Machine Learning Scientist

Remote-based in the US

Overview

Job Summary

GoodPower seeks a Machine Learning Scientist to expand what our teams and software can accomplish through applied research, predictive modeling, and intelligent automation. You will identify where Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning (AI/ML) can improve decisions, unlock new offerings, and reduce the time and cost of delivering our work. Your mandate spans clean energy planning, public participation integrity, media and narrative intelligence, and organizational effectiveness.

You will own the scientific development of ML capabilities from problem definition and experimentation through validation and deployment with engineering partners. Success means demonstrably better decisions, more useful products, and greater team capacity, supported by rigorous evidence and clear communication of uncertainty. The Machine Learning Scientist will report to the Chief Innovation Officer.

Key Responsibilities

• Translate user needs and strategic challenges into tractable ML problems. Establish baselines, define success criteria, and prioritize experiments by potential impact, data readiness, and feasibility.
• Develop models for classification, entity resolution, anomaly detection, forecasting, ranking, and risk assessment using text, geospatial, energy, market, media, and organizational data. Combine sources to reveal patterns that improve decisions.
• Select and test methods suited to the problem, from statistical models and classical ML to deep learning, graph methods, and LLMs. Demonstrate when added complexity delivers meaningful value.
• Use predictive models, optimization, and scenario analysis to evaluate options and allocate resources. Apply experimental design and causal inference where the data and assumptions support credible conclusions about intervention effectiveness.

• Build representative datasets, labeling strategies, and evaluation benchmarks. Prevent leakage and test performance across time, geography, groups, and unfamiliar contexts using validation appropriate to the intended use.
• Quantify uncertainty, calibration, and the consequences of false positives and false negatives. Develop approaches for limited or noisy labels, and define when systems should defer to human judgment.
• Make research reproducible through versioned data, code, and experiments. Document assumptions, limitations, and failure modes; monitor drift and use feedback to guide model improvement.

• Build retrieval and synthesis systems that turn heterogeneous documents and data into verifiable answers and actionable intelligence. Improve retrieval, ranking, source quality, citation accuracy, and faithfulness through systematic evaluation.
• Develop agents that use tools, models, and internal services to complete useful workflows. Define permissions, failure recovery, and human review for consequential actions, and evaluate complete task outcomes.
• Evaluate hosted and open-weight models, prompting, fine-tuning, and distillation against quality, privacy, latency, and cost requirements. Build reusable capabilities where they offer an advantage across use cases.
• Establish evaluation and monitoring for LLM and agent systems, including factual accuracy, robustness, task completion, and operating cost. Use controlled experiments to verify improvements before release.

• Shape reusable data representations, feature pipelines, retrieval services, and model interfaces. Introduce ontologies or knowledge graphs where relationships and structured reasoning improve performance or usability.
• Partner with software and ML engineers to move validated prototypes into reliable products. Define data and API contracts, deployment requirements, monitoring, and retraining plans while balancing performance, maintainability, and cost.

• Identify high-value opportunities beyond existing platform roadmaps. Propose new capabilities and research directions, define milestones and decision points, and help prioritize the AI/ML portfolio.
• Work with product, research, communications, and program teams to understand user decisions and constraints. Explain results clearly, challenge unsupported assumptions, and help colleagues apply AI/ML effectively.
• Define and track outcomes such as decision quality, predictive performance, user adoption, analyst time saved, and cost per workflow. Use evidence to scale successful approaches, revise weak ones, and stop work that does not deliver value.

Qualifications

• PhD in machine learning, computer science, statistics, or a related quantitative field, with 3-5 years of applied ML experience. Exceptional recent PhD graduates with substantial applied work will also be considered.
• Evidence of turning ambiguous problems into rigorous experiments and useful AI/ ML capabilities, including appropriate baselines, validation, uncertainty assessment, and error analysis.
• Hands-on experience with NLP and LLM applications, including embeddings, retrieval-augmented generation, and systematic evaluation. 
• Strong Python skills and experience with tools such as PyTorch/ TensorFlow, scikit-learn, and pandas; proficiency in SQL, version control, and reproducible research. Experience deploying and evaluating models in real workflows, independently or with engineering partners.
• Sound statistical judgment and the ability to work with heterogeneous, incomplete, or noisy data. Ability to distinguish predictive associations from evidence of causation.
• Ability to own technical work, prioritize under uncertainty, and communicate findings to technical and nontechnical colleagues. Curiosity about energy and climate challenges and motivation to learn from domain experts.

• Experience with energy, climate, grid, infrastructure siting, permitting, regulatory, or public participation data; geospatial analysis, graph ML, or time-series forecasting.
• Publications, open-source contributions, or deployed projects demonstrating methodological depth, originality, and practical impact.

This description reflects GoodPower’s assignment of essential functions; it does not restrict the tasks that may be assigned. GoodPower retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position at any time. Employees must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship. GoodPower has a zero-tolerance standard for abuse and inappropriate behavior by staff members.

Compensation, Benefits, and Perks

• Annual salary range: $160,000-190,000, commensurate with experience
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employee and dependent premiums paid at 95-100% by GoodPower.
• 2-4 weeks of paid vacation annually, depending on seniority
• 13 paid holidays and 2 floating holidays
• 2 weeks of US office closure 
• 10 days of paid sick leave annually.
• 403(b) with 3% employer contribution/match.
• Charitable giving: 1:1 match for charitable contributions ($250 per year), plus 2 paid days off for volunteering.
• Education reimbursement up to $1,500 per year.
• Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings options
• Stipend of $200/month (for cell phone, wellness expenses, etc.)
• 8 weeks of paid sabbatical after 5 years of employment
• 8 weeks of paid parental leave

GoodPower offers competitive compensation and benefits packages to employees around the world. Because we operate in multiple countries, benefits will vary based on local laws, regulations, customary practices, and organizational policies applicable in each location.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement

GoodPower is an equal-opportunity employer that highly values diversity, equity, and inclusion and views the climate crisis as a social justice crisis. 

People who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), people who experience gender oppression, people with disabilities, and people who identify as members of the LGBTQIA+ community are particularly encouraged to apply.  

GoodPower is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with disabilities. Consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable state and local laws, GoodPower will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation to perform the essential functions of the position. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application or employment process, please contact hr@goodpower.org

Automated Application Review Disclosure

To help us process high volumes of applications fairly and efficiently, GoodPower utilizes Automated Employment Decision Tools (AEDTs). These tools scan, evaluate, and rank candidate resumes based on how closely their skills, experience, and qualifications match the core requirements of this job posting.

• Data Privacy: Your resume data will only be processed for this specific application and will be handled securely in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
• Human Oversight: Final hiring decisions are always made by a human recruiter or hiring manager.

By submitting an application, you consent to the use of automated tools to review and assess your application materials for this position.