25-114: Satellite Remote Sensing Specialist for Weather Research Applications

Colorado State University • Fort Collins, CO

78d • $67,000 - $70,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) on the Foothills Campus at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, CO, seeks to hire a Postdoctoral Fellow to work on the development of physics-based approaches and machine learning methods for several environmental remote sensing applications. This Postdoctoral Fellowship is a 12-month appointment with a flexible start date between 1 January 2026 and 1 March 2026, and option to renew for an additional year contingent upon satisfactory performance and available funding. The individual in this Fellowship will support multiple projects funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as related to operational geostationary and polar-orbiting satellite programs (GOES, JPSS, and GeoXO) and will be involved in CIRA's global 3D satellite atmospheric cloud research sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR). Target projects include estimating quantitative global cloud properties with various satellite sensors and developing physical and statistical methods to quantify cloud characteristics. They will also explore applications for multi-scale weather research to offer critical new insights to existing environmental satellite data records together with in-situ and model data, utilizing physics/statistics-based approaches and AI/machine learning methods if applicable. The individual in this Fellowship will report to the CIRA Cloud Team Lead and will be co-mentored by the leads of the aforementioned projects. The objective of this position is to provide an opportunity for a motivated researcher to explore innovative approaches in several high-impact, cutting-edge environmental satellite data applications while working in a highly stimulating and interdisciplinary team environment. Onsite presence is preferred for this position because it requires significant collaboration with on-site teams, but flexible work arrangements including hybrid office/telework may be considered or negotiated.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in meteorology, atmospheric sciences, or a closely related STEM field. Applicants must successfully complete their Ph.D. defense before the starting date.
• Experience working in satellite remote sensing related to atmospheric clouds.
• Experience reading, writing, and/or manipulating scientific datasets for meteorological applications.
• Experience working in a team environment and communicating scientific results.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working with in-situ measurements for weather and climate research.
• Experience in computer programming for meteorological data analysis, preferably Python.
• Experience using statistical, mathematical, or machine learning methods with multiple data sources.
• Familiarity with development of atmospheric cloud retrieval products.
• Knowledge of atmospheric radiative transfer models.
• Experience writing for scientific publications.

Benefits

• Robust benefits package
• Collaborative atmosphere
• Focus on work-life balance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Industry: Educational Services
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree