Postdoctoral Fellow - Energy Modeling & Policy

Rutgers University; New Brunswick (NJ); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Paid vacation and holidays

Retirement benefits (defined contrib.)

Educational benefits for employees and

Life insurance

Job summary

Rutgers University’s Center for Urban Policy Research (CUPR) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate focused on grid decarbonization and energy systems in the built environment. The role emphasizes interdisciplinary research across engineering, economics, and public policy with a team of about 20 researchers.

The successful candidate will conduct energy modeling, analyze policy and economic dimensions, and contribute to publications while pursuing independent research.

Qualifications

• PhD required in building sciences, engineering, urban planning, energy economics or related field.
• Experience with whole-building energy modeling tools (EnergyPlus/OpenStudio/DesignBuilder) and community-scale tools (UrbanOpt).
• Strong quantitative skills and ability to document analysis steps clearly.
• Programming ability (Python or R) for data cleaning and analysis.

Responsibilities

• Use advanced energy modeling to analyze energy efficiency, demand flexibility, and electrification in buildings.
• Apply community-scale models to assess high-performance buildings and geothermal systems.
• Assess technical and non-technical barriers to decarbonization in energy systems.
• Analyze codes, standards, and policies related to building decarbonization; perform econometric analyses.
• Analyze utility rates and impacts on households, with emphasis on low- and moderate-income areas.
• Author peer-reviewed publications and public reports; maintain research materials and codebooks.
• Collaborate with ~20 researchers in the CUPR built environment group; pursue independent work when possible.

Skills

Energy modeling

Programming (Python/R)

Data analysis

Strong communication

Team collaboration

Education

PhD in building sciences or related

Tools

EnergyPlus

OpenStudio

UrbanOpt

Regulatory econ tools

Job description

Rutgers University’s Center for Urban Policy Research (CUPR) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate focused on grid decarbonization and energy systems in the built environment. The role emphasizes interdisciplinary research across engineering, economics, and public policy with a team of about 20 researchers.

The successful candidate will conduct energy modeling, analyze policy and economic dimensions, and contribute to publications while pursuing independent research.