Job Description
The Power Transformation Lab (https://pwrlab.org/) at UC San Diego studies the engineering and institutional requirements of deploying low-carbon energy at scale. We work across multiple geographies and with academic, government, civil society, and industry partners to advance research and solutions to climate and environmental challenges.
We are hiring student developers to support the RE-Pathway Website—a cutting-edge renewable energy analysis web platform with interactive visuals, a province dashboard, and exportable tables. Open roles are listed below.
Date Range: 11/01/2025 – 06/12/2026
Hours per Week: 10–15 hours
Position A — Undergraduate Web Designer
Duties
- Design and manage the overall look and feel of the website hosted on WordPress.
- Create visually compelling layouts, themes, and templates that enhance usability and align with branding guidelines.
- Customize and maintain WordPress themes and plugins to deliver a polished, professional site.
- Coordinate with the frontend developer to integrate interactive data visuals and ensure design consistency across static and dynamic components.
- Ensure responsive design for mobile, tablet, and desktop platforms.
- Apply best practices in UX, accessibility, and SEO-friendly design.
- Stay updated on design trends, WordPress innovations, and web usability standards.
Qualifications
- Proficient in WordPress theme customization, plugin management, and content structure optimization.
- Strong knowledge of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript for front-end integration and responsive design.
- Experience collaborating with frontend developers to ensure seamless integration of design and functionality.
- Familiarity with SEO best practices, accessibility (WCAG) standards, and cross-browser compatibility.
- Skilled in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, XD) or Figma for mockups, wireframes, and visual design.
- Understanding of UI/UX principles and ability to translate user needs into visually engaging layouts.
- Strong eye for typography, color, layout, and visual hierarchy that align with brand identity.
- Ability to create modern, mobile-first, and user-friendly designs that improve engagement and usability.
- Demonstrated ability to balance aesthetics with technical and functional requirements.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills for working with developers, content teams, and stakeholders.
To Apply
All applications must be made following the instructions on Handshake. Applicants should use the cover letter to indicate interest in one or more of the above projects, and to describe their interests and relevant experience.
Handshake job posting: 10410644 Handshake Application Link
Application Deadline: Oct 24th, 2025
Position B — Undergraduate Frontend/Backend Web Developers
When submitting a cover letter, please indicate whether you’re applying for Frontend or Backend.
Frontend Developer duties include
- Design, develop, and maintain an intuitive and interactive search portal utilizing frontend technologies such as JS, React framework.
- Collaborate with backend developers and data scientists to integrate text analysis capabilities into the search portal.
- Convert UI/UX design wireframes into high-quality, reusable code for user-facing features, enhancing user experience and accessibility.
- Optimize applications for maximum speed, scalability, and user-friendliness.
- Implement stringent validation for all user inputs before interfacing with back-end services.
- Stay abreast of the latest developments in web applications and programming languages.
Qualifications
- Strong proficiency in JavaScript (ES6+), React, and modern frontend frameworks or libraries (e.g., Redux, Next.js, or TypeScript).
- Experience implementing responsive, accessible, and cross-browser compatible designs.
- Skilled in translating UI/UX wireframes into clean, maintainable, and reusable frontend components.
- Familiarity with RESTful APIs and JSON data structures for integrating backend and frontend systems.
- Understanding of frontend optimization techniques for speed, scalability, and usability.
- Experience with form validation, error handling, and secure user input processing.
- Familiarity with version control systems (e.g., Git) and modern development workflows using tools like npm, Webpack, or Vite.
- Proven ability to work closely with backend developers and data scientists to integrate text analytics, search functionality, or other data-driven features.
- Experience with API-based communication and data visualization frameworks (e.g., D3.js, Plotly, or Chart.js) is a plus.
- Strong appreciation of user-centered design principles and ability to improve usability, accessibility, and overall user experience.
- Experience collaborating with UI/UX designers to refine layout, interactivity, and visual elements.
- Excellent problem-solving, debugging, and analytical skills.
- Strong communication and teamwork abilities in interdisciplinary environments.
Backend Developer duties include
- Design, develop, and maintain scalable and robust backend services for our visuals, focusing on handling and processing search queries from the frontend.
- Collaborate closely with the frontend developers to understand their data requirements and ensure smooth integration of the backend with the frontend.
- Maintain data storage solutions, ensuring data security and integrity.
- Debug and resolve backend-related issues, optimizing code for performance and scalability.
- Stay updated on emerging technologies and architectures in the backend development space.
Qualifications
- Proficiency in one or more backend programming languages such as Python (Django, Flask, FastAPI), Node.js (Express), Java, or Go.
- Strong understanding of RESTful API design, data serialization (JSON), and API integration with frontend services.
- Experience designing and managing databases (SQL and/or NoSQL), including schema design, indexing, and performance optimization.
- Familiarity with data security, authentication/authorization mechanisms (OAuth, JWT), and secure data handling practices.
- Skilled in server optimization, query performance tuning, and caching strategies for scalability.
- Experience with version control (Git), CI/CD pipelines, and containerization tools (e.g., Docker, Docker Compose).
- Working knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) or container orchestration (Kubernetes) is a plus.
- Proven ability to work collaboratively with frontend developers and data teams, translating data requirements into performant backend logic.
- Strong debugging and troubleshooting skills, with experience in monitoring, logging, and profiling backend systems.
- Clear communication style to explain technical concepts and trade-offs across multidisciplinary teams.
To Apply
All applications must be made following the instructions on Handshake. Applicants should use the cover letter to indicate interest in one or more of the above projects, and to describe their interests and relevant experience.
Handshake job posting: 10401918 Handshake Application Link
Application Deadline: Oct 24th, 2025