Postdoctoral Associate, Institute Global Sustainability

Postdoctoral Associate, Institute for Global Sustainability

Position Type: Full‑Time/Regular |
Location: Boston, Massachusetts |
Salary: $67,500–$70,000 per year

The Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability (BU‑IGS), in close collaboration with Schneider Electric’s Sustainability Research Institute, invites applications for a prestigious two‑year postdoctoral research fellowship. The focus is on advancing our understanding of the socio‑technical barriers, risks, and drivers necessary to accelerate the electrification of the economy and explore the benefits, barriers, and risks to electrical infrastructure. This position offers the opportunity to conduct impactful research at the intersection of energy transitions, social science, and energy and climate policy with direct relevance to the rapid global shift toward electrification.

The fellow will investigate the operational, regulatory, social, and economic challenges facing the emergence of the “Electrostate”: a deeply electrified society requiring robust transmission, distribution, interconnection, and distributed energy resource networks. The research will specifically target under‑studied, high‑impact sectors that represent a substantial share of future electricity demand, emissions reductions, and unique cross‑sectoral barriers.

The research project will involve three interconnected phases over two years.

• Phase 1: Systematic literature reviews mapping different aspects of electrification including technical readiness, growth trajectories, emissions profiles, and existing barrier/driver/risk scholarship. This phase may yield a comparative taxonomy distinguishing cross‑cutting challenges from sector‑specific ones, culminating in a conceptual framework to guide subsequent empirical work with attention to utilities.
• Phase 2: Stakeholder engagement through semi‑structured interviews with critical actors in selected sectors, informed by the systematic literature reviews. Thematic analysis will capture how different stakeholders perceive barriers and risks, revealing both points of alignment and tension while mapping influence networks to identify strategic intervention opportunities.
• Phase 3: Technology foresight methods and futures thinking with malleability to the interest and expertise of the candidate, utilizing expert workshops or public focus groups to explore how emerging trends and disruptive technologies might reshape visions of the future concerning electrification pathways. Comparing expert and public visions could illuminate democratic tensions in energy governance and inform practical engagement strategies.

• Compile a database of electrification stakeholders for expert interviews, illustrating influence networks and typologies across key sectors.
• Offer a systematic comparison of barriers, drivers, and risks in three “next frontier” sectors for electrification.
• Advance theory (and potentially methodology) for studying socio‑technical transitions in multi‑stakeholder systems, with a focus on practical intervention points.
• Create actionable frameworks for stakeholder engagement and public communication in high‑stakes energy infrastructure contexts.
• Develop dynamic foresight on disruptive and converging trends in electrification adoption and capture emergent visions of futures.

• Research Leadership:
  Ownership of a high‑visibility project with leading academic and industry partners.
• Professional Development:
  Access to BU and Schneider training, mentorship, networks, and funding for conferences/publications.
• Community:
  Deep engagement with Boston/Cambridge’s sustainability research community.
• Career Support:
  Guidance for both academic/postdoc and non‑academic next steps.
• Impact:
  Chance to deliver insights driving actual public policy and industry practice in sectors at the heart of the energy transition.
• Compensation:
  Competitive salary commensurate with experience ranging from $67,500–$70,000 USD per year; generous benefits package including healthcare options.

• Demonstrated expertise in qualitative research (systematic reviews, interviews, stakeholder analysis, and…