Electric Bike Research Intern

Overview

Put your passion and skills to work for the planet. Climate change is the most urgent issue of our time, and we need people like you to help us build a vital Earth — for everyone.

We’re Environmental Defense Fund, a fast-paced nonprofit with a growing staff of more than 1,000 people in nearly 30 countries. We deliver game-changing solutions that cut climate pollution and strengthen people’s ability to thrive despite the effects climate change is already having. We work wherever we can have the most impact, from local communities to top companies to governments worldwide, and even in space.

Our culture, values and commitment to diversity make EDF an exciting and meaningful place to work. Every job here makes a difference. Won’t you join us?

Responsibilities

Program/Department Overview

The Office of Chief Scientist (OCS) is the nexus of science at EDF, ensuring that the scientific backbone for all EDF policy positions is based on the best available information. To be effective in this role, OCS works with staff from across EDF and provides programmatic support for all EDF scientists as well as fosters relationships with scientists in academia, government and industry.

Overall Function

The Intern will research the environmental impacts of electric bicycles (ebikes), including the potential for ebikes to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve air quality and health. The project will include identifying and synthesizing existing information including peer-reviewed papers, reports, and surveys, as well as critical analysis of the landscape, including identifying gaps in the literature and opportunities/limitations around scaling the technology. The research will approach the question holistically, considering a variety of impacts including GHG emissions, air quality, resource usage, and traffic congestion. The Intern will distill the research findings into a report and presentation that provide insight on what the current evidence says about the potential environmental benefits of ebikes.

Key Responsibilities

Tasks will include but are not limited to:

• Perform research on ebike environmental impacts, identifying and evaluating relevant studies, surveys, and reports.
• Synthesize key findings from materials in an annotated bibliography and identify study strengths and limitations.
• Analyze the available literature to characterize the current evidence around potential ebike benefits, and what uncertainties or assumptions may still need to be addressed.
• Interact with stakeholders to gather additional information or data as needed.
• Develop a report that distills the research insights, and give a presentation summarizing key findings.
• Participate in advancing EDF Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals in which people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected, included, and empowered to address the environmental and organizational challenges in alignment with EDF values.

Qualifications

• Must be enrolled in or be a recent graduate of an undergraduate degree program.
• Coursework in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Sustainability, Transportation, Urban Planning, or a related field preferred.
• Excellent independent research skills; able to find, interpret and summarize relevant scientific literature.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills required, including the ability to synthesize complex information and make recommendations.
• Experience with literature reviews a plus.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Must be well organized, motivated, and detail-oriented.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work in a team setting and have the ability to work independently when projects are due.
• Demonstrate self-awareness, cultural competency and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across diverse cultures and backgrounds.
• Demonstrate initiative and problem solving skills.

Location

Austin, TX (hybrid) or Remote – US

Term

12 weeks

Hours

Full-Time (35 hours per week)

Compensation

This internship would involve compensation for work paid at a rate competitive with leading non-profits at $17/hr.

Application Materials

Interested applicants should attach their cover letter and resume to the EDF application.

Pay Ranges

We offer a strong total rewards package encompassing competitive salary, robust benefits, and professional development opportunities consistent with a modern global organization. We take into account factors such as candidate experience, skills, training, internal team equity and local norms.

The pay range for this role is shown below.

Please note that pay ranges are country specific. As a result, the stated currency is not meant be converted into any other currency.

Minimum Salary

USD $17.00/Hr.

Maximum Salary

USD $17.00/Hr.

EEO Information

Environmental Defense Fund is an equal opportunity employer where an applicant's qualifications are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other basis prohibited by law.