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Policy Analysis Intern

As a leader in advancing New York’s energy transition, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has remained a credible, objective and trusted partner in ours state’s energy planning as well as deploying new and innovative technologies to expand New York’s economy. NYSERDA has worked for the past 50 years to protect the environment and help New Yorkers increase energy efficiency, lower energy costs and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. NYSERDA engages with stakeholders including residents, business owners, developers, community leaders, local government officials, universities, utilities, investors, entrepreneurs, and more, to develop, invest, and foster conditions that: 

  • Attract the private sector capital investment needed to expand New York’s clean energy economy. 
  • Overcome barriers to using clean energy at a large-scale in New York. 
  • Enable New York’s communities and residents to benefit equitably in the clean energy transition. 

INTERNSHIP OVERVIEW

The Policy Analysis team within the Policy, Analysis and Research unit analyzes policies and programs related to energy use, supply, and greenhouse gas emissions across New York state. This includes forecasting buildings adoption of clean energy technologies and energy demand under different policy scenarios as part of NYSERDA studies and planning exercises. The Policy Analysis team works closely with Buildings program teams to incorporate program findings and data into the modeling framework. The intern will provide support of buildings data analysis and policy model software development used for buildings policy analysis.

The intern’s work will improve the buildings functioning of three modeling tools used by NYSERDA to simulate the effects of possible future policy conditions on technology adoption, energy use, demand, greenhouse gas emissions, and co-pollutants:

  • An economywide model used to assess the State’s progress toward emissions and energy goals.
  • A regional buildings-specific model used to analyze the building stock’s energy use and demand under various precise appliance and envelope conditions.
  • A regional buildings-specific model in development that predicts appliance and weatherization adoption.

This is a paid internship for current students at an accredited college. The pay rate is from $18 to $20 per hour based on current class year. This internship will begin on June 1, 2026 and continue to December 31, 2026, with a possible option to extend

Interns must be located in New York State or an immediately adjacent state while working. It is expected that interns will follow our telework policy, with a combination of in-office and remote work. Interns work up to 18.5 hours per week during the semester, and the option to work up to 37.5 hours per week between semesters, when not attending classes.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The intern will conduct data analysis and coding work that will support the realism, integrity, and usability of buildings program data and surveys for the purposes of analyzing the building stock’s energy use, demand, and emissions (greenhouse gases and co-pollutants). They will work with NYSERDA staff and contractors on efforts to clean and quality-check data, and test, validate, and document analytical tools. They will also conduct analytical work and document efforts and findings in briefs for staff and management.  

Specifically, the intern will be responsible for:

  • Cleaning, re-coding and analyzing building electrification and weatherization program data 
  • Testing and validation of models and software used to analyze and forecast building decarbonization in New York State
  • Analyzing data, in particular data related to building energy performance to inform policy takeaways
  • Documenting and occasionally presenting work

The intern may also be involved in the following as time and skills permit:

  • Researching available data sources
  • Using buildings energy simulation software or analyzing its output
  • Supporting projects involving advanced statistical coding
  • Other energy research and data projects

 The intern will utilize R or Python and Excel to work with data. They will use Microsoft Outlook, Word and Powerpoint to communicate and document their work.

The intern will meet with their NYSERDA supervisor once per week and will attend occasional virtual staff meetings. 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

  • 1. At least FOUR undergraduate semesters, or TWO graduate semesters, in a degree that directly employs or overlaps with data sciences OR a degree related to the built environment. These may include (but are not limited to):
    • Data science
    • Engineering
    • Computer science
    • Public policy, economics, and other social sciences
    • Math
    • Physical sciences and biology
    • Public health
    • Urban planning
    • Architecture
  • 2. Experience with analyzing, querying, or cleaning large datasets and using at least ONE of the following data coding languages and platforms
    • R
    • Python
    • Julia
    • SQL
    • STATA
  • 3. Applied experience using Microsoft Excel and Word[P(1] 
  • 4. Strong quantitative reasoning skills and solid written communication skills
  • 5. Honesty, attention to detail, independence, and good coding and Excel etiquette5. Interest and passion in buildings, energy, climate, public policy, engineering, or social sciences
  • 6. Ability to demonstrate respect, equity and inclusive behavior and practices of a diverse workforce and community.
  • 7. Some familiarity with issues in building energy performance and decarbonization

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

  • 1. Experience with model development/testing 

Please submit two files, one for your cover letter and another for a resume, through our Careers page online.

(Applications submitted only through your school’s recruiting portal will not be considered.)

Please note that during the application process, you may be prompted to opt-in to Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) scoring. This is an automatic request in the ADP system but is not a feature that is used by NYSERDA in its recruiting and hiring process. Your response will have no impact on your application to NYSERDA.

Salary

The salary range is $18 - $20 hourly. Income is calculated based on class standing.