What are the responsibilities and job description for the Graduate Analyst Program position at Aurora Energy Research?
Department: Early Careers
Location: Austin, USA
Aurora Energy Research is seeking recent college graduates to join our Graduate Analyst Program based in our Austin office. Aurora has developed a market-leading suite of services which provide analytics and insights to players across the North American power markets – helping to shine a light on development across the power market and industry. Our services comprise Power and Renewable Market Services for the major North American power markets, plus dedicated services for Distributed and Flexible Energy. Together, these provide insights on the development of power markets and implications for a range of power assets, as well as for policy and strategy across North America.
As a member of our Graduate Program, you will apply the skills you have developed through your studies to solving some of our clients' most interesting and intricate problems. Through a mix of structured training programs and on-the-job learning, we will help you take your abilities to the next level, preparing you to build trusted relationships with clients, develop new business opportunities, nurture teams and communicate complex ideas with crystal clarity.
As a Graduate Analyst, you will have the opportunity to rotate through the following teams over the course of our 18-month program:
Advisory: Executing bespoke consulting projects for clients.
Research: Developing market forecast reports and original in-depth research on the future of energy systems.
The roles in more detail:
Advisory
Projects include valuations of energy assets, modelling bespoke scenarios and asset configurations and conducting analyses to forecast asset economics for investors, banks, developers, and utilities. Besides project valuation work, the Advisory team also works with governments and regulators on designing and evaluating energy policy. While most projects last for around four weeks, some longer projects, such as multi-client studies or longer pieces of policy work, can take a number of months.
Graduate Analysts usually work alongside another Analyst, and project teams are made up of Analysts, a Project Manager, and a Senior Associate providing oversight. Teams are re-formed for each new project, so you will get the chance to work with everyone in the wider Advisory team.
Research
In the research team, you will contribute to influential industry reports that clients use to stay informed about market and policy activities and to make investment decisions. Each quarter you'll be updating our latest view of the evolution of the power system to 2060 by modelling energy markets based on the latest assumptions on power demand, commodity prices, market activity, and policy. This involves a combination of desk research and modelling in collaboration with other teams. The Research team also prepares regular subscriber conferences which involve presenting in-depth and timely analysis on a specific aspect of the market.
Research teams consist of around 2 to 4 Analysts with oversight from Associates, Research Leads, and Market Leads. You'll work closely with this team throughout the rotation. The reports are read by subscribers from across the industry, including developers, utilities, asset optimizers, system operators, policymakers, regulators, and others.
Key Responsibilities
For recent graduates joining Aurora's Austin office, we offer an 18-month program of experience and development designed to provide:
- Accelerated training in how energy markets work.
- Involvement in live client projects.
- An opportunity to contribute to some of the most influential reports in the industry.
- A chance to build up your toolkit of analytical, teamwork and communication skills.
- An understanding of Aurora's structure and role in the industry.
Our Graduate Analyst Program is open to final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as recent graduates.
Applicants will need to be available to start the program in July 2025 when the program begins.
Required attributes:
- An ability to collect, analyze, and interpret complex information
- An ability to communicate and collaborate with a range of people
- A clear passion for the energy industry
- Evidence of strong quantitative skills
- Evidence of strong performance in team-oriented environments and project management (e.g. as part of a college project)
- Experience with statistical tools and techniques.
- Advanced knowledge of Excel
We strongly encourage women and candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply. There is evidence that people from under-represented groups may be less likely to apply unless they meet virtually every selection criterion. We urge candidates who meet at least some of the criteria to consider applying, especially if you are passionate about climate, energy, economics, data analytics, software, strategy, or consulting – there's a role that'll fit you at Aurora.
What we offer
- A competitive salary and benefits package.
- The chance to work in both our Research and Advisory departments.
- The opportunity to substantially influence major decisions in the energy sector.
- Direct engagement with clients through Aurora conferences, workshops, and webinars.
- The opportunity to grow into a publicly visible industry expert.
- A fun, informal, collaborative, and international work culture.
- A brand-new office space in the vibrant and culturally rich East Austin area.
- Access to the Aurora Academy, our training program offering a range of opportunities to develop your skills.