ATMOSPHERIC SCIENTIST

Sunlight reflection may be the only available option, alongside dramatic emissions reductions, adaptation, and rapid scaling of carbon removal, to rapidly limit many climate impacts over the coming decades.  But we don’t know nearly enough about it to make a scientifically-informed decision about potential deployment – and we’re not on a trajectory for rapid, legitimate decision making.

Reflective is a philanthropically-funded initiative to develop the necessary knowledge base and do the requisite technology research and development, urgently and responsibly. 

What you’ll do

As an Atmospheric Scientist at Reflective, you will guide and support the development of fast, open-source surrogate models in order to develop multi-scale modeling infrastructure for SAI.  Working hand-in-hand with AI/ML and software engineers, you will collate, review, refine the available WACCM/CESM datasets, ensure parameter coverage is representative of SAI uncertainty, and support surrogate tuning.  

Responsibilities

• Collect and conduct quality control on training data from WACCM/CESM archives in a centralized repository.
• Identify gaps in simulations and create new runs with parameters to fill those gaps.
• Specify the physical variables and boundary-condition schemes that must be preserved in the surrogate.
• Provide domain knowledge for hyperparameter tuning (e.g., deciding which physical variables must be explicitly represented in the surrogate).
• Publish code, documentation, benchmark data, and present results at workshops and conferences.

Who you are

Minimum qualifications

• You have a Masters, PhD, or equivalent research experience in atmospheric science or climate physics..
• You have 3+ years working with global climate models (e.g., CESM2-WACCM, UKESM, GISS), including running large ensembles on HPC.
• You have 3+ years experience with scientific Python, including work with libraries like numpy, pandas, xarray, and scipy
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills—able to translate scientific jargon for mixed-disciplinary teams.
• You have strong experience with version control systems, particularly Git, and are comfortable collaborating on codebases using GitHub.
• You have experience contributing to and, ideally, leading open-source scientific software projects. 
• You’re creative and attached to outcomes, not process – you’re constantly looking for new paths to the destination and excited to switch gears if there’s a faster, better way to get something done. 
• You are passionate about Reflective’s mission. 

Preferred qualifications

• Prior work on machine-learned emulators, reduced-order or hybrid physics models.
• Familiarity with aerosol or SAI research.
• Experience mentoring junior scientists or managing small cross-functional projects.
• You have familiarity or exposure to cloud computing platforms and ecosystems, e.g., Azure, AWS, and containerization, e.g., Docker 
• You are able to communicate with impact and confidence, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to work in person in the SF Bay Area 2-3 days per week.

Not needed

• A nonprofit background. Reflective is technically a nonprofit, but it doesn't feel like one.

We encourage anyone who is interested in this role to apply, regardless of whether you feel you meet 100% of the qualifications. The top candidates will bring their own unique perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds from a variety of industries along with many but not necessarily all the skills listed above. We offer professional learning and training opportunities to help you develop skills you may not have had the opportunity to cultivate yet.   

Location 

Our goal is to hire the right person for the role regardless of location, but we have a slight preference for candidates who can work from our Bay Area office 2-3 days/week. However, the role can be fully remote and we are open to candidates based anywhere in the world who can overlap with our core working hours. We may be able to sponsor visas for US-based foreign nationals and have a moving stipend to support candidates who would like to relocate to the Bay Area. 

But regardless of location, we love seeing each other in person and believe regular co-location helps improve collaboration and team culture. As such, we plan regular team co-working weeks, typically in the Bay Area. This role may entail additional travel (up to 1x per month) for conferences, external meetings, and team gatherings. Of course, we cover those travel costs.

Compensation and Benefits 

We are committed to providing competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits to our employees. We offer fixed salary levels based on experience and role to minimize biases in compensation and to ensure team members are paid the same for doing the same work.

We expect this position to be a regular, full-time position, with an annual salary between $130,000 and $190,000 USD, depending on level of experience. In addition to salary, we offer a comprehensive set of benefits to all full-time employees:

• Medical, dental, vision insurance    
• 401(k)
• Professional and personal development
• Generous paid time off and sick leave, including 12 weeks paid parental leave
• Flexible working hours  

Diversity

At Reflective, recruiting, hiring, mentoring, and retaining a diverse workforce is critical to our success.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. 

Reflective is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.