MMM Postdoctoral Fellow I

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research • Boulder, CO

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

UCAR is excited to announce the job opening for the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology (MMM) Postdoctoral Fellow role. This position will contribute to research activities within NCAR’s MMM laboratory related to developing a GPU-compatible and auto-differentiable version of the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) using a higher-level, interpreted language such as JAX. The MMM Postdoctoral Fellow will interact with NCAR scientists, staff, and other postdoctoral fellows to advance the research over the position’s one-year term, and will be encouraged to present at scientific conferences, publish scientific papers, and pursue professional development activities. The mission of MMM is to lead and enable research that advances the understanding of weather and to apply this knowledge to benefit society. In support of this mission, MMM strives to produce accurate and effective computational models, data assimilation systems, and representations of unresolved weather model processes from local to global scales. We also conduct theoretically driven social science and interdisciplinary research that connects to the hazardous weather predictability and prediction capabilities. With extensive external contributions, MMM’s efforts have included development of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS), and sophisticated codes for cloud-resolving and eddy-resolving simulations. MMM continues to emphasize boundary-layer, turbulence and cloud-microphysics research. Eddy-resolving simulations of mesoscale phenomena such as tropical cyclones, mesoscale convective systems and fronts in the atmosphere and ocean enable research of multi-scale dynamics., i.e., a deeper understanding of interactions across a continuous spectrum of mesoscale and microscale atmospheric motions.

Requirements

• Ph.D. degree within the last 5 years or expected within the next 6 months in atmospheric science, computer science, statistics, or a related area.
• Advanced knowledge of numerical and computational techniques for fluid dynamics simulations, especially of the atmosphere.
• Advanced skills in developing and deploying computational simulations of physical systems on GPUs.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a research team.
• Excellent time management and organization skills.
• Demonstrated and effective written and oral communication skills.

Nice To Haves

• Subgrid parameterizations in computational fluid mechanics.
• Basic knowledge of physical parameterizations used in computational models of the atmosphere, or more generally subgrid parameterizations in computational fluid mechanics.
• Skill in developing efficient, scalable, and maintainable software for the simulation of physical systems.

Responsibilities

• Conduct independent and collaborative research in machine learning for prediction of the Earth system or its components.
• In collaboration with the PANDA-C team in MMM, develop machine-learning techniques that improve 0-12 h predictions of atmospheric cloud relative existing MPAS-JEDI baseline. These techniques may supplement components of MPAS-JEDI, or use MPAS-JEDI outputs and satellite observations as inputs.
• Prepare research results for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
• Present results at conferences.
• Assist with project reporting as needed.

Benefits

• health insurance
• dental
• retirement plan
• leave plans
• tuition assistance
• employee assistance programs
• Medical, Dental, Vision, and Short & Long Term Disability Insurance
• Generous retirement plan - UCAR contributes of 10% of base salary
• Minimum 20 days of annual PTO
• 10 paid holidays
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• FAMLI Leave
• Tuition Assistance Program

What This Job Offers

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