Principal Data Scientist

The Principal Data Scientist will join the FPL Grid Optimization team at Next Era Energy, Inc., where analytical frameworks and optimization approaches are developed to assess grid operating strategies, including their economic outcomes and reliability impacts. This role uses historical system data, optimization models, and scenario analysis, and partners with multiple internal teams to translate insights into updates to operating criteria and optimization model methodologies.

On the FPL Grid Optimization team, you will help build the analytical framework used to evaluate grid operating strategies, optimization performance, and the economic and reliability implications of planning and dispatch decisions. The work includes challenging existing operating assumptions and identifying opportunities to improve key system decisions.

• Provide thought leadership, set technical strategy, and identify potential applications for data science methods
• Explain methods and results to upper-level executives
• Develop machine learning, optimization, or other modeling solutions
• Oversee employee work related to the area, while learning new techniques being developed
• Prepare comprehensive, documented observations, analyses, and interpretations of results, including technical reports, summaries, protocols, and quantitative analyses
• Work with big data and distributed computing platforms
• Develop software and contribute to product development
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned

• Use historical system data, optimization models, and scenario analysis to evaluate and improve operating strategies
• Backtest operational strategies and build forward-looking planning scenarios
• Quantify cost and reliability impacts associated with alternative planning and dispatch decisions
• Identify improvement opportunities across generation commitment, maintenance scheduling, reserve strategies, fuel usage, battery utilization, and other system decisions

You will work closely with Grid Optimization, System Operations, Power Generation, Energy Marketing & Trading, and application development teams. The goal is to ensure analytical findings lead to changes in operating criteria, model inputs, and optimization methodologies.

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 6+ years of experience

• Master’s Degree
• Doctoral Degree

• Machine learning
• Optimization
• Statistics
• Applied mathematics
• Distributed computing
• Data storage infrastructure (Big Data)

This position is based at the LeJeune Flagler Office in Miami, FL, US and is onsite.