UT-ORII Fellow: Sr. Economics and Employment Modeler

Requisition Id 14106 

Overview: 

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an extraordinary 80-year history of solving the nation’s biggest problems. We have a dedicated and creative staff of over 7,000 people! Our vision for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) is to cultivate an environment and practices that foster diversity in ideas and in the people across the organization, as well as to ensure ORNL is recognized as a workplace of choice. These elements are critical for enabling the execution of ORNL’s broader mission to accelerate scientific discoveries and their translation into energy, environment, and security solutions for the nation.

The Energy Science and Technology Directorate (ESTD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking a talented and articulate researcher to lead studies on the local and regional economic and employment impacts of future policies and market actions expanding the global bioeconomy and driving toward carbon neutrality at the national and global levels. A particular focus will be on local solutions (resources, innovations, manufacturing, workforce development) that support a sustainable and sustainable transition toward a circular bioeconomy in the Southeastern United States. There is also broader scope for extending analyses to a variety of other energy and environmental solutions that may be deployed in the region over the coming decades (e.g., bioenergy, renewable and nuclear power, electric vehicle and battery manufacturing, critical minerals mining and recycling, additive manufacturing, and more).  Strong emphasis will be placed on the use of innovative methodologies to better represent human capital in forward-looking economic/employment models, including collaborating with social scientists and political economists to incorporate empirical data (quantitative and qualitative) on labor availability and the needs for workforce (re-)training programs.

The Buildings and Transportation Science Division (BTSD) at ORNL drives scientific discoveries and technological advancements to accelerate transformative solutions for sustainable energy in building and transportation sectors. Within BTSD sits the Transportation Analytics & Decision Sciences (TADS) Group, which studies how new transportation and energy technologies impact social, economic, infrastructure, and technological systems. The group’s research focuses on, among other things, transitions, examining long-term, multi-decade changes and how various systems evolve through human choices. The researchers address questions such as the introduction of electric vehicles, low-carbon energy, alternative fuel adoption's impact on infrastructure and the grid, and how social and urban factors influence the adoption of new technologies and energy-mobility paradigms. The multidisciplinary teams within TADS apply advanced modeling, machine learning, and data analytics to project future transportation and energy performance, optimize infrastructure, and inform decision-makers about sustainable pathways. Their work supports public and private sector leaders with data and models, producing impactful tools like interactive data visualizations, transportation-energy scenarios, and widely-used resources such as the Transportation Energy Data Book, MA3T vehicle choice model, and the Bioenergy KDF.

This position will be associated with the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute’s Circular Bioeconomy Systems (CBS) Convergent Research Initiative (CRI), a unique collaboration between ORNL and the University of Tennessee. The CBS CRI mission is to develop transformative strategies for managing, valorizing, and extending the lifetime of each carbon atom. They aim to use emerging science to produce biomaterials from sustainable carbon sources, pioneering the shift toward low-energy and low-carbon-intensity agriculture, and manufacturing. At full strength, the CBS CRI will add ~20 new investigators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA), and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). The CBS CRI supports its interdisciplinary researchers by offering networking opportunities with fellow scientists and bioeconomy stakeholders, facilitating collaborative experiments and proposal development, providing mentorship from senior CRI researchers, and offering tailored professional development opportunities.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

• Initiate, lead, and perform independent and impactful analyses on the local and regional economic and employment impacts of future policies and market actions in scenarios achieving carbon neutrality nationally and globally
• Deliver innovative solutions to sponsors

• Craft successful proposals and scientific presentations and publications
• Engage regularly with the academic and practitioner communities
• Develop and implement a cohesive research strategy to ensure the success of new and ongoing research projects
• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

 Basic Qualifications:

• The position requires a Ph.D. degree in economics, agricultural or natural resource economics, or a related discipline, as well as a minimum of 10 years of experience in the field of modeling and analysis of economic systems, including significant leadership in project direction and strategy (experience may include postdoctoral research).
• Experience in the development and/or use of quantitative models to estimate economic and social impacts of future policies, regulations, and productive investments, with a track record of translating modeling outcomes into actionable insights for diverse stakeholders.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications, reports to research sponsors, presentations at professional meetings, and interactions with public and private stakeholders.

 Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working for or collaborating with DOE National Laboratories (or similar R&D organizations), universities, consultancies, and industry stakeholders.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with a demonstrated leadership ability and a strong commitment to a team environment and mentoring early-career researchers.
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively in collaborative teams across the laboratory and university environments.
• Ability to function well in a fast-paced research environment, set priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to ever changing needs.
• Proficiency in relevant programming languages and modeling platforms (e.g., R, Python, GAMS, MATLAB), with demonstrated ability to innovate and streamline computational processes.
• Knowledge and experience with leading economic and employment models (e.g., IMPLAN, WiNDC, WIRED/JEDI, EMPLOY, SLiDE, JOBS), and the capability to leverage these tools to provide strategic insights and data-driven recommendations.

Benefits at ORNL:  

ORNL offers competitive pay and benefits programs to attract and retain talented people. The laboratory offers many employee benefits, including medical and retirement plans and flexible work hours, to help you and your family live happy and healthy. Employee amenities such as on-site fitness, banking, and cafeteria facilities are also provided for convenience.

Other benefits include the following: Prescription Drug Plan, Dental Plan, Vision Plan, 401(k) Retirement Plan, Contributory Pension Plan, Life Insurance, Disability Benefits, Generous Vacation and Holidays, Parental Leave, Legal Insurance with Identity Theft Protection, Employee Assistance Plan, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, Wellness Programs, Educational Assistance, Relocation Assistance, and Employee Discounts.

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This position will remain open for a minimum of 5 days after which it will close when a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.

We accept Word (.doc, .docx), Adobe (unsecured .pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and HTML (.htm, .html) up to 5MB in size. Resumes from third party vendors will not be accepted; these resumes will be deleted and the candidates submitted will not be considered for employment.

If you have trouble applying for a position, please email ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.

ORNL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply.  UT-Battelle is an E-Verify employer.