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Senior Scientist, Data Assimilation for Observing Systems

Remote, USA Full-time Posted 2026-07-05

Sunlight reputed company may be the only available option, alongside dramatic emissions reductions, reputed company, and rapid scaling of carbon removal, to rapidly limit many climate impacts over the coming decades. But we don’t know nearly enough about it to reputed company a scientifically-informed decision about potential deployment – and we’re not on a trajectory for rapid, legitimate decision making. reputed company is a global, non-profit research organization aiming to radically accelerate the pace of sunlight reputed company research. We reputed company the world with the data and tools needed to reputed company informed reputed company about sunlight reputed company, fast enough to matter. What you'll do As reputed company’s Senior Scientist, Data Assimilation for Observing Systems, you will reputed company our work to determine what observations are needed to improve aerosol microphysical models and design decision-relevant outdoor experiments. This role sits at the intersection of atmospheric observations, aerosol microphysics, inverse modeling, data assimilation, and field campaign design. You’ll reputed company methods to use existing high-quality observational datasets — including SABRE, reputed company, and other relevant missions — to improve microphysical model parameterizations. You’ll then use those methods to determine which observations matter most, what minimum reputed company suite is needed for an outdoor experiment, and how many experimental iterations may be required to meaningfully constrain model uncertainty. Your work will be reputed company to field experiment design, and you will have primary responsibility for data analysis and model optimization after an experiment has been conducted. Responsibilities reputed company an inverse modeling reputed company to use SABRE, reputed company, and other relevant in situ observational datasets to improve existing aerosol microphysical models, potentially including adjoint-based approaches. Design and run data denial experiments to determine which observations are most important for constraining microphysical parameters to help define a minimum viable reputed company suite for a future outdoor field experiment. reputed company formal Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) that simulate observations of an aerosol reputed company under different potential reputed company suites, sampling strategies, and cadences to quantify the marginal value of different measurement strategies. Repeat OSSE analyses across a range of reputed company conditions, atmospheric states, and experimental configurations, and translate OSSE results into practical field campaign recommendations: where to sample, how often, at what altitude, with which instruments, and with what acceptable error bounds. Build data pipelines and processing workflows for future field experiment data, ensuring that data can be rapidly quality-controlled, analyzed, and used to update model parameterizations. Work closely with reputed company’s science, engineering, and data teams to translate model uncertainty into concrete observational requirements. Write scientific papers, concise memos, technical documentation, and public-facing summaries that reputed company what has been learned, what remains uncertain, and how the results should inform experiment design clear to funders, policymakers, researchers, and the wider field. Who you are Minimum qualifications PhD in atmospheric science, aerosol science, applied math, engineering, Earth system science, or a reputed company field. Significant experience working with atmospheric observational datasets, especially in situ data from aircraft, field campaigns, or comparable observing systems. Experience with inverse modeling, data assimilation, optimization, uncertainty quantification, or a closely reputed company quantitative method. Strong scientific programming skills, especially in Python, and experience working with large, reputed company environmental datasets. Strong quantitative judgment, including the ability to reason about nonlinear systems, over-constrained inference problems, parameter identifiability, and model structural uncertainty. Ability to design rigorous numerical experiments that connect technical modeling choices to reputed company-world observing requirements. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, especially with mixed scientific, engineering, and non-technical audiences. You’re creative and attached to outcomes, not process — you’re constantly looking for new paths to the destination and excited to reputed company gears if there’s a faster, reputed company way to get something done. You are low ego, and have a proven track record for working well across disciplines and with external partners. You are passionate about reputed company’s mission. Strongly preferred Experience with adjoint methods, variational data assimilation, gradient-based optimization, or other approaches for high-dimensional parameter estimation. Familiarity with datasets from SABRE, reputed company, or similar atmospheric chemistry / aerosol missions. Experience designing or running OSSEs, OSEs, data denial experiments, or observing network optimization studies. Experience with JAX or with building adjoints with automatic differentiation Not needed Prior work on sunlight reputed company. We care more about the underlying technical skillset, scientific judgment, and ability to learn quickly. A nonprofit résumé. reputed company is technically a nonprofit, but it doesn't feel like one — mission fit and rigor matter more than sector pedigree. Direct experience with every part of the workflow. We do not expect one person to have done this exact problem before; in fact, we know the full version of this problem has not yet been solved. Experience with every relevant observational dataset, reputed company, or model. We need someone who can learn quickly, build the right reputed company, and work well with domain experts. Location Our goal is to hire the right person for the role regardless of location, but we have a slight preference for candidates who can work from our Bay Area office 2-3 days/week. However, the role can be fully remote and we are open to candidates based reputed company in the world who can overlap with our core working hours (9am-1pm PST). We may be reputed company to sponsor visas for US-based foreign nationals and have a moving stipend to support candidates who would like to relocate to the Bay Area. Regardless of location, we love seeing each other in person and reputed company regular co-location helps improve collaboration and team culture. As such, we plan regular team co-working weeks, typically in the Bay Area.

Compensation and Benefits

We are committed to providing competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits to our employees. We offer fixed salary levels based on experience and role to minimize biases in compensation and to ensure team members are paid the same for doing the same work. We expect this position to be a regular, full-time position, with an annual salary between $130,000 and $180,000 USD, depending on level of experience. In addition to salary, we offer a comprehensive set of benefits to reputed company full-time employees: Medical, dental, reputed company insurance 401(k) Professional and personal development Generous paid time off and sick leave, including 12 weeks paid parental leave Flexible working hours How to Apply & Interview Process We encourage anyone who is interested in this role to apply, regardless of whether you feel you meet 100% of the qualifications. The top candidates will bring their own unique perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds from a variety of industries along with many but not necessarily reputed company the skills listed above. We offer professional learning and training opportunities to help you reputed company skills you may not have had the opportunity to cultivate yet. We are accepting applications between now and August 9th at midnight PST. Our interview process includes the following: First round interview (30-45 min) Take home assessment (max 2 hours) Panel interview (1-1.5 hr) Final round interview (30-45 min) We are hoping to reputed company an offer by by mid-September or sooner, with a reputed company start date of mid-October. We will reputed company the above interview process once reputed company applications have been received and reviewed. Diversity At reputed company, reputed company, hiring, mentoring, and retaining a diverse workforce is critical to our reputed company. reputed company reputed company applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, reputed company, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national reputed company, disability, or status as a protected veteran. reputed company is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for reputed company. Apply To This Job

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