Job: Geothermal Drilling Engineering Scientist IV, NREL, Colorado

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) with locations in Golden and Boulder, Colorado, and a satellite office in Washington, D.C., NREL is the primary laboratory for research, development, and deployment of renewable energy technologies in the United States. NREL is seeking now to fill the position of Geothermal Drilling Engineering Scientist at its office in Golden, Colorado in the U.S.

The Geothermal Research Group at NREL is seeking a drilling expert to build and strengthen drilling research capabilities at the lab. Global research in geothermal is targeting hotter and deeper resources.  Advances in geothermal drilling engineering are needed to reduce global drilling costs and the levelized cost of electricity produced from geothermal resources. New technologies should leverage existing innovations from U.S. oil and gas industries, as well as other high-temperature material and power electronics research in industries such as solar, grid, and vehicles technologies.

Work will consist primarily of advancing research in drilling optimization (e.g., physics-based drilling practices, approaching the perfect well) for geothermal, design and development of high-temperature materials and tools both for geothermal drilling and for geothermal wellbore design and construction. The successful applicant will work collaboratively with academia to advance geothermal drilling rates, including detailed drilling data collection and analysis and material and component development. The position will be expected to develop strategic global geothermal drilling initiatives, successfully manage multi-party research projects, publish relevant research outcomes in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and to write proposals with partners from industry and academia to win funding opportunities and grow NREL’s Geothermal Research Group.

Required Education, Experience, and Skills

Relevant PhD and 4 or more years of experience . Or, relevant Master’s Degree and 7 or more years of experience . Or, relevant Bachelor’s Degree and 9 or more years of experience . Applies extensive engineering technical expertise, and has full knowledge of other related disciplines. Considered a technical resource. Demonstrates leadership in several areas of team, task or project lead responsibilities. Demonstrated experience in management of projects. Excellent writing, interpersonal and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong knowledge base with respect to drilling engineering principles, theories, and concepts, including drilling analysis, drilling efficiency and downhole drilling technologies.
• Expertise with drilling optimization, identifying best practices and implementing lessons learned.
• Working knowledge of drilling engineering data collection (Pason data, TOTCO, etc).
• Experience analyzing drilling data and performance of new or existing techniques to determine the need for or benefit from studies, recommendations and/or equipment modifications with respect to unit costs and operating efficiency.
• An understanding of the challenges and opportunities inherent in drilling high-temperature wells and data protocols, and opportunities for knowledge transfer from oil and gas industry to geothermal.
• Proficiency with experimental design principles, uncertainty analysis, and basic and advanced statistical analysis methods such as machine learning.
• Experience writing and winning proposals.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing strategic initiatives.
• Strong peer-reviewed publication record.

For further details, submission guidelines, and to apply, see link below.

Source: NREL