Postdoctoral Researcher – Political Science and Systems Engineering (AI and Energy Systems)

Location: hirify.global, United States. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Salary: $65,000–$68,000 annually, commensurate with experience, education, and qualifications.

Company

hirify.global is a research university hosting the NSF-funded DigiCARES initiative on AI-driven digital twins for climate-aware and community-centered energy resilience.

What you will do

• Conduct interdisciplinary research on energy justice, governance, and community resilience in cyber-physical energy systems.
• Design social science measures covering procedural, recognition, and distributive justice for digital twin applications.
• Use quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research with rural cooperatives and community stakeholders.
• Analyze socio-technical datasets and policy indicators to evaluate equity outcomes in energy planning and operations.
• Develop community engagement strategies, facilitate participatory workshops, and translate technical analytics for policymakers, utilities, and community partners.
• Publish manuscripts, technical reports, and policy briefs; mentor graduate students; and support grant reporting and project coordination.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in political science, public policy, economics, engineering, or a closely related field.
• Research interest in AI and technology governance, rural cooperative governance, community resilience, energy policy, energy justice, energy poverty, or energy security.
• Experience with qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods research.
• Technical competence in data analytics, programming, or modeling using Python, R, GIS, or similar platforms.
• Ability to collaborate across engineering and social science disciplines and communicate findings to academic, policy, and public audiences.

Nice to have

• Field-based research experience with utilities, rural cooperatives, community organizations, or government agencies.
• Background in digital twin platforms, cyber-physical systems, or energy system modeling and optimization.
• Experience with AMI, SCADA, outage, or public equity datasets.
• Success working in interdisciplinary teams and developing externally funded research proposals.

Culture & Benefits

• Interdisciplinary collaboration between engineering and political science faculty.
• Hands-on research with real-world utility data and community partners.
• Opportunity to contribute to an NSF-funded research initiative focused on equitable energy transformation.
• Benefits-eligible, full-time research appointment.

Hiring process

• Applications are reviewed on a continual basis until the position is filled.
• Applicants must submit a CV, cover letter, research statement, and publication, and provide three references.