Job Description

Posting Title

UX Researcher - Software Development II/III

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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 NREL

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for research and development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

From day one at NREL, you’ll connect with coworkers driven by the same mission to save the planet. By joining an organization that values a supportive, inclusive, and flexible work environment, you’ll have the opportunity to engage through our ten employee resource groups, numerous employee-driven clubs, and learning and professional development classes.

NREL supports inclusive, diverse, and unbiased hiring practices that promote creativity and innovation. By collaborating with organizations that focus on diverse talent pools, reaching out to underrepresented demographics, and providing an inclusive application and interview process, our Talent Acquisition team aims to hear all voices equally. We strive to attract a highly diverse workforce and create a culture where every employee feels welcomed and respected and they can be their authentic selves.

Our planet needs us! Learn about NREL’s critical objectives, and see how NREL is focused on saving the planet.

We invite all interested candidates to apply for this opportunity. While we recognize that job seekers may hesitate if they don’t meet every requirement, we encourage dedicated individuals who meet all the basic and additional required qualifications of the role to submit an application. We value the opportunity to consider those who believe they have the necessary skills and ambition to succeed at NREL.

Job Description

The Innovative Data Energy Applications (IDEA) Group in NREL’s Strategic Energy Analysis Center is seeking a UX Researcher. The IDEA Group is a multi-disciplinary collection of UX Designers, Researchers, Product Managers, and Software Engineers: we care about producing useful software that facilitates a clean energy transition. The UX plays an integral part in gathering insights about the needs, attitudes, emotions, and behaviors of people who use our products to inspire and inform design. The climate is rapidly changing, we are looking for people to join our team to help the world make more informed decisions with the applications we build.

The successful candidate will focus on pursuing complex problems within a portfolio of high impact experiences. The successful candidate will define and align on problem statements and genuine user needs while collecting and synthesizing background information from all likely sources. They will challenge their own thinking through engaged debate and collaboration and explore and create concepts that show the breadth of their thinking. The successful candidate can handle their own time and stay on top of things. It will be important to show their work, keep it organized and logical, while eliminating confusion and getting to the bottom of issues quickly. Additional responsibilities include:

• Inform the development of useful and usable products by engaging with our users
• Leverage storytelling or personas and research to showcase the future of products
• Facilitate concept ideation workshops, test prototypes and lead concept validation
• Create high level recommendations and refine those for delivery to development teams as well as stakeholders
• Conduct independent research on multiple aspects of products and experiences.
• Collect and analyze user behavior through studies, participatory workshops, usability testing, surveys, server logs and online experiments (A/B testing)
• Work with Product Managers, Engineers, UX Designers, and other UX Researchers to prioritize and scope research opportunities

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Basic Qualifications

Researcher II Basic Qualifications: Relevant Master's Degree . Or, relevant Bachelor's Degree and 2 or more years of experience .

Researcher III Basic Qualifications: 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.

* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

• A deep passion to think differently and challenge conventional approaches to research and design
• Proven expertise in multiple areas of UX research, information architecture, visual, prototyping, etc.
• Proficiency in design tools (Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, or other prototyping tools)
• Experience leading the design of high impact public facing digital applications
• Clear, concise verbal and written communication skills
• Strong presentation skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's or PhD degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Statistics, Psychology, Anthropology, or related field.
• Strong understanding of the strengths and shortcomings of different research methods, including when and how to apply them during the product development process.
• Experience in a variety of product spaces, applied research and/or academic settings.
• Proficiency in communicating user research findings with cross-functional stakeholders and teams to drive impact.

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Job Application Submission Window

The anticipated closing window for application submission is up to 30 days and may be extended as needed.

Annual Salary Range (based on full-time 40 hours per week)

Job Profile: Researcher III / Annual Salary Range: $79,600 - $143,300

Job Profile: Researcher II / Annual Salary Range: $73,200 - $120,800

NREL takes into consideration a candidate’s education, training, and experience, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value, including seniority and merit systems, and internal pay alignment when determining the salary level for potential new employees. In compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, a potential new employee’s salary history will not be used in compensation decisions.

Benefits Summary

Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; short*- and long-term disability insurance; pension benefits*; 403(b) Employee Savings Plan with employer match*; life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance; personal time off (PTO) and sick leave; paid holidays; and tuition reimbursement*. NREL employees may be eligible for, but are not guaranteed, performance-, merit-, and achievement- based awards that include a monetary component. Some positions may be eligible for relocation expense reimbursement. Limited-term positions are not eligible for long-term disability or tuition reimbursement.

* Based on eligibility rules

Badging Requirement

NREL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which includes a favorable background investigation.

Drug Free Workplace

NREL is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace in accordance with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act and complies with federal laws prohibiting the possession and use of illegal drugs. Under federal law, marijuana remains an illegal drug.

If you are offered employment at NREL, you must pass a pre-employment drug test prior to commencing employment. Unless prohibited by state or local law, the pre-employment drug test will include marijuana. If you test positive on the pre-employment drug test, your offer of employment may be withdrawn.

Submission Guidelines

Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any position at NREL you must submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified. Applications are not kept on file for future positions. Please include a cover letter and resume with each position application.

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EEO Policy

NREL is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard basis of age (40 and over), color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic partner status, military or veteran status, national origin/ancestry, race, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding), sexual orientation, and any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local laws.

EEO is the Law | Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination | Reasonable Accommodations

E-Verify www.dhs.gov/E-Verify For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.

E-Verify is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This business uses E-Verify in its hiring practices to achieve a lawful workforce.