What keeps me here at NREL are the people. They are wicked smart. They are passionate about the mission as well. They are caring. They are loving. And to be honest, they are my friends now. I'm proud to actually work at a place where everyone has the same mission to contribute to a clean energy future. So, I'm excited to come to work every day to tackle the next challenge, because there are plenty of them."
Watch: Senior Engineer Nicholas Long Shares Why He Enjoys Working at NREL
Our Employees' Perspective
Wendy Dafoe
Clean Cities Task Leader
If this was a place where you had to fit in a certain box and be in the office 40 hours a week, I'm not sure I could have fit in—or would've wanted to fit in. I am very fortunate to have worked for people who believe in job satisfaction and growing careers. They all made a major investment in not just helping me grow professionally, but making the job work for everyone. I can't believe how lucky I've been to have them all as mentors."
Xerxes Steirer
Post-Doc Fellow
There's a great support group [at the lab]. Scientists' doors are open, and you can talk to anyone. I can contact a dozen scientists within 20 feet. Working in the surface analysis group at NREL has been amazing—the tools and the expertise of the people have brought my game up. I feel much more empowered, much more rounded. I have a much broader understanding of solar cells. There is a genuine curiosity here to solve scientific problems. They'll ask me, 'What are you trying to test? How can you define the problem you're trying to solve in one sentence?' Those kinds of interactions have really helped me get at the answers."
Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug-Free Workplace
NREL is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status or any other status protected by applicable law. NREL is also committed to a drug-free workplace and complies with federal laws prohibiting the possession and use of illegal drugs. Learn more.