Postdoctoral Fellow

Job Posting Title:

Postdoctoral Fellow, Touma, 25-26

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Hiring Department:

Institute for Geophysics

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue Until Aug 31, 2026

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Location:

PICKLE RESEARCH CAMPUS

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Job Details:

Postdoctoral Researcher in Solar Climate Intervention

The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) invites applications for a postdoctoral researcher to study solar climate intervention impacts on hydroclimate extremes in the Earth system.

About the Position

Climate change continues to increase the risk of climate hazards that impact people, communities, economies, and ecosystems worldwide. While cutting emissions and adapting to climate impacts remain the primary strategies to mitigate this risk, scientists are also investigating additional approaches to reduce global warming through solar climate intervention (SCI).  SCI limits the increase of global temperatures by reducing the amount of incoming solar insolation, or increasing outgoing radiation, by altering the properties of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. However, the impacts of SCI on Earth system dynamics and hydroclimate extremes remain unclear. UTIG seeks a postdoctoral scholar who can advance ongoing work to identify and quantify the impacts and risks that stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), one method of SCI, poses on the Earth system. Specifically, the postdoctoral scholar will analyze climate model simulations to quantify the impacts and risks of SAI on climate extremes such as droughts, wildfires, extreme precipitation, tropical cyclones and compound events.

The successful candidate would work primarily with Dr. Danielle Touma (danielletouma.com) but will have opportunities to collaborate with other researchers at UTIG (ig.utexas.edu), across the Jackson School of Geosciences (jsg.utexas.edu), and across the wider UT campus. The postdoctoral researcher will have access to UTIG computing clusters as well as computational resources provided by the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC).

Candidates should be self-motivated and interested in a collaborative working environment, which may include working closely with faculty, students, and other postdoctoral researchers. Candidates should have a strong background in Earth system and climate science as well as expertise in analyzing large climate datasets and climate extremes. In addition to supporting ongoing work at UTIG, the successful candidate will be encouraged to initiate and lead their own projects with support from Dr. Touma and other researchers.

The position is open now and will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is identified. Start date is negotiable. The appointment is for one year, with anticipated extension contingent on performance, successful completion of the first year, and availability of funding. The successful candidate will have access to up to $3,000 to be used towards research expenses and professional development, and up to $2,000 for relocation costs.

Responsibilities

• Analyze climate model simulations (e.g., GeoMIP, ARISE-SAI) to quantify the impacts of solar climate intervention scenarios on hydroclimate extremes.

• Contribute to ongoing research projects using coarse and variable-resolution global climate models to understand impacts of climate intervention on the United States and West African climate.

• Collaborate effectively with staff, postdocs, and students in the research group and collaborators of the group.

• Present results to the scientific community and broader public through conference presentations and journal publications.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in climate/atmospheric science, Earth system science or a related field, completed in the last three years.

• Strong background in climate and Earth system dynamics and hydroclimate extremes.

• Strong programming skills including analysis of large hydroclimate datasets in Python or similar and creating analysis and visualization workflows on a computational cluster and/or high-performance computer with Linux OS. 

• Excellent oral and written communication skills and a collaborative working mindset.

• Strong publication record in closely related research topics.

Preferred Qualifications

• Research experience related to hydroclimate extremes including droughts, wildfires, extreme precipitation, tropical cyclones and compound events.

• Research experience in solar climate intervention.

• Research experience with running climate model experiments on high performance computers.

About UTIG

UTIG (ig.utexas.edu) is one of the three research units of the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. UTIG is a world leader in expeditionary-scale geophysical research, conducting research in four broad themes: climate, energy, marine geosciences, seismology and tectonophysics, and planetary and polar geophysics.

Salary

$65,000/year

Benefits

You will be working for a university that is internationally recognized for our academic programs and research. You will be part of an international effort at the forefront of advancing the energy transition. You will be part of a vibrant university experience that interweaves students, engineering and support staff and senior scientists. You will be part of a team, launching young people on their careers and advancing fundamental and applied science. UT Austin provides an outstanding benefits package including: 

• Competitive health benefits (employee premiums covered at 100%) 

• ​Voluntary Vision, Dental, Life, and Disability insurance options 

• Generous paid vacation, sick time, and holidays 

• Hybrid work schedule

• Teachers Retirement System of Texas, a defined benefit retirement plan, which includes employer matching funds

• Additional Voluntary Retirement Programs: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) and a Deferred Compensation program 457(b) 

• Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses 

• Robust free training access through LinkedIn Learning plus professional conference opportunities 

• Tuition assistance 

• Expansive employee discount program including athletic tickets 

• Free access to UT Austin's libraries and museums with staff ID card 

• Free rides on all UT Shuttle and Austin CapMetro buses with staff ID card 

For more details, please see: https://hr.utexas.edu/prospective/benefits and https://hr.utexas.edu/current/services/my-total-rewards

Working Conditions

• May work around standard office conditions.

• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation.

Required Application Materials

• Curriculum Vitae (including list of publications)

• Brief (~2 page) statement of research interests

• Contact information for three references

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left-hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled into your application. The application is one page, and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Please make sure you meet all the required qualifications and you can perform all of the essential functions with or without a reasonable accommodation.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length. This position has the option to elect the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) instead of TRS, subject to the position being 40 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.