CIRES / NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory: Reanalysis and Reforecast Associate Scientist

Job Summary

NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL) is seeking a scientist to support production, evaluation, and refinement of reanalysis and reforecast products.

These products will range from full-input reanalysis similar to ERA5 and NOAA’s Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), to sparse-input reanalysis like the CIRES / NOAA 20th Century Reanalysis, to research and pre-operational implementations of NOAA’s flagship systems like the Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS) and Global Forecast System (GFS).

These reanalyses and reforecasts will be conducted with NOAA’s Unified Forecast System (UFS)- the next-generation global weather and Earth modeling system that couples atmospheric, ocean, land, wave, and ice models.

The UFS also leverages the Joint Effort for Data Assimilation Integration (JEDI) data assimilation software. The incumbent will work with an established team of scientists to exercise existing software on a diversity of High-Performance Computing (HPC) and cloud platforms, conduct data management duties, and provide scientific evaluation of the results across Earth system components.

The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to building a culturally diverse community of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to contributing to an inclusive campus environment.

We are an Equal Opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Who We Are

is an internationally recognized leader in innovative environmental science and research and is located at the University of Colorado Boulder.

At CIRES, more than 950 environmental science professionals work to understand the dynamic Earth system, including people’s relationship with the planet.

CIRES has partnered with NOAA since 1967, and our areas of expertise include weather and climate, changes at Earth’s poles, air quality and atmospheric chemistry, water resources, solid Earth sciences, and more.

Our vision is to be instrumental in ensuring a sustainable future environment by advancing scientific and societal understanding of the Earth system.

At the , our mission is to conduct scientific research to observe, understand, model, predict and forecast weather, water and climate extremes and their impacts.

Our vision is an informed society that uses science-based environmental intelligence to effectively anticipate and respond to threats and opportunities related to weather, water, and climate extremes.

Our research goals are as follows :

• Rigorously characterize and predict weather, water, and climate extremes and their uncertainties to support NOAA's mission.
• Develop new process understanding, observing, and modeling capabilities to predict conditions associated with too much or too little water for early warning, preparedness, resource management, and adaptation.
• Improve monitoring and prediction of weather, climate, and water conditions impacting marine resources.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

• Configure, implement, and manage production of reanalyses and reforecasts with the coupled UFS modeling system. (25%)
• Develop and use monitoring and evaluation tools to examine the quality of the reanalysis and reforecast experiments (50%)
• Work with a team of scientists to analyze reanalysis and reforecast data across the spectrum of Earth system components. (25%)

What You Should Know

This position will be rostered in CIRES, part of the University of Colorado Boulder, but will be physically situated in the David Skaggs Research Center, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305, which is a federal facility.

If you are the selected finalist you will be required to pass a federal laboratory background clearance for site access.

If you are selected for this position you will be required to pass a federal laboratory background clearance for site access.

Non-US citizens without green cards may have limited building access, and require an escort in the building.

This position can accommodate a hybrid work environment.

What We Can Offer

• We can offer a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package.
• The annual hiring salary range for this Research Associate position is $62,500 - $126,000.
• Relocation funds are available for this position following CIRES's and the University of Colorado’s relocation processes and procedures.
• We offer a collaborative working environment.
• Ample opportunities for career advancement.
• CIRES and the University of Colorado Boulder offer a robust training curriculum, opportunities for professional development and a Mentorship Program.
• Boulder is a vibrant community with access to mountain parks, dog parks, miles of trails, rivers, lakes, cafes, restaurants, boutiques, theaters, museums, and sports venues.

Boulder was recently ranked as one of the top places to live in the U.S. by

As an employee at CU Boulder, you receive a pass allowing free access to the regional , which is an outstanding network of buses and light rail systems that provide service within Boulder and connect to Denver, the Denver airport, and surrounding communities.

Benefits

The University of Colorado offers excellent , including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO Pass.

The University of Colorado Boulder is one of the largest employers in Boulder County and offers an inspiring higher education environment. Learn more about the .

Be Statements

Be curious. Be game-changing. Be Boulder.

What We Require

• BS in Earth system science or related field with at least 2 years of relevant experience or MS in Earth system science or related field.
• Experience with producing or analyzing Earth system data.
• Experience with writing software using a scripting language such as Python, MATLAB, R, NCL, or Shell.

What You Will Need

• Ability to work and communicate effectively within a team environment and to facilitate communications across multiple teams and multiple organizational units.
• Ability to question experimental results to ensure they are consistent with intended design of the experiment.
• Basic knowledge of Earth system models or weather forecasting systems.

What We Would Like You to Have

We invite applicants to apply even if they do not have the preferred skills and experience outlined in this section. If you meet the minimum qualifications and have passion for the work, you are encouraged to apply.

We encourage on-the-job training for any additional skills or knowledge that become relevant to the position.

• Hands-on experience configuring, running, and monitoring large modeling systems like UFS, GSI, or CESM.
• Experience using large-scale HPC supercomputers or cloud platforms, including Linux, batch schedulers, and workflow managers.
• Experience with analysis of at least one Earth system component (atmosphere, ocean, land or sea ice).
• Experience with scientific visualization and analysis tools, including development of tools in a Python environment.
• Experience with numerical weather prediction and data assimilation.
• Understanding of software engineering standard processes.
• Track record of peer-reviewed publications either as a first or contributing author.
30+ days ago