Senior Research Engineer

Make a Difference for Climate and Equity — Join Slipstream as a Senior Research Engineer Apply your technical skills to make a real impact in the fight against climate change and the inequities of its impacts. We are seeking a Senior Research Engineer to join our Research & Innovation team. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, leading multidisciplinary projects, mentoring colleagues, and helping shape the next generation of climate and energy solutions. We inspire bold ideas to tackle big energy challenges. Our work spans energy efficiency, community energy planning, equitable building decarbonization, emerging technologies, and green financing. We collaborate with governments, utilities, and community-based organizations to discover, test, and scale solutions that work for real people in real communities. We are optimistic, inclusive, and ambitious about our impact—and we’re looking for someone who shares that drive. Our Research & Innovation team is a national leader in understanding the real-world impacts of new solutions for addressing climate change. We study, develop, and test the next generation of energy solutions across multiple sectors of the economy. Our ideal Senior Energy Engineer is an experienced technical leader who thrives in a collaborative, project-based environment. You bring deep expertise in building energy systems and enjoy tackling complex engineering challenges that advance energy efficiency, electrification, and decarbonization. You are equally comfortable leading technical analysis, managing multidisciplinary projects, mentoring colleagues, and communicating with clients and stakeholders. You're curious about emerging technologies, motivated by real-world impact, and excited to help shape new research, consulting services, and business opportunities that accelerate climate solutions. Unlike traditional engineering consulting, this role combines applied engineering, field research, emerging technologies, and strategic problem solving. Our engineers work across research, demonstration projects, policy, and technical assistance—helping shape how buildings and communities decarbonize rather than simply designing individual systems. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds. You are key to our success by demonstrating our values, engaging in our mission, and creating results that produce enduring economic and environmental benefits for all. While we’re mostly remote, Slipstream can only hire in select states (outlined in the application). Since much of our current work is in the Midwest and Northeast, being based in those regions is a plus. We have offices in Madison, WI and Chicago, IL. What You’ll Do Lead technical analysis and develop engineering solutions for applied research and consulting projects involving buildings, campuses, communities, and emerging energy technologies. Lead medium- to large-scale multidisciplinary projects from proposal through delivery, ensuring high-quality technical work, budget and schedule performance, and strong client satisfaction, while managing cross-functional teams. Analyze building and community energy systems with a strong focus on HVAC, controls, electrification, distributed energy resources, and other emerging technologies to identify, quantify, and prioritize efficiency and decarbonization opportunities. Design and conduct field studies and engineering evaluations to assess real-world performance of technologies, buildings, and energy systems. Translate findings into practical engineering recommendations that integrate proven efficiency measures and emerging climate technologies. Mentor and provide technical guidance to engineers and researchers across project teams. Present findings to clients, utilities, government agencies, and industry audiences through high-quality reports, presentations, and conferences. Identify, develop, and secure new research and consulting opportunities by contributing to proposals, cultivating client relationships, and partnering on strategic business development initiatives. Shape Slipstream's technical strategy by identifying emerging trends and opportunities, proposing new research ideas, and contributing to the growth of our engineering practice.