Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation.

The Opportunity

• Do you have a PhD in a relevant discipline area, such as numerical modelling in physical and/or biogeochemical oceanography or marine data assimilation?
• Keen to be involved in researching biogeochemical processes in Great Barrier Reef waters?
• Join a multidisciplinary team dedicated to publishing world-leading science and delivering important policy and decision-making information

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

A suite of marine models developed at CSIRO are being used to study ocean currents, waves, marine chemistry, optical oceanography and ecological processes. These models have been applied to complex scientific challenges including studying the impacts of catchment modification on the Great Barrier Reef, coastal impacts of aquaculture, and Defence applications. The Fellow will join at team of 15 scientists and software engineers dedicated to publishing world-leading science as well as delivering information for policy development and decision-making.

The CSIRO modelling system contains both Ensemble Optimal Interpolation (EnOI) and Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) algorithms (developed in collaboration with the Bureau of Meteorology) that can be used to undertake data assimilation of physical and biogeochemical observations into coupled hydrodynamic – biogeochemical models. The Fellow’s role will be to further develop the data assimilation system, including improving the model parameterisations and configuration, optimising the assimilation system, running the assimilation system on high performance computing systems and assessing the skill of the assimilation system.

The modelling system is being used by a multi-disciplinary team to interpret physical and biogeochemical processes in the ocean. In particular, the Fellow will use the data assimilation system to estimate the biogeochemical state of the Great Barrier Reef waters. It is expected that the Fellow will use the model outputs to improve our knowledge of ocean phenomena and to lead the publication of this work.

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as numerical modelling in physical and/or biogeochemical oceanography or marine data assimilation. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (full-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
• Experience in the development and/or interpretation of numerical models of the ocean and the analysis of large and complex model data sets.
• Experience in working in a Linux/UNIX computing environment and a high level of programming skills in languages such as Python, C, FORTRAN or MATLAB.
• Demonstrated high level written and oral communication skills with the ability to represent the research team effectively, including the presentation of research outcomes at national and international conferences and to policy and decision makers.
• Demonstrated ability to write peer-reviewed scientific papers, detailed technical reports and/or competitive grant applications.

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Your duties will include:

• Leading the development of novel data assimilation approaches used in the CSIRO coupled hydrodynamic – biogeochemical model (in collaboration with the CSIRO coastal modelling teams).
• Designing and analysing data assimilation experiments to better estimate the physical and biogeochemical state of marine waters, and in particular the Great Barrier Reef / Coral Sea.
• Effectively using High-Performance Computing (HPC) facilities and technologies for ensemble simulations and analysis of the outputs.
• Producing high quality scientific papers suitable for publication in high impact journals.
• Preparing appropriate conference papers and presenting the results at conferences.

Location: Hobart, Tasmania
Salary: AU$89k - AU$98k plus up to 15.4% superannuation
Tenure: Specified term of 3 years
Reference: 80690

Eligibility

To be eligible for this role, you must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or Australian Permanent resident or an Australian temporary resident currently residing in Australia.

The successful applicant will be required to obtain and provide a National Police Check or equivalent. Additional integrity checks may be required for specific roles which require security clearance for working with children, Australian Government cybersecurity requirements or other identified security roles.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and to ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

22 February 2022, 11:00pm AEDT