Postdoctoral Scholar

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• If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants.

 

Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.

This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the term length discussed will be based on university need, performance, and/or availability of funding.

 

POSITION SPECIFICS

Postdoctoral Scholar in Utility Workforce Forecasting

Position Summary

The Pennsylvania State University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar position to join the Energy Workforce and Grid Resilience Initiative, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The interdisciplinary team will examine one of the most pressing challenges facing the U.S. electric power sector: the simultaneous transition of the retiring utility workforce and the increasing demands placed on energy infrastructure by climate-related disruptions and rapidly growing electricity demand. As large numbers of experienced utility workers approach retirement, utilities face significant challenges in workforce succession, knowledge transfer, recruitment, and long-term workforce planning.

The Postdoctoral Scholar will play a leading role in modeling and forecasting the hiring and retiring workforce trends in the utility sector using machine learning models. The scholar will also help the development of an innovative forecasting platform that integrates workforce projections with energy system modeling outputs. This position is ideal for quantitatively oriented scholars interested in workforce and labor market dynamics, with expertise in areas such as forecasting, demographic modeling, applied statistics, econometrics, or machine learning.

Primary Responsibilities

The Postdoctoral Scholar will:

• Lead analyses to forecast state-level and national electric utility workforce trends (e.g., in 5 and 10 years) related to retirement and hiring

• Manage large-scale education, labor market, and energy-sector datasets (e.g, the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data)

• Develop and compare forecasting approaches, including traditional time-series models (e.g., ARIMA, VAR) and machine learning methods (e.g., Random Forest, LSTM).
• Contributes to analyses examining workforce resilience under alternative energy, climate, and labor market scenarios.
• Support other analyses examining workforce behaviors, including knowledge transfer and sharing within utility organizations.
• Prepare technical reports, data visualizations, dashboards, manuscripts, and conference presentations.
• Assist with coordination of project activities and collaboration with partners.

Required Qualifications

Applicants must have:

• Ph.D. (by start date) in Economics, Demography/Population Studies, Statistics, Data Science, Public Policy, Labor and Employment Relations/Industrial Relations, Workforce Development, Business Analytics/Management Science, Sociology, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated expertise in quantitative modeling, with experience in one or more of the following areas: time-series forecasting, predictive modeling, machine learning, labor market analysis, demographic modeling, or workforce analytics.
• Experience working with large-scale labor market, demographic, or administrative datasets.
• Proficiency in R, Python, Stata, or similar statistical software.

• Evidence of scholarly productivity and ability to contribute to research dissemination

• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in interdisciplinary research environments.

Preferred Qualifications

Preference may be given to candidates with:

• Experience conducting workforce or demographic forecasting or labor market projections using machine learning approaches
• Experience using federal or state employment, labor, and/or education datasets or related data sources.
• Knowledge of workforce development and/or energy workforce issues.
• Interest in translating research findings into tools, models, and policy recommendations.

Appointment Information

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible, postdoctoral appointment. The position is intended to support the scholar's development as an independent researcher alongside collaborative work with faculty.  All postdoctoral appointees at Penn State benefit from extensive career support through the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, including mentorship training, individualized career coaching, and career development workshops. Professional development opportunities are available through Penn State’s postdoctoral community and interdisciplinary research ecosystem.

Application Materials

Applicants should submit:

• Cover letter describing research interests, experience, and methodological expertise, and fit with this position
• Curriculum Vitae
• One representative writing sample (candidates should describe their contributions to this manuscript in the cover letter)
• Names and contact information for three professional references

System limitations allow for a total of 5 documents (5MB per document) as part of your application. Please combine materials to meet the 5-document limit.

 

Priority consideration is given to applications received by Nov 20. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.

 

BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

 

 

 

BENEFITS

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being.

 

For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page. (Note: For Postdoctoral benefits, please see our Postdoctoral Benefits page.)

 

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