Research Analyst

Woodmac; India; On-site; INR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Wood Mackenzie seeks a skilled professional in renewable energy resource assessment to build and refine weather-driven production profiles for wind and solar assets. The role involves processing gridded weather data, applying machine learning to improve forecast accuracy, and translating weather signals into asset-level generation projections used in capacity and revenue models.

You will validate forecasts against SCADA or meter data, explore AI-assisted tools, and analyze seasonal/global trends

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, Renewable Energy Engineering, Environmental Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related quantitative discipline.
• 2-5 years of relevant experience in renewable energy resource assessment, meteorology, wind/solar production forecasting, or power system data analysis.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL for processing large time-series weather data; familiarity with NetCDF and geospatial formats.
• Strong written and verbal English communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Weather data processing and quality control for gridded datasets (ERA5, MERRA-2, NSRDB etc.).
• Wind and solar production profile modelling at site and portfolio level with asset characteristics and losses.
• Apply ML and statistical methods to improve production profile accuracy.
• Translate site-level weather and asset data into generation profiles for capacity expansion and revenue models.
• Model validation and back-testing against actual generation data and forecast error analysis.
• Assist in evaluating AI/LLM-assisted tools for data processing and workflow automation.
• Track weather-driven trends across global markets and assess implications for capacity factors.

Skills

English communication

Python programming

SQL

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Meteorology/Atmospheric Science/Renewable Energy Engineering/Environmental Science/Electrical Engineering

Tools

Python (pandas, NumPy, xarray)

NetCDF

GIS

ERA5 / MERRA-2 data handling

Job description

Wood Mackenzie is the global leader in analytics, insights and proprietary data across the entire energy and natural resources landscape. For over 50 years our work has guided the decisions of the world’s most influential energy producers, utilities companies, financial institutions and governments. Now, with the world’s energy system more complex and interconnected than ever before, sector-specific views are no longer enough. That’s why we’ve redefined what’s possible with Intelligence Connected. By fusing our unparalleled proprietary data with the sharpest analytical minds, all supercharged by Synoptic AI, we deliver a clear, interconnected view of the entire value chain. Our trusted team of 2,700 experts across 30 countries breaks siloes and connects industries, markets and regions across the globe. This empowers our customers to identify risk sooner, spot opportunities faster and recalibrate strategy with confidence - whether planning days, weeks, months or decades ahead. Wood Mackenzie Intelligence Connected WoodMac.com Wood Mackenzie Brand Video Wood Mackenzie Values Inclusive - we succeed together Trusting - we choose to trust each other Customer committed - we put customers at the heart of our decisions Future Focused - we accelerate change Curious - we turn knowledge into action

The Opportunity

Global wind and solar capacity additions now exceed all other generation technologies combined, and the accuracy of weather-driven production estimates has become a first-order determinant of asset value, financing cost, and curtailment risk across every region Wood Mackenzie covers. As markets move toward hybrid, storage-paired, and round-the-clock renewable structures and merchant price exposure rises, the gap between a well-specified and a poorly-specified production profile translates directly into basis points on project IRR and into real disputes between developers, lenders, and offtakers. Wood Mackenzie's Power & Renewables research is the reference point utilities, IPPs, developers, investors, and financial institutions turn to for independent, defensible power market and asset-level views worldwide. That standing rests on the credibility of the data underneath it, and weather-to-power modelling is one of the least commoditised, highest-leverage parts of that data stack. The function is also evolving fast: machine learning and AI-based approaches to weather nowcasting, satellite-derived resource estimation, and calibration are moving from research curiosities to production tools, and there are relatively few analysts who combine meteorological data fluency, power market context, and modern ML tooling, making this a distinctive and fast-growing skill set to build early in a research career. Joining this function gives you direct exposure to how resource assessment assumptions flow through into capacity expansion outlooks, price curves, and asset valuations used in live client transactions across multiple global markets, rather than working on production forecasting as an isolated technical exercise.

Key Responsibilities

• Weather data processing and quality control: Source, clean, and process gridded weather datasets, including reanalysis products (ERA5, MERRA-2), satellite-derived irradiance (e.g. NSRDB, CAMS, SARAH), and numerical weather prediction (NWP) output, for use in production profile modelling
• Wind and solar production profile modelling: Build and maintain hourly wind and solar production profiles at site and portfolio level, incorporating asset characteristics (turbine model and hub height, panel technology and tilt/azimuth, inverter specification, layout and spacing) alongside power curve modelling, wake loss adjustment, system losses, degradation, and curtailment assumptions
• Apply machine learning and statistical methods (e.g. gradient boosting, random forests, neural network-based weather-to-power mapping) to improve production profile accuracy where they outperform physical or engineering-based approaches, under the guidance of senior team members
• Translate site-level weather, satellite, and asset data into generation profiles that feed into Wood Mackenzie's capacity expansion, dispatch, and asset revenue models
• Model validation and back-testing: Calibrate production profile models against actual SCADA or grid-metered generation data, and validate forecast accuracy by quantifying and documenting forecast error (MAPE, RMSE) by technology, geography, and time horizon
• Support back-testing of forecast methodologies against realised generation, identifying systematic biases (e.g. wake modelling, soiling, curtailment under-estimation) and feeding corrections back into the calibration workflow
• Assist in evaluating and piloting AI/LLM-assisted tools for data processing, documentation, and anomaly detection within the production forecasting workflow
• Research and data support: Track and interpret weather-driven trends relevant to renewable output across global markets, including seasonal and inter-annual variability, and their implications for capacity factors and revenue forecasts

Requirements Qualification and experience

• 2-5 years of relevant experience in renewable energy resource assessment, meteorology, wind/solar production forecasting, or power system data analysis; experience at a renewable energy developer, IPP, technical advisory firm, or meteorological services provider is an advantage
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, Renewable Energy Engineering, Environmental Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related quantitative discipline
• Working knowledge of wind and/or solar resource assessment methodologies, including power curve application, wake modelling concepts, and irradiance-to-power conversion (e.g. PVsyst, System Advisor Model, WAsP, or equivalent)
• Proficiency in Python (pandas, NumPy, xarray) and/or SQL for processing large, gridded, time-series weather datasets; familiarity with NetCDF and geospatial data formats is an advantage
• Exposure to reanalysis or satellite weather datasets (ERA5, MERRA-2, NSRDB, CAMS) and NWP model output is highly desirable
• Knowledge and skills: Foundational understanding of wind and solar generation technology, plant-level losses, and the drivers of capacity factor variability across seasons and geographies
• Strong attention to detail and comfort working with large, imperfect, multi-source datasets
• Ability to clearly document methodology and communicate technical findings to non-technical audiences
• Communication skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills in English
• Fluency in additional European/Asian languages is an advantage

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. This means we are committed to recruiting the best people regardless of their race, colour, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, disability or protected veteran status. You can find out more about your rights under the law at www.eeoc.gov

If you like wild growth and working with happy, enthusiastic over-achievers, you'll enjoy your career with us! Our Work Experience is the combination of everything that's unique about us: our culture, our core values, our company meetings, our commitment to sustainability, our recognition programs, but most importantly, it's our people. Our employees are self-disciplined, hard working, curious, trustworthy, humble, and truthful. They make choices according to what is best for the team, they live for opportunities to collaborate and make a difference, and they make us the #1 Top Workplace in the area.