Job Description

Where You Will Work:

Located in Boulder, Colorado, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is one of the world’s premier scientific institutions, with an internationally recognized staff and research program dedicated to advancing knowledge, providing community-based resources, and building human capacity in the atmospheric and related sciences. NCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).

ACOM’s research focuses on advancing understanding and predictive capability for atmospheric composition and related processes. Research is organized around two major themes – Air Quality Prediction and Weather- Chemistry-Climate Interactions.

ACOM scientists work closely with the wider research community, providing intellectual leadership and facility support for measurement capabilities, laboratory and field experiments and community atmospheric chemistry models.

What You Will Do:

This position supports the development, maintenance, and deployment of the Community Aerosol and Radiation Model for Atmospheres (CARMA) and the coupling within the Community Earth System Model (CESM).

CARMA is a sectional aerosol and radiation model framework that has been customized for representations of various types of aerosols and clouds. CARMA can be run as a stand-alone version and has been integrated into recent versions of the Community Atmospheric Model (CAM) and as part of the Community Earth System Model (CESM). This position will assist the design, optimization, testing, version control, and documentation of CARMA developments and the of coupling with CESM2.

This position supports ACOM scientific staff in the implementation of scientific parameterizations into CARMA and CESM. It supports scientists in preparing and running model simulations.  It assists in the development and modification of software related to analyzing simulation results. 

Responsibilities:

Provides software engineering development and support for the Community Aerosol and Radiation Model for Atmospheres (CARMA) and coupling to CESM. Works with scientists and senior software engineers to implement their algorithms in both CARMA and CAM, including coupling of aerosols, clouds, and chemistry and supports the functionality within CESM release versions. Implements regression tests for pre-existing CARMA models in CAM. Checks code into GitHub and merge with current CAM main development version. Manages CARMA GitHub repository. Assists in education of CARMA users.
 
Contributes imaginative and creative solutions to advance the coupling of CARMA aerosols with existing CESM components.  In collaboration with senior software engineering, provides software solutions to make CARMA workable with other dynamical cores / surface grids; provides software solutions to include CARMA emission description via CESM namelist. Provides software solutions to refactor CAM aerosol code to work with other aerosol models. Helps generalize the infrastructure so that additional science can be included in the model.
 
Participates in the aerosol software system design and associated software development meetings for Multi-Scale Infrastructure of Chemistry and Aerosols (MUSICA). Participates in MUSICA code design process, test development, and code reviews. Participate in code review and applies best practices and may lead, small group discussions. 

What You Need:

Education and Years of Experience

Bachelor’s degree in computer-related field and progressive relevant experience, which is typically gained by four to eight years of experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Desired:

Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Chemistry or Atmospheric Sciences
At least 4 years of experience (or equivalent) in software design, including production systems. Desired knowledge and skills in designing and implementing reliable, portable and efficient Fortran 2003 modules for complex geophysical systems.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge of state-of-the art software development technologies, e.g. revision control, testing, gathering and analysis of requirements, design, prototyping, integration and documentation.  Familiarity with multiple computer languages and build processes.
Knowledge of Fortran, c, C++, python, libraries, software frameworks, build systems, testing systems, and documentation systems
Knowledge of and some experience in some supercomputing programming environments including MPI, Open MP, NetCDF, optimizing model scalability and debugging capability of complex models.
Demonstrates skill in writing reliable, efficient and portable scripts using python and bash and working in a UNIX / Linux computing environment.
Proven ability to plan development work and meet deliverable deadlines.
Knowledge of test and validation software engineering issues.
Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Desired:

Ability to communicate with scientific developers and have a some understanding of atmospheric science and scientific modeling
Basic skill in written and verbal presentation of scientific results
Knowledge of graphical analysis tools.

Applicant Notes:

A cover letter is required.
An Inclusion Statement will be required for all applicants advancing to an in-person interview. If requested, this statement should address past efforts, as well as future vision and plans to advocate for and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the organization and/or field of work.
A pre-employment screening is conducted in conjunction with an offer for employment. This screening may involve verifying or reviewing any of the following relevant information: restricted parties screening, employment verification, performance records of internal candidates, education verification, reference checks, verification of professional licenses, certifications, and Motor Vehicle Records.  UCAR complies with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). 
Please note that while the position description details both minimum requirements as well as desired skills and experience, we want to remind applicants that you do not need to have all the desired skills and experience to be considered for this role. If you have the passion for the work along with experience in a related field, you are encouraged to apply. We can provide on-the-job training for the rest.