Job Description Summary:

Position Details:

Visa Sponsored Job:

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Application Notes

Job Location:Boulder Colorado

Job Type:Hybrid 3 days/week minimum requirement in Boulder office

Position Type & Term:Full-Time Regular Term (Duration: 2 years; Possibility of renewal based on performance and funding)

Application Deadline: This position will be posted until 11:59 PM MT on Sunday December 21 2025.

Required application materials: (preferably uploaded as a PDF):

• Resume/CV
• Cover Letter - Please address how your skills and experience meet the needs of this position (for more information please refer to the Key Responsibilities and Knowledge Skills and Abilities sections of this job posting).

Visa Sponsorship: Available to eligible candidate

*Please note: UCAR can sponsor individuals for H-1B status only if they are already in the U.S. in H-1B status or another visa status that allows them to change to H-1B status within the U.S. UCAR is unable to sponsor new H-1B visas for individuals who are outside the U.S. and need to obtain H-1B status through Consular Processing.

Background Checks: Conducted for candidates selected for hire. Learn more.
Work Location: Regardless of flexible work arrangements UCAR requires ALL positions to be performed within the U.S. excluding U.S. Territories.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

The Project Scientist will join the Data Assimilation Research Section (DAReS) in the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL); a dynamic collaborative team advancing the science and technology of data assimilation (DA) for Earth system research. CISL provides high-performance computing data services and software engineering to support the atmospheric and related sciences community. DAReS develops and maintains the Data Assimilation Research Testbed (DART) an open-source
community software framework for ensemble DA. Our mission is to enable scientists to easily integrate observations with numerical models to improve prediction.

This role will focus on:

• Developing enhancing and supporting DA activities using DART
• Exploring AI tools for enhancing efficiency accuracy and diagnostics of the DA framework
• Leading and contributing to proposals peer-reviewed publications and community engagement
• Building strong collaborations within NSF NCAR and with national/international partners

Conduct quality collaborative research on scientific topics such as:

• Support ocean DA activities across many models such as MOM6 ROMS MITgcm etc
• Integrating new observation types (e.g. satellite remote sensing in-situ networks) into DART
• Implementation and evaluation of newly developed algorithms in DART
• Enhanced diagnostic tools for DA research

Develop and evaluate AI/ML approaches for DA such as:

• ML-based observation operators bias correction or model error estimation
• Surrogate modeling to reduce DA computational costs
• Advanced diagnostics using pattern recognition or anomaly detection

Lead and contribute to funding proposals. Serve and PI or co-PI on funded projects. Mentor students and early-career scientists in DA and AI-related applications.
Support activities of the DAReS team by guiding software development and documentation. Share research outcomes via publications presentations workshops and training sessions.

Designs and executes scientific analyses; develops and adapts and/or tests hypotheses models and/or tools. Contributes to papers reports technical documentation data sets findings and/or proposals. Mentors less experienced colleagues collaborates across disciplines and supports proposal development to advance scientific goals through high-quality methodologically sound work. Engages in mission-aligned activities both within the organization and throughout the broader scientific community. Contributes through a combination of scientific expertise professional service and education and outreach efforts.

Responsibilities

• Designing and executing scientific investigations or analyses using established and/or emerging methods to address defined research operational or applied science questions.

• Developing or adapting tools models or methods to support data collection processing analysis system evaluation or experimental workflows.

• Performing detailed analysis and interpretation of observational experimental or model-generated data contributing to new insights or improvements in scientific understanding.

• Leading or contributing to components of a larger project or small project teams through coordination of activities deliverables and technical direction across collaborators.

• Authoring or co-authoring peer-reviewed publications technical documentation data sets findings project reports and/or proposals and presenting findings in internal sponsor or scientific community settings.

• Collaborating across disciplines and institutions contributing technical expertise to team-based projects and enhancing interdisciplinary research or operational outcomes.

• Supporting proposal development and project planning activities by contributing to scoping technical writing and alignment with programmatic objectives.

• Providing technical guidance to less experienced staff/students mentoring on methods tools and best practices while engaging in and modeling inclusive team participation.

• Developing products tools instruments and/or technologies for projects and programs.

Requirements

Education

Ph.D. in atmospheric science oceanography hydrology applied mathematics computer science or a related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Knowledge

• Has solid knowledge in a relevant scientific field with an ability to apply theories methods or frameworks to complex or interdisciplinary problems.

• Is familiar with project planning and proposal development including scoping technical work aligning with program goals and supporting deliverable management.

Skills and Abilities

• Is skilled in developing or refining scientific tools workflows or models including quality assurance and integration with broader project efforts.

• Is skilled in using data analysis tools used for data preparation visualization or workflow automation.

• Is committed to mentoring with the ability to guide less experienced colleagues on methods tools and collaborative practices.

• Is capable of contributing to peer-reviewed publications sponsor reports or presentations with clear and accurate scientific communication tailored to varied audiences.

• Collaborates effectively within multidisciplinary teams integrating diverse inputs and fostering productive working relationships.

• Demonstrates the ability to design and carry out analyses or investigative tasks independently using established methods adapting approaches as needed.

Specific to this particular Scientist III role:

Required:

• Demonstrated experience with ensemble/variational DA and its application to Earth system models
• Experience developing and applying AI/ML techniques in scientific modeling or data analysis
• Strong record or peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations
• Proficiency in scientific programming (Fortran Python and scripting languages)
• Effective communication skills for technical and diverse audiences
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively and work in multidisciplinary culturally diverse teams

Desired:

• Experience with DART and NSF NCAR community models (CESM MOM6 WRF-Hydro MPAS)
• Knowledge of software engineering best practices (Git/GitHub workflows documentation)
• Experience integrating new observation types into DA systems
• Track record in proposal development and project leadership

Benefits Overview

UCAR affirms its commitment to employees through competitive benefits. In addition to medical dental vision retirement and life insurance UCAR offers a variety of programs focused on work-life balance and professional and personal development. These include:

• Tuition Assistance time off allowance to attend classes and other professional development opportunities.

• UCAR contributes 10% of your eligible pay into your retirement account; 100% fully vested on day one.

• Starting minimum accrual of 20 days of personal time off each year (prorated for less than full-time positions).

• 10 paid holidays.

• 12 weeks of paid parental leave.

• Short-term medical leave paid at 100% of your regular salary.

• EcoPass for local Colorado residents to use the Denver and Boulder-area transit system at no cost.

Commitment to Job Application Fairness

Applicants are not required to provide age or age-related information and may redact information related to age date of birth or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution from any submissions during the initial application process.

Some Final Considerations

At NSF NCAR UCAR UCP you will work alongside a dedicated team of professionals conducting critical research and community outreach to solve complex Earth system science problems including climate change air pollution extreme weather floods drought wildfires and space weather all with the goal of improving human life and reducing economic loss. Each of us from scientists to the professionals who support their work serves the public and a collaborative community of scientists in our mission to understand the complex processes that make up the Earth system from the ocean floor to the Suns core.

Flexible Work

At UCAR we are committed to supporting our mission by giving staff the flexibility to find the schedule and location that works best to maintain their own work-life circumstances and reach their full potential as professionals. Many positions within our organization are eligible for fully on-site hybrid (three days per week) and/or flexible work hours.

Equal Opportunity Employer

UCAR is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment and does not discriminate on the basis of race age creed color religion national origin or ancestry sex gender disability veteran status genetic information sexual orientation gender identity or expression or your intersection of identities you are welcome at UCAR.

Export Control

All positions are required to comply with U.S. export compliance regulations and work location requirements regarding access to facilities and research systems.

Work Location

UCAR requires ALL positions to be performed within the U.S. excluding U.S. Territories.

AI Software

ChatGPT and similar AI software are powerful tools that are changing theway society receives processes and leverages information promptly. While we acknowledge its benefits and do not restrict leveraging it with job applications we highly encourage a majority of the applicant material to be original work.