Title Data Scientist

INDEPENDENT ELECTRICITY SYSTEM OPERATOR (IESO)

Requisition ID: 18706 Location: Adelaide Temporary Assignment: Regular Business Unit: Planning, Conservation & Resource Adequacy

Why join us? 

You’ve got great skills. And you want to use them in an organization where you know what you do every day matters. We get that.
We also know that ensuring Ontarians have access to affordable and reliable power doesn’t happen by accident. So we give you the tools, flexibility and support you need to achieve your goals, and development opportunities to help you grow. You’ll thrive in a collaborative, team-based environment that values your unique skills and experiences – and recognizes that when you do better, we become even better too.

Who we are 

The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) works at the centre of the province’s power system, ensuring Ontarians have access to reliable and cost-effective electricity when and where they need it. We operate the province’s electricity grid 24/7, design, run and oversee the wholesale electricity markets, and plan and prepare to meet Ontario’s electricity needs – now and into the future.

The Opportunity

The Demand & Conservation Planning department is responsible for forecasting electricity system requirements in the near- and long-term. The work involves forecasting electricity demand and developing technical assessments that inform the implementation of resource, energy efficiency, transmission investments (at provincial, regional, and local levels), and of distribution connected non-wire alternatives.

The Demand & Conservation Planning department also continually develops and evolves its planning processes to ensure alignment with future resource generation acquisition activities, stakeholder expectations, and other processes within the IESO.

Within the department, the Planning Models & Forecasts team provides advice and support mid-term (0-18 month) and long-term (0-20 years) demand forecast models and tools. Their primary responsibilities will include a) supporting the Long-Term Demand Forecast Project design and implementation, b) supporting the production of long term forecast to be integrated in the IESO Reliability Outlook and Annual Planning Outlook and c) participating in the evolution of processes and tools used for long-term planning. As well as other duties as assigned.

This role participates in internal team discussions dealing with department matters, and works with other internal parties, sharing the team’s purpose and goals to contribute to the resolution of problems.

What you’ll be doing

The IESO is looking for a Data Scientist that will help discover the information hidden in the vast amounts of data across the organization, with a view of augmenting the IESO’s decision making with a data science mindset. The Data Scientist’s primary focus will be to apply data mining techniques, performing statistical analysis, and building high quality prediction systems that integrate within the IESO’s IT systems. Specifically, this role will support the Planning Models and Forecast team at the IESO, focusing on the development of the day ahead electricity market.

The list below broadly defines the Data Scientist’s work responsibilities:

Be an engaging member of the Demand and Conservation Planning department

Support the development of the Long-term Demand forecasting & conservation planning tools and forecasts

Extending company’s data with third party sources of information when needed

Enhancing data collection procedures to include information that is relevant for building analytical systems

Processing, and verifying the integrity of data used for analysis

Performing ad-hoc analysis using well defined data science techniques

Presenting analytical results in a clear manner using appropriate data visualization techniques

Identifying valuable data sources and automating collection processes

Undertake preprocessing of structured and unstructured data

Analyze large amounts of information to discover trends and patterns

Build and automate predictive models and machine-learning algorithms

Combine models through ensemble modeling

Collaborate with project teams and product development teams

Support the development of medium term (0-18 month) system-wide and demand forecasts, and supporting documentation

Support the development of long term (0-20 year) system-wide and zonal demand forecasts, methodologies, and processes

Perform other duties as required

What you need to succeed

BSc/BA in Computer Science, Engineering or relevant field; graduate degree in Data Science or other quantitative field is preferred. A curriculum or experience that includes exposure to power systems, electrical theory, circuit analysis, power system analysis and equipment, energy systems and conversion or economic analysis is preferred, but not a requirement

4 – 6 years of experience in a data science, planning, regulatory, research, or analytical environment is typically required to complete the responsibilities of the job. Experience in the electricity sector is preferred

Prior experience as a Data Scientist or Data Analyst

Experience in cleaning and performing exploratory analysis on large amounts of structured and unstructured data

Strong understanding of machine learning algorithms and underlying statistical concepts

Knowledge of R, SQL, and Python

Experience using business intelligence tools ( Tableau)

Excellent communication and presentation skills

Values:

Expertise with Humility

Commitment & Accountability

Genuine Caring

Purposeful Engagement

Openness to Change

Collaboration & Teamwork

Competencies:

Expert Knowledge & Capacity

Leadership: Informing

Priority Setting

Initiative & Creativity: Action Oriented

Judgement & Problem Solving

Professionalism & Self Development

Standing Alone

Directing Others

Service Orientation & Business Development: Customer Focus

Adaptability & Flexibility: Learning on the Fly

Interpersonal Skills/Team Participant/Active Communication: Approachability, Interpersonal Savvy & Peer Relationships

What’s in it for you

• A comprehensive total rewards program, including best-in-class benefits and a flexible workplace 
• A challenging, fast-paced and collaborative team environment, where your perspectives and experiences matter 
• Leaders who support your growth and success through regular feedback and coaching
• The opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in the industry

Deadline: August 29, 2022

For future reference, please ensure to save a copy of the job description as it will no longer be available once the posting closes.

At the IESO, we know that achieving great results depends on embracing diversity by attracting, developing and retaining people from a wide variety of backgrounds. We do this by ensuring our recruitment and advancement policies are fair and equitable, and by creating an accessible and inclusive environment – one that values every team member’s unique skills and experiences and ensures they have the support they need to achieve their potential. If you require accommodation during the recruitment process, please let us know. 

We thank you for your interest in a career at the IESO, but we will only contact those candidates selected for an interview. 

Note: The successful candidate must be eligible to work in Canada and will be subject to a background check.

The IESO commenced its 6 month Hybrid Work Model Pilot Program on March 28th, 2022. The Model allows for remote working up to three days per week, based on business needs. When working in the office, you will be located at Toronto.

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