Research Fellow, Institute for Global Sustainability

The Institute for Global Sustainability is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented recent master’s graduate to work as a Research Fellow, supporting interdisciplinary research at the intersection of clean energy, energy affordability, climate, environmental health, and the built environment, developed by the Clean Energy & Environment Legacy Transition (CELT) Initiative. Areas of work may include energy affordability and energy burden, access to clean energy programs, environmental exposures, climate vulnerability, heat, air quality, housing and the built environment, and disparities in environmental and health outcomes.

CELT BU DATA TEAM
Research Fellow

Location: Boston, MA (Hybrid)
Position Type: Full-Time
Salary: $62,000-$65,000

The Institute for Global Sustainability is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented recent master’s graduate to work as a Research Fellow, supporting interdisciplinary research at the intersection of clean energy, energy affordability, climate, environmental health, and the built environment, developed by the Clean Energy & Environment Legacy Transition (CELT) Initiative. The position will contribute to research and applied data analysis that supports policy processes within Massachusetts state agencies, cities, and towns.

The selected candidate will work with diverse datasets to better understand how energy systems, infrastructure, environmental conditions, and socioeconomic factors shape energy systems, health, equity, and quality of life across communities. Areas of work may include energy affordability and energy burden, access to clean energy programs, environmental exposures, climate vulnerability, heat, air quality, housing and the built environment, and disparities in environmental and health outcomes.

This role combines data analysis, GIS and spatial analysis, remote sensing, coding, and data visualization. The Research Fellow will work with large and complex datasets, including administrative, socioeconomic, energy, environmental, health, geospatial, and remotely sensed data. This position will support CELT’s mission by helping translate complex and spatially heterogeneous data into actionable insights for researchers, policymakers, community partners, and the public.

Key Responsibilities

• Analyze large-scale datasets related to energy use and affordability, energy burden, clean energy programs, climate conditions, environmental exposures, public health indicators, housing, and socioeconomic characteristics.
• Clean, preprocess, integrate, and validate energy, environmental, health, demographic, and administrative datasets to ensure data quality, consistency, and usability.
• Conduct GIS and spatial analysis to examine geographic patterns and relationships among energy infrastructure, environmental conditions, climate hazards, public health, and community characteristics.
• Work with spatial datasets at multiple geographic scales, including census geographies, parcels, buildings, neighborhoods, municipalities, and other relevant units of analysis, and incorporate remote sensing and Earth observation data when relevant for the analysis.
• Develop analytical methods and metrics to assess energy affordability, energy burden, access to energy efficiency and clean energy programs, and disparities in energy and environmental outcomes.
• Integrate geospatial, energy, environmental, health, and socioeconomic datasets to investigate relationships between infrastructure, exposure, vulnerability, and community well-being.
• Write and maintain code for data cleaning, analysis, spatial processing, reproducible workflows, and research reports.
• Develop maps, data visualizations, dashboards, and other communication tools to make research findings accessible to technical and non-technical audiences. Visualization will be used as one component of a broader analytical and geospatial workflow.
• Support the development of public-facing data tools and interactive resources that communicate energy, environmental, climate, and public health trends and program impacts.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams of researchers, policy analysts, data scientists, GIS specialists, stakeholders, and community partners to integrate datasets and develop appropriate analytical approaches.

Required Skills

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in computer science, data science, environmental studies, geography, GIS, public health, environmental health, energy policy, or a related field.
• Strong programming and quantitative data analysis skills.
• Experience working with real-world datasets, including data cleaning, transformation, integration, and quality assurance.
• Experience with GIS tools (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS) and spatial data analysis.
• Interest or experience working with remote sensing, satellite imagery, or other Earth observation data is highly desirable.
• Ability to work with and interpret data from multiple sources, including energy, environmental, health, demographic, and socioeconomic datasets.
• Familiarity with data visualization tools such as Flourish, Tableau, Power BI, or similar platforms.
• Ability to communicate technical and quantitative findings clearly to non-technical audiences.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple datasets, analytical tasks, and project priorities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Academic or professional experience combining computer science, data science, GIS, geography, environmental science, energy policy, public health, or related fields.
• Experience analyzing public datasets such as state and local energy program data, utility or energy consumption data, U.S. Census data, environmental health surveillance data, climate data, or housing and built-environment datasets.
• Experience analyzing energy affordability, energy burden, utility costs, energy insecurity, or equitable access to clean energy programs.
• Experience integrating spatial data into analyses of energy, climate, environmental health, or public policy issues.
• Experience with remote sensing or satellite-derived datasets, including land surface temperature, vegetation, land cover, impervious surfaces, or other environmental indicators.
• Familiarity with spatial statistics, geospatial modeling, or spatial data processing using Python, R, or similar programming languages.
• Experience integrating datasets across different geographic scales and developing indicators or metrics for policy analysis.
• Familiarity with web-based mapping, visualization, or dashboard development.
• Experience working with large, complex, or longitudinal datasets.
• Strong interest in climate policy, energy affordability and equity, environmental justice, environmental health, climate and health, or community resilience.

The ideal candidate will have an interdisciplinary background in data science, GIS, environmental studies, energy policy, geography, public health, or a related field, with hands-on experience analyzing and integrating diverse datasets. They will be comfortable working with both tabular and spatial data and interested in understanding how energy infrastructure, affordability, environmental conditions, and the built environment affect communities.

The candidate should be interested in using GIS, remote sensing, coding, statistical and spatial analysis, and data visualization to answer applied research and policy questions. They will be comfortable working across interdisciplinary teams, learning new datasets and analytical methods, and translating complex information into clear findings for researchers, policymakers, community stakeholders, and the public.

Experience with interactive visualization and dashboard development is valuable, but the position is fundamentally focused on data analysis, spatial research, and the integration of energy, environmental, health, and socioeconomic information. A strong interest in using data to understand and address inequities in energy affordability, environmental exposure, climate vulnerability, and access to healthy and sustainable infrastructure is particularly valuable.

The Research Fellow will gain hands-on experience designing and implementing analytical workflows and data tools for mission-driven research. The position provides opportunities to develop advanced skills in GIS and spatial analysis, remote sensing, energy and environmental data analysis, coding, data integration, and visualization, while collaborating with researchers and policy experts.

Through this work, the Research Fellow will contribute to research supporting energy affordability, environmental justice, climate resilience, public health, and equitable transitions to clean energy in Massachusetts. The role offers an opportunity to apply technical skills to real-world policy questions and help generate evidence that can inform more affordable, healthy, equitable, and resilient communities.

 

Application Process

To apply, please email the following materials as individual PDFs to IGS Director of Finance & Administration, Serrie Anderson, at igsops@bu.edu:

1. Cover letter articulating your expertise and why you are interested in the position
2. CV detailing academic background, relevant research methods expertise, publications, and presentations
3. A list of two professional references (including titles, phone numbers, and emails)

A rolling review of applicants will occur until the position is filled.

 

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor. 

Required Experience