Posting TitleResearcher II/III- Operations Electrical Engineer

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LocationCO - Golden

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Position TypeRegular

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Hours Per Week40

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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.

Join a team of world-class scientists, engineers, and visionaries dedicated to shaping the world’s energy future through cutting-edge research and innovation. From our vision to our NREL community, we are unique in the research community. We are focused on impact. From our work in basic sciences to systems engineering, analysis, demonstration, and deployment, we are focused on solving market-relevant problems that result in advanced, secure, reliable, and affordable energy systems. We are trusted clean energy leaders, developing cost-saving solutions that make U.S. industries more competitive, and support job creation and economic growth across rural and urban communities.

At NREL, we offer a unique, mission-driven work environment with cutting-edge facilities and multidisciplinary research teams. NREL's environment offers strong partnerships with industry, academia, and other national laboratories, as well as professional development opportunities and a competitive benefits package for employees.

Learn about NREL’s critical objectives: NREL's Mission and Vision.

Job Description

The Engineering Group at the NREL’s Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) seeks to fill an electrical engineering position in the laboratory research operations center.

The Engineering team at ESIF is composed of multi-disciplinary engineering professionals who design, operate, upgrade and maintain advanced, complex technical research capabilities that support research and development project work. ESIF engineering staff partner with research staff to carry out experimentation using laboratory assets and systems. ESIF engineering is responsible for the effective conduct of engineering to ensure safety and availability of advanced equipment and systems, which notably includes updated drawings, operational procedures, safety procedures, technical requirements, and maintenance plans. The laboratory environment is collaborative, technically rich, and offers many learning and networking opportunities. The ESIF Operations Center manages and stewards use of the ESIF in support of DOE’s research mission to ensure a safe, operationally effective, technically advanced research facility. Employees with ESIF significantly contribute to the mission of advancing new and clean energy technologies to support a healthy and prosperous nation and world.

The position calls for a person capable of understanding complex research projects and complicated laboratory equipment. Success in this job includes proactive stewardship of the laboratory to maintain relevant advanced capabilities, technical support and resourcefulness, delivery of research project outcomes with partners, and significant contributions to a dynamic team. This job requires dominance of an engineering discipline, focused around electrical, systems, and controls, and necessitates the ability and interest to work in the laboratory and address physical wiring, fabrication and troubleshooting, design experiments, accomplish project management tasks, and function successfully in a team environment and as an individual performer.

A primary function for this role is to deliver laboratory scope for research projects as engineering lead. This includes experiment design, planning and scheduling, documentation, troubleshooting, commissioning and operation. This duty necessitates excellent communication skills with principal investigators and other laboratory partners, as well as experience and background in modern power systems or power electronics

This position calls for a motivated person with enthusiasm for the research mission, proven ability to coordinate and communicate across multiple teams, and a desire to deliver high quality laboratory operations and technology. This position necessitates a person armed with strong technical skills to design, build, and implement laboratory research and capable to plan, coordinate, communicate and work in a team environment

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Basic QualificationsResearcher II- Relevant Master's Degree .Or, relevant Bachelor's Degree and 2 or more years of experience . General knowledge and application of engineering 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 writing, interpersonal and communication skills.
Reseaercher III- Relevant PhD . Or, relevant Master's Degree and 3 or more years of experience . Or, relevant Bachelor's Degree and 5 or more years of experience . Demonstrates broad understanding and wide application of engineering technical procedures, principles, theories and concepts in the field. General knowledge of other related disciplines. Demonstrates leadership in one or more areas of team, task or project lead responsibilities. Demonstrated experience in management of projects. Very good writing, interpersonal and communication skills.

* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

Ability to operate, design or install laboratory equipment involving 480Vac (minimum) and/or 1000Vdc (minimum) ratingsResearch, plan, design and implement advanced laboratory capabilities and infrastructure. This duty calls for some knowledge of commercial and industrial technology in power systems, electrical devices, and/or controls.Perform physical work in laboratories including wiring, interface box design and build, commissioning of new equipment, and operation of complex experimental setups.Engineering degreeComputer Aided Drawing experience Strong organizational skills and task disciplineWillingness to accept a variety of tasks, both technical and non-technical, to support group operations and business processesDesire to learn and grow in a technical career

Preferred QualificationsKnowledge and experience of research and development utilizing Hardware-in-the-loop methodsAwareness of NFPA and other Code applied to physical installationsKnowledge and experience in modern power grid devices and/or control technologyExperience with modern programming environments (Matlab, PLC, Python, RTDS, etc)Experience using CAD tools relevant to electrical engineeringPLC programming and data acquisition setup experience is a plusExperience with network connectivity and IT/OT technology (OT = operational technology), firewalling and industrial and IP communication protocolsPower hardware design experience including analog and digital circuits

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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: $74,900 - $123,600

Job Profile: Researcher III / Annual Salary Range: $81,500 - $146,700

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.

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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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