Electro-magnetic transient (EMT) modeling, laboratory verification, and stability analysis for power systems Researcher

Posting Title

Electro-magnetic transient (EMT) modeling, laboratory verification, and stability analysis for power systems Researcher
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Location

CO - Golden
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Position Type

Regular
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Hours Per Week

40
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Working at NLR

NLR is located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for energy systems research and development.

Join the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NLR stands out in the research community for its commitment to an affordable and secure energy future. Spanning foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, we focus on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions. Our work helps strengthen U.S. industries, support job creation, and promote national economic growth.

At NLR, you'll find a mission-driven environment supported by state-of-the-art facilities, multidisciplinary research teams, and strong collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories. We offer robust professional development opportunities, and a competitive benefits package designed to support your career and well-being.

Job Description

NLR is located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for energy systems research and development.

Join the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NLR stands out in the research community for its commitment to an affordable and secure energy future. Spanning foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, we focus on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions. Our work helps strengthen U.S. industries, support job creation, and promote national economic growth.

At NLR, you'll find a mission-driven environment supported by state-of-the-art facilities, multidisciplinary research teams, and strong collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories. We offer robust professional development opportunities, and a competitive benefits package designed to support your career and well-being.

Job Description

Integrated Devices and Systems (IDS) Group of the Power Systems and Engineering Center (PSEC) at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) is looking for an exceptional researcher to support research in the modeling and simulation of the modern power grids and the integration of advanced technologies such as inverter-based resources (IBRs).

The successful candidate will be working on cutting-edge projects in power system modeling, simulation, and stability analysis. The successful candidate is expected to bring in power system modeling and simulation expertise to address the stability, reliability challenges of the future grid.

Job duties and responsibilities include:

• Develop high-fidelity EMT models for various inverter-based resources (such as advanced pumped storage hydro, data center, grid-forming/grid-following inverters, etc.) for large-scale power grids studies.

• Design ride-through controls of IBRs and implement and validate models in EMT simulation environments such as PSCAD, RTDS, or ParaEMT.

• Contribute to the development of advanced simulation tools, platforms, testbed development for large-scale EMT analysis.

• Conduct large-scale transient analysis including (small-signal stability, transient stability, and voltage stability) for high IBR-dominated systems.

• Lead laboratory experiments to validate models and specific equipment, inform model development, and answer critical questions regarding the integrated operation of complete systems.

• Support development of AI-assisted tools for grid stability monitoring, scenario generation, and digital twin applications.

• Support large-scale power system studies (e.g., national-scale scenarios) using commercial tools (e.g., PSSE, PSLF, PSCAD) or open-source tools (e.g., ParaEMT, ANDES and others).

• Support interconnection studies, grid impact assessments, and compliance studies.

• Prepare the results in form of reports and presentations.

• Write and publish results of analyses in peer-reviewed journals, transactions, conference proceedings, and/or technical reports.

Successful candidates will join the IDS group in the Power System Engineering Center (PSEC) at NLR, a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative team of engineers, analysts, and software developers. IDS works to develop and apply state-of-the-art energy system modeling techniques, software, and simulations for breakthrough engineering and techno-economic analysis of the emerging future electric grid and broader interconnected energy system: transportation, buildings, gas, communication/controls, and beyond. PSEC supports the science and technology goals of the U.S. Department of Energy, and industry partners toward an affordable, reliable, and secure energy future. We work with the electricity industry and broader research community to conduct high-impact research and development that provides practical solutions to grid design and integration challenges that enable sustainable energy systems. PSEC uniquely combines the most advanced research techniques with real-world experience for improving electricity grids.

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Basic Qualifications

For a Researcher II: Relevant PhD . Or, relevant Master's Degree or, relevant Bachelor's Degree and 2 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.

For a Researcher 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

Additional Required Qualifications

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a DOE security clearance at the Q/TS/SCI level. A polygraph may be required.  Eligibility requirements: To obtain a clearance, an individual must be at least 18 years of age; U.S. citizenship is required except in very limited circumstances. See DOE O 472.2A  for additional information.

• Relevant candidate in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science or related fields.

• Solid background in power systems dynamics and modeling including load flow, short-circuit, and contingency analysis.

• Experience with power system simulation tools in EMT environment (e.g.,PSCAD, RTDS, OPAL-RT, ParaEMT, etc. )

• Strong understanding of inverter-based resource (IBR) modeling and integration challenges, and power system stability concepts.

Preferred Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on modeling experience with EMT simulation tools (e.g., PSCAD, RSCAD, OPAL-RT or EMTP).

• Strong understanding of small-signal, transient, and voltage stability.

• Familiarity with EMT modeling of IBRs, such as data center