Job Reference
322_25_ES_AC_R2
Position
Postdoc Researcher - Modeling aerosol interactions and feedbacks within the Earth System (R2)
Closing Date
Thursday, 08 May, 2025
Reference: 322_25_ES_AC_R2
Job title: Postdoc Researcher - Modeling aerosol interactions and feedbacks within the Earth System (R2)
About BSC
The Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is the leading supercomputing center in Spain. It houses MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, was a founding and hosting member of the former European HPC infrastructure PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), and is now hosting entity for EuroHPC JU, the Joint Undertaking that leads large-scale investments and HPC provision in Europe. The mission of BSC is to research, develop and manage information technologies in order to facilitate scientific progress. BSC combines HPC service provision and R&D into both computer and computational science (life, earth and engineering sciences) under one roof, and currently has over 1000 staff from 60 countries.
Look at the BSC experience:
BSC-CNS YouTube Channel
Let's stay connected with BSC Folks!
We are particularly interested for this role in the strengths and lived experiences of women and underrepresented groups to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights in science and IT research. In instances of equal merit, the incorporation of the under-represented sex will be favoured.
We promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, fostering an environment where each and every one of us is appreciated for who we are, regardless of our differences.
If you consider that you do not meet all the requirements, we encourage you to continue applying for the job offer. We value diversity of experiences and skills, and you could bring unique perspectives to our team.
Look at the BSC experience:
BSC-CNS YouTube Channel
Let's stay connected with BSC Folks!
We are particularly interested for this role in the strengths and lived experiences of women and underrepresented groups to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights in science and IT research. In instances of equal merit, the incorporation of the under-represented sex will be favoured.
We promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, fostering an environment where each and every one of us is appreciated for who we are, regardless of our differences.
If you consider that you do not meet all the requirements, we encourage you to continue applying for the job offer. We value diversity of experiences and skills, and you could bring unique perspectives to our team.
Context And Mission
We are looking for an outstanding researcher to join the Atmospheric Composition (AC) group within the Earth Sciences department at the BSC-CNS. The AC group aims at better understanding and representing the spatiotemporal variations of atmospheric pollutants along with their effects upon air quality, weather and climate. This is addressed through the continuous development and application of numerical models over multiple scales, from weather to climate and from global to urban scales.
The successful applicant will closely work with other group members towards the goal of representing aerosol variability at multiple time scales across the 20th and 21st centuries along with the associated dust interactions across the Earth System. The position will involve 1) contributing to the development of model components—e.g. updating the natural aerosol cycle including emission, size distribution and deposition terms, refining interactions with chemistry, radiation and clouds, —and 2) research on dust effects upon climate, in particular through impacts on clouds (mixed-phase and cold clouds). The successful applicant will work with the EC-Earth Earth System Model (EC-Earth ESM), which is developed by the EC-Earth consortium, gathering a number of national weather services and universities currently across Europe including BSC. The successful candidate will contribute to ongoing and future national and European research projects addressing the role of aerosol species in the climate system. These include CERTAINTY and FOCI projects.
The successful applicant will closely work with other group members towards the goal of representing aerosol variability at multiple time scales across the 20th and 21st centuries along with the associated dust interactions across the Earth System. The position will involve 1) contributing to the development of model components—e.g. updating the natural aerosol cycle including emission, size distribution and deposition terms, refining interactions with chemistry, radiation and clouds, —and 2) research on dust effects upon climate, in particular through impacts on clouds (mixed-phase and cold clouds). The successful applicant will work with the EC-Earth Earth System Model (EC-Earth ESM), which is developed by the EC-Earth consortium, gathering a number of national weather services and universities currently across Europe including BSC. The successful candidate will contribute to ongoing and future national and European research projects addressing the role of aerosol species in the climate system. These include CERTAINTY and FOCI projects.
Key Duties
- Develop model components related to aerosol and its interactions in the Earth System
- Compile observations for model evaluation
- Run model experiments on the BSC supercomputers
- Evaluate model experiments with observations
- Develop original research and analysis strategies
- Participate in collaborative projects with partner institutions
- Present results at international meetings
- Publish results in high-impact peer-reviewed journals
- Contribute ideas for new research projects
- Contribute to the intellectual life of the AC group, including meetings and collaborations
- Other duties include contributing to the development common analysis tools; assisting in grant applications; and other duties as assigned
Requirements
-
Education
- PhD in Atmospheric Chemistry, Environmental engineering, Meteorology, Physics, or related discipline
-
Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
- Advanced understanding of atmospheric aerosol, particularly of dust aerosol and its effects
- Experience in atmospheric, climate, chemistry or aerosol model developments (min 2 years after PhD)
- Excellent computing skills in high-level computer languages (FORTRAN is required) (3-5 years)
- Experience with UNIX/LINUX environments and with scripting languages (such as bash) (3-5 years)
- Experience atmospheric science data formats (NetCDF) and with scientific software and tools (CDO, NCO, Python or R) (0-2 years)
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Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
- Previous experience on the EC-Earth model or any of its components will be valued
- Fluency in English
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Competences
- Very good interpersonal skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to take initiative, prioritize and work under set deadlines
- Ability to work both independently and within a team
Conditions
- The position will be located at BSC within the Earth Sciences Department
- We offer a full-time contract (37.5h/week), a good working environment, a highly stimulating environment with state-of-the-art infrastructure, flexible working hours, extensive training plan, restaurant tickets, private health insurance, support to the relocation procedures
- Duration: Open-ended contract due to technical and scientific activities linked to the project and budget duration
- Holidays: 23 paid vacation days plus 24th and 31st of December per our collective agreement
- Salary: we offer a competitive salary commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate and according to the cost of living in Barcelona
- Starting date: asap
Applications procedure and process
All applications must be submitted via the BSC website and contain:
The selection will be carried out through a competitive examination system ("Concurso-Oposición"). The recruitment process consists of two phases:
- A full CV in English including contact details
- A cover/motivation letter with a statement of interest in English, clearly specifying for which specific area and topics the applicant wishes to be considered. Additionally, two references for further contacts must be included. Applications without this document will not be considered.
Development of the recruitment process
The selection will be carried out through a competitive examination system ("Concurso-Oposición"). The recruitment process consists of two phases:
- Curriculum Analysis: Evaluation of previous experience and/or scientific history, degree, training, and other professional information relevant to the position. - 40 points
- Interview phase: The highest-rated candidates at the curriculum level will be invited to the interview phase, conducted by the corresponding department and Human Resources. In this phase, technical competencies, knowledge, skills, and professional experience related to the position, as well as the required personal competencies, will be evaluated. - 60 points. A minimum of 30 points out of 60 must be obtained to be eligible for the position.
The recruitment panel will be composed of at least three people, ensuring at least 25% representation of women.
In accordance with OTM-R principles, a gender-balanced recruitment panel is formed for each vacancy at the beginning of the process. After reviewing the content of the applications, the panel will begin the interviews, with at least one technical and one administrative interview. At a minimum, a personality questionnaire as well as a technical exercise will be conducted during the process.
The panel will make a final decision, and all individuals who participated in the interview phase will receive feedback with details on the acceptance or rejection of their profile.
At BSC, we seek continuous improvement in our recruitment processes. For any suggestions or comments/complaints about our recruitment processes, please contact recruitment [at] bsc [dot] es.
For more information, please follow this link.
Deadline
The vacancy will remain open until a suitable candidate has been hired. Applications will be regularly reviewed and potential candidates will be contacted.
OTM-R principles for selection processes
BSC-CNS is committed to the principles of the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers of the European Commission and the Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment principles (OTM-R). This is applied for any potential candidate in all our processes, for example by creating gender-balanced recruitment panels and recognizing career breaks etc.
BSC-CNS is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by applicable state or local law.
For more information follow this link
BSC-CNS is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by applicable state or local law.
For more information follow this link