24-125: Satellite Remote Sensing Specialist for Weather and Climate Research Applications

Fort Collins, CO

Position qualifies for hybrid/in-office work

Yes

202402021AP

Admin Professional/ Research Professional

Postdoctoral Fellows

1

40

$67,000 - $70,000 commensurate with experience and qualifications.

03/10/2025

03/23/2025

The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University (CSU) is a multi-million dollar research organization located on CSU’s Foothills Campus in Fort Collins, Colorado. CIRA is a cooperative institute (CI) that is also a research department within CSU’s College of Engineering, in partnership with the Department of Atmospheric Science. Its vision is to conduct interdisciplinary research in the atmospheric sciences by entraining skills beyond the meteorological disciplines, exploiting advances in engineering and computer science, facilitating transitional activity between pure and applied research, leveraging both national and international resources and partnerships, and assisting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), CSU, the State of Colorado, and the Nation through the application of our research to areas of societal benefit. Expanding on this Vision, our Mission is to serve as a nexus for multi-disciplinary cooperation among CI and NOAA research scientists, University faculty, staff and students in the context of NOAA-specified research theme areas in satellite applications for weather/climate forecasting. Important bridging elements of the CI include the communication of research findings to the international scientific community, transition of applications and capabilities to NOAA operational users, education and training programs for operational user proficiency, outreach programs to K-12 education and the general public for environmental literacy, and understanding and quantifying the societal impacts of NOAA research.

The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) on the Foothills Campus at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, CO, seeks to hire a Postdoctoral Fellow to work on the development of machine learning methods for several environmental remote sensing applications. This Postdoctoral Fellowship is a 12-month appointment with a flexible start date between 10 March 2025 and 10 June 2025, and option to renew for an additional year contingent upon satisfactory performance and available funding.

The individual in this Fellowship will support multiple projects funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as related to operational geostationary and polar-orbiting satellite programs (GOES, JPSS, and GeoXO) and will be involved in CIRA’s global 3D satellite atmospheric cloud research. Target projects include estimating quantitative global cloud properties with various satellite sensors and developing physical and statistical methods to quantify cloud characteristics. They will also explore applications for weather and climate research to offer critical new insights to existing environmental satellite data records together with in-situ and model data, utilizing physics/statistics-based approaches and AI/machine learning methods if applicable.

The individual in this Fellowship will report to the CIRA Cloud Team Lead and will be co-mentored by the leads of the aforementioned projects. The objective of this position is to provide an opportunity for a motivated researcher to explore innovative approaches in several high-impact, cutting-edge environmental satellite data applications while working in a highly stimulating and interdisciplinary team environment. Onsite presence is required for this position because it requires significant collaboration with on-site teams, but flexible work arrangements including hybrid office/telework may be negotiated at a later time.

Reflecting departmental and institutional values, candidates are expected to have the ability to advance the Department’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Applied Research

45

Independent Research

20

Collaborative Research

20

Documentation & Reporting

15

Applications must be submitted via online portal. We will not accept materials sent via email or other mode. NOTE: In your cover letter, please specifically address the required and preferred qualifications of this position. A cover letter that fails to address the qualifications of this position may not be further considered after review by the search committee. Likewise, an online application with a generic cover letter or missing a cover letter, and/or an application that does not include current/correct reference contact information may not be further considered after review by the search committee. Please list only professional references who have worked or collaborated with you within the last 3 years.

CSU is committed to full inclusion of qualified individuals. If you are needing assistance or accommodations with the search process, please reach out to the listed search contact.

References will not be contacted without prior notification to candidates. Please note, applicants may redact information from their application materials that identifies their age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.

Pre-employment Criminal Background Check (required for new hires)

Linn.Barrett@colostate.edu, Jennifer.Raab@colostate.edu

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The Title IX Coordinator is the Director of the Office of Title IX Programs and Gender Equity, 123 Student Services Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523-0160, (970) 491-1715, titleix@colostate.edu.

The Section 504 and ADA Coordinator is the Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity, 101 Student Services Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523-0160, (970) 491-5836, oeo@colostate.edu.

The Coordinator for any other forms of misconduct prohibited by the University’s Policy on Discrimination and Harassment is the Vice President for Equity, Equal Opportunity and Title IX, 101 Student Services Building, Fort Collins, Co. 80523-0160, (970) 491-5836, oeo@colostate.edu.

Any person may report sex discrimination under Title IX to the Office of Civil Rights, Department of Education.

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