Scientist in High-Resolution Sea Ice Modeling (d/f/m)

Scientist in High-Resolution Sea Ice Modeling (d/f/m)

Background

The Climate Dynamics section of the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven, Germany, is seeking applications for a position focused on high-resolution sea ice modeling to prepare and conduct innovative kilometer-scale climate simulations.

The position includes the following responsibilities:

• Preparing the FESOM (https://github.com/FESOM/fesom2) sea ice model for integration into the next version of the IFS-FESOM coupled model
• Extending the model’s functionality by implementing advanced sea ice thermodynamics for coupled simulations
• Conducting high-resolution simulations with the updated sea ice model
• Contributing to the development of an AI-based emulator for the high-resolution sea ice model

You will collaborate with leading European climate modelers, computational scientists, and software engineers to develop Digital Twins of the climate system, supporting climate change adaptation efforts.

Your Tasks

You will be part of a large, collaborative team working on the development of the IFS-FESOM system, a next-generation kilometer-scale climate model that is a key component of the Destination Earth Climate Digital Twin initiative and several other national and international projects.

Your primary responsibilities will include preparing the sea ice component of the climate modeling system for the next, more advanced version. This involves optimizing ocean-sea ice coupling, adapting advanced thermodynamics (based on ICEPACK) for coupled simulations, and conducting ocean-sea ice and atmosphere-ocean-sea ice simulations.

Depending on your expertise, your focus may include the scientific evaluation of simulations or the optimization of the system’s computational performance. These tasks will be carried out in close collaboration and continuous dialogue with model developers. You will be expected to publish the results of these developments in the scientific literature. Additionally, you will support the development of an AI-based emulator for the sea ice model, a task undertaken by other project team members.

Your Profile

• A master in one or more of the following fields is required: oceanography, climate sciences, meteorology, mathematics, physics, software engeneering, computer science or related field
• A PhD in any of these fields would be an advantage
• Demonstrated experience of working with *nix systems
• Very good Englisch knowledge (C1)
• We follow good software development practices in our work, and expect you to have hands on experience with version control (git), writing tests, and creating documentation.

Moreover, having one or several of the following skills would be a distinct advantage:

• Experience with running geophysical models, especially those for sea ice, ocean, atmosphere, or climate
• Knowledge of sea ice physics
• Experience developing sea ice models
• Familiarity with unstructured grid models for ocean, sea ice, or atmosphere
• Experience with HPC systems
• Knowledge of FORTRAN and at least one other programming or scripting language (e.g., Python, Bash, or Julia)

This is a full-time position, limited to December 31st, 2028. It is also suitable for part-time employment. The salary will be paid in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Public Service of the Federation (Tarifvertrag des öffentlichen Dienstes, TVöD Bund), up to salary level 13. The place of employment will be Bremerhaven.

We look forward to your application!

Please submit your application by March 2^nd, 2025 exclusively online.

Reference number: 25/16/D/Kli-b