Research Scientist and Project Director - College of Engineering - Environmental and Public Policy

Carnegie Mellon University is a private, global research university that stands among the world’s most renowned education institutions. With ground-breaking brain science, path-breaking performances, creative start-ups, big data, big ambitions, hands-on learning, and a whole lot of robots, CMU doesn’t imagine the future, we invent it. If you’re passionate about joining a community that challenges the curious to deliver work that matters, your journey starts here!

The Department of Engineering and Public Policy (EPP) is a unique department in the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University which addresses important problems in technology and policy. We educate technically skilled students to be leaders in policy-focused research; we work on policy problems in which the technology matters.

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) seeks a Research Scientist to serve as Project Director for Industrial Futures within the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation. The position will lead research and programmatic activities at the intersection of industrial transformation, energy and climate, technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and regional economic development. The Research Scientist will lead the Industrial Futures focus area within the Scott Institute, working with faculty, researchers, students, and external partners across Carnegie Mellon and a network of domestic and international collaborators.

The position combines applied and scholarly research with project leadership, external engagement, policy communication, and mentorship. The Research Scientist will report to the Associate Director of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.

A central objective of the Industrial Futures initiative is to understand how technological change and the energy transition reshaping industry, firms, workers, and regions are — and how policy, innovation, and entrepreneurship can contribute to competitive, resilient, and sustainable industrial transitions. The portfolio connects research and engagement in Southwestern Pennsylvania and the United States with international research and partnerships addressing similar challenges around the world.

The Research Scientist will have substantial responsibility for two major components of this portfolio: CMU’s leadership of the INDABA Partnership, an international research collaboration focused on industrial transformation and decarbonization, and its links to CMU’s engagement in the Regional Technology and Infrastructure Consortium (RETI), which focuses on industrial innovation, hardtech entrepreneurship, and supporting policies. As Project Director, the Research Scientist will help shape the intellectual agenda of these initiatives while managing research programs, coordinating partners, developing new projects, and translating research findings for policy and practitioner audiences.

Core Responsibilities:

Research Leadership:

Develop, lead, and contribute to applied research on industrial transformation, energy and industrial policy, technological innovation, entrepreneurship, workforce development, and regional economic change.

Help define and advance the research agenda for the Industrial Futures focus area and lead or co-lead projects from research design through analysis, publication, and dissemination.

Conduct rigorous quantitative and qualitative research using methods appropriate to the research question, including quantitative empirical analysis, operations research, econometrics, labor-market and regional economic analysis, qualitative and interview-based research, and techno-economic or energy-systems analysis.

Maintain and develop datasets, analytical tools, and methodological frameworks that support research across multiple projects.

Develop and…