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The Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) of the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Sciences at UM has an exciting opportunity for a full-time Research Associate II position for its collaborative research with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) Hurricane Research Division (HRD) in Miami, Florida.
The incumbent will work with NHC forecasters, analysts, and Hurricane Research Division (HRD) subject matter experts to develop, evaluate, and improve products and decision aids for use in an operational environment in coordination with product developers at various NOAA research institutions. Products will be demonstrated on non-operational versions of NHC's operational systems, such as AWIPS-II, N-AWIPS and the Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecast (ATCF) system. Beyond interacting with the researchers at the HRD and NHC, the incumbent would be expected to participate in activities and demonstrations in the Lapenta Laboratory at NHC focused on products and services associated with a landfalling tropical cyclone. The initial goal of the incumbent would be to work with AOML scientists plus NHC and WFO forecasters to design and aid in the technical development for experiments, develop research goals and questions for the experiment, and guide planning and execution of the experiment, including product development. Workshop participants may include researchers from AOML, social-behavioral scientists from academia, operational meteorologists and hydrologists from both NHC and WFOs and the NWS Tropical Program, emergency managers from various governmental levels, emergency management experts from academia, and broadcast meteorologists. The experiment should focus on a multi-day tropical cyclone event to cover the multiple potential hazards (e.g., wind, storm surge, rainfall, and tornadoes). The incumbent will coordinate the various aspects to be examined, including FACETs concepts (e.g., use of probabilistic hazard information, the importance of a continuum of information, etc.), how current NWS tropical cyclone products are used for decision making, and the role of key partners such as broadcast meteorologists and emergency managers in societal information dissemination and risk contextualization by the public. Given the nature of the position, interacting with staff at both NHC and AOML, the ideal candidate would be able to perform the duties of the position in-person from Miami, with options for remote work on some days.
The successful candidate should have a background in tropical cyclone structure, dynamics, and thermodynamics, and have knowledge of tropical cyclone forecast products. Responsibilities include interpreting and evaluating meteorological hazard forecast guidance and products for landfalling tropical cyclones for communication of forecast uncertainty, publishing results in peer-reviewed journals, and presenting scientific findings at conferences.
Essential job functions include:
- Advance forecasts for hazards associated with landfalling tropical cyclones, including storm surge, tornadoes, wind gusts, and extreme rainfall.
- Investigate the impact of different observations on these forecasts.
- Plan, facilitate and summarize experiments through the HOT
- Create probabilistic guidance from ensemble output to effectively communicate hazards.
- Interpret and publish results in progress reports and peer-reviewed literature.
- Present research results at meetings and conferences.
- Contribute towards proposals written to maintain and expand this research effort.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's Degree in atmospheric science, meteorology, or a similar quantitative field plus 2 years of experience working with geophysical data analysis;
- Experience and proficiency working with programming (Fortran, C/C++) and scripting languages (Python, Java);
- Ability to work independently and in a collaborative team environment;
- Strong oral and written communication skills;
- Must be eligible to work in the United States by proposed start date; CIMAS will not sponsor a visa for this position.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Familiarity with social-behavioral science focused on weather and climate risk, particularly in communicating forecast uncertainty and hazardous weather warnings;
- Demonstrated experience in satellite meteorology and its application to hazardous weather prediction, including tropical cyclone analysis and forecasting;
- Demonstrated experience with Linux or Unix operating systems;
- Demonstrated experience with web page development, graphic design or illustration;
- Demonstrated experience with Advanced Weather Interactive Processing AWIPS-II/N-AWIPS Workstations.
The appointment is for 1 year with annual renewal based upon performance.
Please provide a cover letter indicating your employment qualification in the U.S., curriculum vitae, and contact information for three people who can provide letters of recommendation.
Apply online at: www.miami.edu/careers. Applications should include curriculum vitae, a covering letter stating research interest, experiences and the contact information for three professional references. The appointment will be initially one year, renewable depending on the performance.
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