Researcher Assistant Jobs in Sun Prairie, WI (NOW HIRING)

Make a Difference for Climate and Equity — Join Slipstream as a Senior Researcher!

Apply your skills and expertise to make a real impact in the fight against climate change and the inequities of its impacts. We are seeking a Senior Researcher to join our Research and Innovation team at Slipstream. We are a national, mission-driven nonprofit that accelerates climate solutions. For everyone.

We inspire bold ideas to tackle big energy challenges. Our work spans energy efficiency, community energy planning, equitable building decarbonization, emerging technologies, and green financing. We collaborate with governments, utilities, and community-based organizations to discover, test, and scale solutions that work for real people in real communities. We are optimistic, inclusive, and ambitious about our impact—and we’re looking for someone who shares that drive.

Our Research & Innovation Team is a national leader in understanding the real-world impacts of new solutions for addressing climate change. We study, develop, and test the next generation of energy solutions across multiple sectors of the economy.

Our ideal Senior Researcher is curious, highly organized, and thrives in a collaborative, project team environment. You are an analytical thinker interested in assessing the carbon, cost, and equity impacts of different building decarbonization strategies, policies, and approaches.  You want to creatively address climate change using your expertise and curiosity. You enjoy a dynamic workplace and embrace self-motivation in your work. Show us how you lead, collaborate, and bring diverse perspectives to drive better ideas.

We encourage candidates from all backgrounds. You are key to our success by demonstrating our values, engaging in our mission, and creating results that produce enduring economic and environmental benefits for all. While we’re mostly remote, Slipstream can only hire in select states (Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, and Wisconsin). While we will consider applications from those states, we currently have a strong preference for being located in the Midwest where most of our project work and fieldwork are located.

What You’ll Do:  

• Conduct primary and secondary research of building decarbonization strategies in residential, multifamily, and commercial buildings. Assist with evaluating energy efficiency, decarbonization and (to a lesser extent) renewable energy strategies in buildings, communities, campuses, or regional settings.
• Communicate and deliver innovative solutions that improve communities and buildings based on data and analysis.
• Manage research and development projects and tasks, including coordinating with cross-functional teams, and reporting results internally, to clients, and to the broader industry. Responsible for all aspects of projects/tasks from inception to delivery.
• Coordinate with stakeholders to define task objectives.
• Conduct or coordinate field research to gather information and data, which may include hands-on measurement of energy, user satisfaction, comfort, and other outcomes.
• Support efforts to seek and secure new research funding, including developing proposals and collaborating with partners.

What You’ll Need:

• Ability to manage projects both independently and collaboratively; maintain organization amid complexity.
• Analytical thinking with the ability to solve complex technical or data problems and conduct energy and/or power systems analysis.
• Understanding of applied research methods, including research design, data collection, basic statistical concepts, and interpretation of results to produce rigorous, actionable findings.
• Experience cleaning and analyzing data sets using a statistical or general programming language (e.g. R, Python, Stata, MATLAB)
• Building science experience – this may include building audits, diagnostic testing, field measurement, or related experience providing guidance for measuring, monitoring, or recommending changes to improve a building’s performance.
• Understanding of building design, construction, or retrofit processes and partnerships.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to engage diverse energy stakeholders including researchers, utilities, building owners/decision makers, community members, and supply chain personnel.
• Curiosity to investigate new approaches to address climate change and equity challenges.
• Ability to work collaboratively with a diverse set of researchers.
• Ability to clearly convey complex concepts, ideas, and solutions through meeting facilitation, strong report writing, and engaging information sharing.

Nice to Have (or What You’ll Learn Here)

• Experience building shared or production-ready analytical code (e.g. packages, microservices, real-time dashboards)
• Measurement and verification, and observation of energy systems through commissioning or verification.
• Experience with energy modeling and energy auditing. 
• Knowledge of relevant building energy codes and standards (e.g., ASHRAE, IECC).

Experience & Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree, or advanced degree preferred, in mechanical, electrical, or architectural engineering, science, environmental studies, economics, policy or professional equivalent.
• 5-10 years of work-related experience.

Work Environment:

• Fully remote position with the ability to work from home or another suitable location with reliable internet access. Hybrid work is available if located in Madison, WI or Chicago, IL. If in-office, expect a moderate noise level.
• Flexible schedules, meetings generally occurring 9–4 in Central Time zone.
• Requires a quiet and professional workspace for virtual meetings and collaboration.
• Travel up to 20% for fieldwork, in-person meetings, conferences, client visits, etc.

Physical Requirements:

• Primarily a sedentary role, with tasks typically performed while sitting or occasionally standing.
• Ability to operate a computer and standard office equipment.
• Ability to ascend and descend stairs, ladders, and into/out of vehicles as required.
• Walking, bending, crawling, stooping, crouching, squatting, kneeling, twisting (neck/trunk), reaching with arms, and reaching overhead.
• Tasks demand visual focus for reading, design work, and working on screens.
• Ability to distinguish between colors is essential for visual and brand design.
• This position frequently communicates via phone and video conferencing, with in-person interactions as applicable.

Slipstream is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all individuals feel valued, respected, and supported. We center community in everything we do and strongly encourage people of all backgrounds to apply and join us in our mission.  We welcome applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other protected status or characteristic under federal, state, or local laws.

Slipstream will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities to enable them to perform the essential functions of their position unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on Slipstream, or if it would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of the individual or others that cannot be mitigated. Questions or accommodation requests should be directed to Human Resources.

Please note that Slipstream will only contact candidates via the Paycom portal. We will never ask a candidate for payment of any kind as part of the hiring or onboarding process or send payment to any candidate prior to completing the hiring and onboarding process.

Applicants have rights under Federal Employment Laws.

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