Postdoctoral Research Scientist, OAE Process-Model Testbed
Boulder, CO On-site
$83,000–$95,000 a yearJobFig found this opening at its original source and checks that it remains available.
About the role
We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Scientist to develop a one-dimensional (1D) OAE process-model testbed within the C-Star modeling system. This lightweight, rapidly iterable modeling environment is designed to isolate and characterize the biogeochemical processes most critical to OAE efficacy in the vicinity of alkalinity addition: mineral particulate dissolution and precipitation kinetics, particle transport and sinking, electrochemical alkalinity addition, and sediment alkalinity cycling. The processes identified by the 1D testbed will enable increasing skill and confidence in estimates of total alkalinity delivery into the regional-scale water column, and act as a tool for uncertainty characterization. The resulting parameterizations will feed directly into three-dimensional ROMS-MARBL regional model configurations—ensuring that scientific advances made in the testbed translate immediately into improved operational MRV tools across [C]Worthy's full modeling stack. This project addresses a fundamental bottleneck in OAE science: the mismatch between the complexity of the relevant biogeochemical processes and the computational cost of resolving them in full 3D ocean simulations. The 1D testbed eliminates that mismatch, enabling rapid parameter sweeps, systematic perturbed-parameter ensembles, and clean comparison against laboratory and field datasets. The work proceeds in close collaboration with industry partners including Ebb Carbon, Planetary, and Isometric, who will contribute empirical constraints from field and laboratory deployments. We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Scientist to develop a one-dimensional (1D) OAE process-model testbed within the C-Star modeling system. The processes identified by the 1D testbed will enable increasing skill and confidence in estimates of total alkalinity delivery into the regional-scale water column, and act as a tool for uncertainty characterization. The resulting parameterizations will feed directly into three-dimensional ROMS-MARBL regional model configurations—ensuring that scientific advances made in the testbed translate immediately into improved operational MRV tools across [C]Worthy's full modeling stack.
What you'll bring
- Ph.D. in oceanography, marine chemistry, geochemistry, chemical oceanography, or a closely related field.
- Strong background in ocean biogeochemistry, including carbonate chemistry, alkalinity, and marine carbon cycling.
- Familiarity with marine mineral dissolution/precipitation kinetics and/or particle dynamics.
- Scientific software development proficiency in Python
- experience working with biogeochemical model code (Python, Fortran, or Julia).
- Ability to design systematic numerical experiments, interpret results in light of observational constraints, and communicate findings clearly.
- Collaborative disposition and comfort working in partnership with industry stakeholders alongside academic researchers.
- Prior research on OAE, mineral weathering and dissolution, mineral precipitation, or related alkalinity-modifying processes.
- Experience developing, calibrating, or validating models.
- Laboratory or field experience with OAE experiments, tracer releases, or marine carbonate chemistry measurements.
- Familiarity with Bayesian calibration methods, ensemble parameter estimation, or uncertainty quantification.
- Interest in agentic AI applications for scientific model development and workflow automation.