Postdoctoral Researcher: Inverter-based Resources (IBR) Driven Power System Protection Study & Stability Analysis

# **Posting Title** Postdoctoral Researcher: Inverter-based Resources (IBR) Driven Power System Protection Study & Stability Analysis . # **Location** CO - Golden . # **Position Type** Postdoc (Fixed Term) . # **Hours Per Week** 40 . # **Working at NLR** NLR is located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for energy systems research and development. Join the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NLR stands out in the research community for its commitment to an affordable and secure energy future. Spanning foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, we focus on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions. Our work helps strengthen U.S. industries, support job creation, and promote national economic growth. At NLR, you'll find a mission-driven environment supported by state-of-the-art facilities, multidisciplinary research teams, and strong collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories. We offer robust professional development opportunities, and a competitive benefits package designed to support your career and well-being. # **Job Description** This position is within the Energy Systems Control and Optimization (ESCO) group within the Power Systems Engineering Center (PSEC) at The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR). It will be dedicated to multiple high impact projects to advance the state-of-the-art transient stability studies in inverter-based-resources (IBR) dominant grids. The successful candidate will be the key contributors to those projects to develop. Job duties and responsibilities include: - Develop protective relay models based on vendor’s relay datasheet and manual - Perform comprehensive fault studies to evaluate the adequacy of existing protection schemes and propose improved protection schemes, and validate through simulated relay models and/ commercial protective relays in hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) for an industry collaborated project - Perform deep fundamental studies to investigate the IBR-driven stability from device level to system level and propose stability improvement control strategies for IBR dominant power systems with low inertia and short-circuit ratio (SCR). - Build IBR-dominated power systems EMT model in PSCAD and develop automatic script to run large set of simulation scenarios, and extract key features for studies (stability study etc.) - Lead and/contribute to journal articles, conference papers, and technical reports. . # **Basic Qualifications** Must be a recent PhD graduate within the last three years. **\* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.** # **Additional Required Qualifications** Mandatory knowledge, skills and abilities include: - Strong background of power system protection and good knowledge of protection relays (e.g., differential element, distance element, directional element, traveling wave based protection), and good hands-on experience with protection relay configuration and relay-hardware-in-the-loop testing and results analysis using Synchrowave etc. - Good knowledge in power electronics, control theory, and power system stability and familiar with IBR modeling, control, and stability analysis (e.g., small-signal stability analysis, transient stability analysis) - Good experience with short-circuit programs, such as CAPE, ASPEN and CAPE, and familiar with power system simulation software tools, such as PSCAD, PSSE, PSLF, Matlab/Simulink, RSCAD, and highly proficiency with python programing. - Excellent writing and communication skills - Ability to work independently and troubleshoot issues # **Preferred Qualifications** . # **Job Application Submission Window** The anticipated closing win…