CPAESS/UFS Science Advisor

Job Description Summary:

UCAR is excited to announce the job opening for the CPAESS/UFS Science Advisor role with the Cooperative Programs for the Advancement of Earth System Science (CPAESS). This position is responsible for providing senior-level coordination and support of the collection of strategic and tactical requirements across NOAA, as well as leads and coordinates the various sub-communities under the UFS framework. In conjunction with the UFS Community Engagement Specialist, the UFS Science Advisor coordinates UFS strategic and scientific activities outside of NOAA, helping to bring cohesion between the non-NOAA community and the NOAA community as it relates to the UFS. The position communicates scientific results in both oral and written forms by presenting UFS at national and international meetings and in journal articles.

The position represents UFS in the science community and builds collaborative partnerships for the UFS within the broader numerical weather prediction (NWP) and Earth system modeling (ESM) communities, including those specialized in predicting Earth system components such as atmosphere, ocean, land, cryosphere, and their interfaces. The position coordinates and builds collaborations among UFS working groups and application teams and among various UFS research and development projects, in part by planning meetings and establishing formal and informal organizational structures that connect activities across these teams and working groups. The position also collects and synthesizes requirements, input, and feedback from various UFS groups for discussion in UFS meetings, workshops, and conferences.

CPAESS serves the Earth System Science community in three distinct areas of service. We partner with federal agencies and businesses to hire critical scientific staff enabling a more robust workforce. Through our scientific programs we seek to edify new research with our postdoctoral programs, our visiting scientist and internship programs, along with our interagency support programs. We also help build the Earth system science community by convening and managing summer schools and institutes, conferences, and advisory committees.

Position Details:

Visa Sponsored Job:

No

Relocation Assistance Eligible:

No

Job Location:

Boulder, Colorado

Position Type & Term:

Full time, Term - 6 months or more (Fixed Term)

Salary Range $111,246 - 139,056

*Final salary and rates are based on education, experience, skills relevant to the role.*

Application Notes

Application Deadline: This position will be posted until 11:59:59 pm MT on Wednesday, October 15th. Applications will not be accepted past this date/time.

Required application materials: (preferably in PDF Format)

• Resume
• 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). Additionally, please address the following question/prompt. Cover Letters that do no address this prompt will not be moved forward for consideration: Please share how you would go about collecting varying requirements and/or technical issues from stakeholders and how you would develop solutions (or involve others that could do so) to address those requirements and issues.

Background Checks: Conducted for candidates selected for hire. Learn more.
Work Location: This position is open to candidates seeking in-person, hybrid (combination of 3 days in-person and 2 days of remote), or fully remote opportunities. UCAR requires ALL positions to be performed within the U.S., excluding U.S. Territories. CPAESS staff deployed to federal agencies must abide by their respective federal agency requirements concerning remote/flexible work arrangements.

What You Will Do

Here is a brief summary of what one would expect to be generally responsible for in this role.

Key Responsibilities
Community Engagement & Communication

• Collects and synthesizes ideas, feedback, and requirements (both strategic and tactical) from the UFS community for discussion at meetings, workshops, and conferences
• Coordinates and provides content to the Community, Education, and Outreach Team on a monthly basis
• Represents the UFS to the national and international community at meetings, conferences
• Develops collaborations with national and international numerical weather and Earth System Modeling (ESM)  communities, to use common model components, infrastructure, and model testing approaches
• Contributes to the development and implementation of an external engagement strategy for the UFS to include industry, academia, non-profit entities, and other federal agencies in collaboration with the UFS Community Engagement Specialist and the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC) 

Team Management & Facilitation of Activities

• Monitors, coordinates, and reviews the activities of the UFS Working Groups, Subgroups, and Application Teams (invite quarterly updates, annual plans, assess and facilitate cross-cutting activities, resolve concerns)
• Establishes connection points between UFS Working Groups, Subgroups, and Applications Teams to ensure the activities of these teams support and reinforce each other
• Communicates activities, requirements, and needs of UFS Working Groups at conferences and UFS community meetings

UFS Governance, Strategy & Planning

• Coordinates the development, update, and tracking of the UFS Strategic Plan
• Plans and coordinates annual UFS meetings, where the UFS community will develop both short and long-term strategies and plans
• Leads the coordination and development of critical UFS documents; for instance, define standards, processes, gates and metrics for UFS testing and evaluation, from Research to Operations, in collaboration with the UFS Community and NOAA
• Leads and or assists with the collaborative process between NOAA and the external community of developing code standards and other policies associated with the UFS
• Works collaboratively with NOAA and external UFS recommendation bodies, aligning science priorities with operational forecast goals; 
• Reports biannually to NOAA and these bodies on progress of the UFS

Meeting Facilitation & Scientific Presentations

• Works with the UFS Executive Secretary and helps facilitate routine UFS community leadership meetings (with co-chairs)
• Attends UFS community leadership meetings and communicates annual UFS priorities, including: science advances, forecast advances, application releases, community meetings and forums to meet research and operational objectives, including from UFS Working Groups.

Scientific Team Management

• Ensures strong employee performance by facilitating goal development, regular check ins, quarterly performance meetings and annual performance evaluations.
• Serves as the hiring manager for relevant recruitments to ensure an equitable and fair search process.
• Consults with federal hosts as relevant to ensure strong partnerships and to resolve any issues that may arise.

Who We'd Love To Join Our Team

Successful candidates will ensure their application materials speak to the following criteria:
Education and Experience:

• PhD in a relevant science, and at least three years of experience in the scientific field of specialization; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Experience with building operational systems, services, and products related to NWP and reanalysis

• Experience with high-performance computing, cloud computing, data archiving and/or data services

• Experience working with funding agencies and other stakeholders

• Well-recognized contributions in the Earth system model and numerical weather prediction field

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• In-depth knowledge and understanding of Earth system and numerical weather model development, test and evaluation, and/or data assimilation

• Advanced skill to identify the needs and requirements of program stakeholder agencies

• Advanced skill in understanding and collecting technical issues and requirements from scientists and developers across the UFS community 

• Advanced skill in developing potential solutions, working with UFS leadership, federal agencies, and the Earth Prediction Innovation Center.

• Expert skill in gathering technical data, creating e-reports, and presenting findings to stakeholders.

• Advanced skill in strategic planning and implementation activities for the UFS

• Advanced ability to network with other federal and non-federal partners to build collaborations

• Excellent oral and written communication skills with advanced written communication in reports and publications to support findings. 

• The ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences is paramount.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work towards consensus, highly organized and detail-oriented.

• Knowledge of cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform, including concepts like IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS

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 Sun’s 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 pregnancy. Whatever 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 the way 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.