Python Job: Research Engineer

EnergyVille is a collaboration between the Belgian research partners VITO, KU Leuven, imec and UHasselt in the fields of sustainable energy and intelligent energy systems. For EnergyVille, VITO is looking for a driven Built Environment Expert with a strong technical background and a broader interest in the energy transition.

Our team focuses on Energy Transition in the Built Environment and its related EU policies and implementation in the Member States. As such, we support European, national and regional policy makers with innovative thinking and outreach, based on scientifically founded analysis and data driven research. The development and improvement of novel building performance indicators and methodologies fostering change in the building value chain are high on our agenda.

Are you keen on diving into novel Building Performance Methods as the Smart Readiness or Real Energy Performance Indicator? Are you triggered about the potential of the Digital Building Logbook, the Buildings Renovation Passport or how to process comfort and behaviour aspects within optimisation scenarios? Read on!

More concretely:

• You lead (with colleagues) research projects related to energy performance of buildings and approaches to accelerate the energy transition in the built environment; proven project management experience is plus.
• You dive into calculation methods and scenario development for smart buildings for better energy performance and you provide technical guidance to develop standards for zero emission buildings and energy performance thresholds for buildings renovation.
• Together with a team of colleagues, you are responsible for supporting national and regional governments in the implementation of EU building and energy related legislation.
• In this position, you also contribute to the acquisition of projects and the writing of research proposals with the aim of securing future research funding.
• You will be part of national and international consortia and build a network with relevant Belgian and international stakeholders and customers.
• You will prepare descriptive and analytical reports, translating the outcome of your analytical work into concrete policy recommendations.
• You can be asked to present your work to clients, stakeholders, and also to peers on national and international fora.

Together with colleagues …

• You will monitor and evaluate the implementation of renovation policies such as the national long-term renovation strategies and the renovation component of the national recovery and resilience plans.
• You will use different quantitative methods and statistical approaches to support, for example, stochastic cost-benefit analysis of countries’ energy and climate policies, as well as estimating the impacts of these policies on greenhouse gas emissions.
• You convert the knowledge you have gained into tools and methods applicable in research projects and consultancy for public authorities.
• You will interact with stakeholders and policy makers to collect viewpoints on, for example, barriers and enablers in the policy landscape of the Renovation Wave, REPowerEU and Fit For 55.

Functievereisten

• You hold at a minimum a Master's degree in a relevant field.
• You have at least 4 years of relevant work experience in the construction or energy environment, either from a research, policy or industry perspective.
• You have interest and affinity with building performance related research.
• You have experience or affinity with policy development or support in the fields of built environment or the energy transition. You are a flexible team player who can manage challenging projects.
• You are communicative and can express yourself fluently in English (written and spoken). Knowledge of Dutch or other EU languages is an asset.
• Experience with working on assignments for the European Commission is of added value.
• Knowledge of programming (Matlab, Python), mathematical models and statistical analysis (SPSS, R, etc.) are an asset.

Examples of projects

In the project X-tendo, we introduced ten features of the next generation of energy performance certificates, to provide public authorities with improved compliance, reliability, usability and convergence of next-generation energy performance assessment and certification.

In the Smart Readiness Indicator technical support studies for the European Commission we investigated the possible scope and characteristics of the SRI. This was followed by a study on technical inputs needed to refine and finalize the definition of the SRI and the associated calculation methodology, further exploring options for the implementation of the SRI and evaluating their impact on EU level. This in order for the Commission services to assess the technical modalities of an effective implementation of the SRI scheme.

Offer

• You have real impact as you look for innovative solutions for today's challenges.
• You are supported by helpful colleagues that are eager to share their expertise in the field.
• You will be part of an organization where we show integrity and always strive for mutual benefit in close cooperation with all parties involved.
• VITO/EnergyVille is an international organisation: 40 different nationalities work with us.
• We work ‘activity based’: our activities determine our workplace. On average we meet 2 times a week in our office in Genk. For the other days you can work from home, Genk or work remotely at one of our satellite offices (for example Antwerpen-Berchem) depending on the needs of the activity.
• You will learn life-long and develop your skills further by using the newest of the latest technologies that you can test on the market yourself.
• We consider work-life balance to be of paramount importance at VITO. We are open to discuss your needs at any time and we have a flexible approach to finding solutions.

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: €2,483.89 - €5,062.72 per month