Associate Trading Analyst

Xcel Energy Inc; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 85,000 - 121,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Incentive Program

Medical/Pharmacy Plan

Dental

Vision

Life Insurance

Pension

401(k) plan

Paid time off (PTO)

Holidays

Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO)

Parental Leave

Job summary

Xcel Energy Inc. is seeking a quantitative analyst to design and perform analyses of wholesale energy markets, with a focus on transmission congestion, FTRs, ARRs, and market risks. The role develops Python-based analytics for large datasets, forecasts loads, and supports trading and risk decisions.

The candidate will combine programming, statistics, and commercial judgment to translate results into actionable portfolio recommendations, working closely with traders and regulators.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mathematics, engineering, applied sciences, or related fields.
• Preference for power plant operations experience with strong analytical skills.
• At least 6 months experience with generation cost modeling software (PLEXOS, Aurora, PROMOD, Promod, or Gentrader).

Responsibilities

• Design and perform quantitative studies of historical and forecasted prices, loads, and fuel costs.
• Model opportunities and optimize unit commitment, purchases/sales, and constrained resources.
• Develop short-term load forecasts and analyze market conditions to inform trading and risk decisions.
• Create and run modeling scenarios; verify results and provide actionable insights to traders and management.
• Communicate complex quantitative findings clearly to stakeholders.

Skills

Python

Data analysis

Quantitative analysis

Trading instincts

Statistical methods

Education

Bachelor's degree in mathematics, engineering, applied sciences, or related fields

Tools

SQL

R

Power BI

Tableau

Git

APIs

Pandas

NumPy

SciPy

scikit-learn

PLEXOS

Aurora

PROMOD

ProSym

Gentrader

Job description

Are you looking for an exciting job where you can put your skills and talents to work at a company you can feel proud to be a part of? Do you want a workplace that will challenge you and offer you opportunities to learn and grow? A position at Xcel Energy could be just what you’re looking for.

Position Summary

Design and perform quantitative analyses to evaluate wholesale energy markets, quantify and hedge risk, and support portfolio decisions. This position will have a particular focus on transmission congestion, Financial Transmission Rights, Auction Revenue Rights, and related market risks.

Develop and apply analytical tools to large market, operational, and settlement datasets using Python and other data-analysis technologies. Analyze historical results, forecast market conditions, evaluate hedge performance, and identify emerging risks and potential portfolio opportunities. Translate complex quantitative findings into practical recommendations supporting trading, risk management, regulatory, and commercial decisions.

The successful candidate will combine strong programming and statistical capabilities with commercial judgment, trading instincts, and intellectual curiosity. The individual must be motivated to understand why market outcomes occurred, investigate unexpected results, challenge assumptions, and continually improve the analyses used to support portfolio decisions.

Essential Responsibilities

• Design and perform quantitative studies of historical and forecasted prices, system loads, fuel costs, and determination of the natural position of XE's power system portfolios. Support trading and risk management activities through quantifying the natural position of each XE regulated operating company. Troubleshoot daily operation of XE's regulated electric operating companies and provide technical support to real-time traders during daily operation of the systems. Assist Fuels in the determination of forward fuel requirements and the daily gas nomination process.
• Identify opportunities to improve system operations. Design and create analytical studies to model opportunities and determine costs/savings (e.g. rescheduling plant maintenance, alternative operating strategies for certain resources, etc.). Help plant operations personnel understand the market implications of plant operating decisions.
• Create and run modeling scenarios to optimize daily unit commitment, additional purchases/sales, and long-term energy limited or constrained seasonal purchases. Verify accuracy of results through extensive post-analysis of XE system performance. Develop short-term load forecasts, current plant/contract availability, fuel costs, and market conditions. Determine quantities of energy to buy/sell, optimal scheduling of constrained resources, and optimal commitment decisions for plants/contractual resources. Bid load and offer generation into organized markets on behalf of the company.
• Design and perform post-analysis models of previous day system operation to determine opportunities for dispatch efficiency and purchase/sales improvements. Perform benchmarking of models as appropriate to assure analysis integrity. Verify accuracy of sales costing.
• Seek improvements to processes and analyses used for purchasing/selling commodities, scheduling of contracted resources, and commitment/dispatch of XE generation assets.
• Perform pricing and costing of Real-Time Pricing Program sales and wholesale sales.
• Develop knowledge of regulatory requirements. Identify opportunities to automate solutions for data transfers. Recommend trading strategies based on technical and fundamental market analysis.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in mathematics, engineering, applied sciences, or related fields.
• Prefer mechanical engineering background or individuals with power plant operations experience coupled with strong computer skills and analytical thinking.
• Preference given to individuals with at least 6 months experience with generation cost modeling software such as Plexos, Aurora, Prosym, Promod, or Gentrader.

Preferred Requirements

• Experience in organized wholesale electricity markets, commodity trading, portfolio management, risk management, or utility operations.
• Knowledge of nodal electricity markets, LMP formation, transmission congestion, binding constraints, and ISO/RTO settlements.
• Familiarity with FTRs, ARRs, congestion hedging, transmission rights, or ISO/RTO auction markets.
• Knowledge of MISO or another organized wholesale electricity market.
• Experience using SQL, R, Power BI, Tableau, Git, APIs, automated data pipelines, or similar analytical technologies.
• Experience with Python analytical libraries such as pandas, NumPy, SciPy,statsmodels, scikit-learn, or comparable tools.
• Experience analyzing largemarket, operational, settlement, financial, or time-series datasets.
• Experience with generation‑cost, production‑cost, or power‑flow modeling software such as PLEXOS, Aurora, PROMOD,ProSym,Gentrader, DAYZER,PowerWorld,GridView, UPLAN, or comparable applications.
• Experience developing repeatable analytical tools, automated processes, dashboards, or decision‑support models.
• Demonstrated commercial judgment or trading instincts, including the ability to connect quantitative results with market risks and potential opportunities.
• Intellectual curiosity and a demonstrated willingness to question assumptions, investigate anomalies, and understand the fundamental drivers of market outcomes.
• Ability to communicate technical findings effectively to traders, management, regulatory personnel, and other stakeholders.

Non‑Bargaining

The anticipated starting base pay for this position is: $84,900.00 to $120,566.66 per year

• Annual Incentive Program
• Medical/Pharmacy Plan
• Dental
• Vision
• Life Insurance
• Dependent Care Reimbursement Account
• Health Care Reimbursement Account
• Health Savings Account (HSA) (if enrolled in eligible health plan)
• Limited‑Purpose FSA (if enrolled in eligible health plan and HSA)
• Transportation Reimbursement Account
• Short‑term disability (STD)
• Long‑term disability (LTD)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Fitness Center Reimbursement (if enrolled in eligible health plan)
• Tuition reimbursement
• Transit programs
• Employee recognition program
• Pension
• 401(k) plan
• Paid time off (PTO)
• Holidays
• Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO)
• Parental Leave

Benefit plans are subject to change and Xcel Energy has the right to end, suspend, or amend any of its plans, at any time, in whole or in part.

In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age‑identifying information including but not limited to dates of school attendance and graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Deadline to Apply: 09/16/26

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ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

Xcel Energy endeavors to make https://www.xcelenergy.com/ accessible to any and all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact Xcel Energy Talent Acquisition at [e-mail]. This contact information is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Individuals with a disability who need an accommodation to apply please contact us at [e-mail].

As a leading combination electricity and natural gas energy company, Xcel Energy offers a comprehensive portfolio of energy‑related products and services to 3.4 million electricity and 1.9 million natural gas customers across eight Western and Midwestern states. At Xcel Energy, we strive to be the preferred and trusted provider of the energy our customers need. If you’re ready to be a part of something big, we invite you to join our team.