40 hours per week)Job Profile: Researcher II / Annual Salary Range: $73,200 - $120,800

Job Profile: Researcher I / Annual Salary Range: $63,600 - $104,900

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 SummaryBenefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; short*- and long-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; paid holidays; and tuition reimbursement*. 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. Limited-term positions are not eligible for long-term disability or tuition reimbursement.

* Based on eligibility rules

Badging RequirementNREL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which includes a favorable background investigation.

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.

.

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.

EEO is the Law | Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination | Reasonable Accommodations

E-Verify www.dhs.gov/E-Verify For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.

E-Verify is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This business uses E-Verify in its hiring practices to achieve a lawful workforce.