Climate researcher to support machine-learning developments (R2)

Reference: 90_25_ES_CES_R2
Job title: Climate researcher to support machine-learning developments (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.

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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

The Earth Sciences Department of Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-ES), led by Prof Francisco Doblas-Reyes, develops global climate models, among other research tools, to perform climate experiments at frontier (storm and eddy-resolving) spatial resolutions.

The Department is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to assist in the analysis of a machine-learning high-resolution global climate emulator that will be developed by a team of climate and computer scientists. The emulator output will be
compared to simulations performed with the IFS-NEMO global climate model.
The researcher will also collaborate with the team in the validation of a fine-tuned large-language model (LLM) to provide trustworthy climate information for climate
adaptation.

The position is linked to the work performed in the context of the Destination Earth initiative. It involves (1) the contribution to the development and leading the validation of the machine learning-based emulator of a global climate model with the ability to run at eddy-resolving resolutions, (2) comparing the physical performance of the emulator with that of the IFS-NEMO global climate model, and (3) the contribution to the development of the LLM for climate adaptation and leading to its validation.

The candidate will closely collaborate with the teams developing both the emulator and the IFS-NEMO physical model.
No previous knowledge of machine learning techniques is required.

Key Duties

Lead scientific analyses of the physical performance of the machine-learning emulator, with a special focus on the atmospheric and ocean circulation
Contribute to performing historical and scenario experiments with the emulator
Use model evaluation software within the AQUA and/or ESMValTool validation frameworks
Contribute to the process-based evaluations of the IFS-NEMO climate simulations
Provide scientific inputs for the development of the eddy-resolving version of the model IFS-NEMO using the evidence from the machine-learning emulator
Contributing to the fine-tuning of the LLM for climate adaptation and leading its validation
Preparing and submitting supercomputing access proposals to support the simulations and LLM tuning
Participate in the BSC contributions to several project deliverables

Requirements

EducationA PhD in atmospheric science, applied mathematics, engineering, fluid dynamics, or a related discipline
Essential Knowledge and Professional ExperienceProven ability to prepare and submit manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals
Experience developing experimental setups that address specific climate modelling problems
Experience in ocean/atmosphere modelling (or environmental modelling) and in handling climate model output
Demonstrated experience in high-resolution climate modelling will be valued
Programming skills: scripting (e.g. bash, python), data analysis, and visualisation software (e.g. CDO, NCO, R, Python, NCL) is required
Experience in handling large datasets and a minimum knowledge of the NetCDF format is required
Experience in HPC and parallel computing (multi-threaded applications) is required
Additional Knowledge and Professional ExperienceInterest in participating in the writing and, when possible, leading the preparation of research and computing proposals
Knowledge of version control systems (git, svn, cvs…)
Interest in tutoring and/or advising master and PhD students
CompetencesFluency in spoken and written English, while fluency in other European languages will be also valued
Highly collaborative spirit
Ability to work independently but still as part of a highly-coordinated 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: March 2025

Applications procedure and process

All applications must be submitted via the BSC website and contain:

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@bsc.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.
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