Principal Data Scientist

NextEra Energy, Inc.; Miami (FL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

NextEra Energy, Inc. seeks a Principal Data Scientist to join the FPL Grid Optimization team. Develop analytical frameworks, optimize grid operating strategies, and assess economic and reliability outcomes.

Collaborate across teams to translate insights into updated operating criteria and methodologies. You will build ML and optimization solutions, backtest planning scenarios, and quantify cost and reliability impacts across generation and dispatch decisions, driving data-driven improvements at

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• 6+ years of experience.
• Master’s Degree preferred.
• Doctoral Degree preferred.
• Experience with ML, optimization, statistics.

Responsibilities

• Provide thought leadership, set technical strategy for data science methods.
• Explain methods and results to upper-level executives.
• Develop machine learning, optimization, or other modeling solutions.
• Oversee employee work and learn new techniques.
• Prepare comprehensive analyses and technical reports.

Skills

Machine learning

Optimization

Statistics

Applied mathematics

Distributed computing

Big Data

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree

Doctoral Degree

Tools

Big Data infrastructure

Job description

The Principal Data Scientist will join the FPL Grid Optimization team at NextEra Energy, Inc., where analytical frameworks and optimization approaches are developed to assess grid operating strategies, including their economic outcomes and reliability impacts. This role uses historical system data, optimization models, and scenario analysis, and partners with multiple internal teams to translate insights into updates to operating criteria and optimization model methodologies.

Role Focus

On the FPL Grid Optimization team, you will help build the analytical framework used to evaluate grid operating strategies, optimization performance, and the economic and reliability implications of planning and dispatch decisions. The work includes challenging existing operating assumptions and identifying opportunities to improve key system decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide thought leadership, set technical strategy, and identify potential applications for data science methods
• Explain methods and results to upper-level executives
• Develop machine learning, optimization, or other modeling solutions
• Oversee employee work related to the area, while learning new techniques being developed
• Prepare comprehensive, documented observations, analyses, and interpretations of results, including technical reports, summaries, protocols, and quantitative analyses
• Work with big data and distributed computing platforms
• Develop software and contribute to product development
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned

Analytics and Optimization Work

• Use historical system data, optimization models, and scenario analysis to evaluate and improve operating strategies
• Backtest operational strategies and build forward-looking planning scenarios
• Quantify cost and reliability impacts associated with alternative planning and dispatch decisions
• Identify improvement opportunities across generation commitment, maintenance scheduling, reserve strategies, fuel usage, battery utilization, and other system decisions

Collaboration

You will work closely with Grid Optimization, System Operations, Power Generation, Energy Marketing & Trading, and application development teams. The goal is to ensure analytical findings lead to changes in operating criteria, model inputs, and optimization methodologies.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 6+ years of experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree
• Doctoral Degree

Tools, Methods, and Platforms

• Machine learning
• Optimization
• Statistics
• Applied mathematics
• Distributed computing
• Data storage infrastructure (Big Data)

Location and Work Model

This position is based at the LeJeune Flagler Office in Miami, FL, US and is onsite.