Postdoctoral Research Associate

This postdoctoral researcher position is an essential staff role within Center for Acoustics Research and Education (CARE) supporting a federally funded Office of Naval Research (ONR) research project. The position will provide core expertise in physics-based environmental and ocean modeling, with emphasis on numerical simulation and prediction of ocean conditions such as currents, tides, waves, temperature, salinity, and stratification. The postdoctoral researcher will work within a multidisciplinary team to develop environmental modeling capabilities that support research on ocean conditions and UUV operations.

The position requires a high level of independent research skill and technical expertise in physical oceanography, numerical modeling, and scientific computing. The postdoctoral researcher will develop, apply, evaluate, and integrate physics-based environmental models and operational ocean products, and will collaborate with project researchers working in complementary technical areas. As essential staff, the postdoctoral researcher is required to maintain research continuity and meet project milestones during periods of departmental curtailment, ensuring timely completion of federally funded research and reporting obligations.

U.S. citizenship is required due to the nature of the federally funded research and applicable export-control and project access requirements.

Duties/Responsibilities

Physics-Based Environmental and Ocean Modeling – 65%

• Develop, implement, and apply physics-based numerical models to characterize and predict ocean and environmental conditions relevant to project objectives.
• Work with models such as HYCOM, ROMS, FVCOM, or comparable ocean circulation models.
• Analyze and predict currents, tides, waves, temperature, salinity, stratification, and related environmental states.
• Configure or adapt models for regional applications and develop workflows that translate model outputs into usable environmental information for downstream research and UUV operations.

Model-Data Integration, Validation, and Analysis – 15%

• Integrate physics-based model outputs with observational and operational environmental datasets. Evaluate model performance through validation and comparison with available measurements, assess uncertainty and limitations, and support data assimilation, initialization, forcing, downscaling, or model-selection activities as appropriate. Develop reproducible computational workflows for processing, analyzing, and visualizing multidimensional ocean and environmental data.

Manuscript Preparation and Grant Reporting – 10%

• Contribute to peer-reviewed manuscripts, technical reports, presentations, and progress reports associated with the ONR project. Document modeling methods, assumptions, validation results, and research findings to support project deliverables and effective communication with collaborators and the funding agency.

Collaboration and Project Coordination – 10%

• Collaborate with faculty, researchers, students, and external project partners in a multidisciplinary research environment. Participate in project meetings, communicate environmental modeling results to team members working in related areas, maintain technical documentation, and coordinate research activities to support project milestones. Provide technical guidance to students or other researchers when appropriate.

Requirements

Minimum Acceptable Education & Experience:

• A Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography, Ocean Engineering, Ocean or Atmospheric Sciences, Physics, Applied Physics, Earth Science, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related field is required.
• Demonstrated experience with physics-based numerical modeling of ocean, coastal, atmospheric, or related geophysical systems is required.
• Experience using HYCOM, ROMS, FVCOM, or comparable physics-based ocean models is required.
• Candidates must have sufficient expertise in scientific computing and numerical modeling to conduct advanced research independently with minimal training and to work effectively with complex environmental datasets.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Advanced knowledge of physical oceanography, geophysical fluid dynamics, numerical methods, or closely related principles relevant to physics-based environmental modeling.
• Strong experience with numerical ocean or environmental models, including model configuration, forcing, simulation, analysis, and interpretation of multidimensional model outputs.
• Proficiency in scientific programming and computational tools commonly used in numerical modeling and environmental data analysis, such as Python, MATLAB, Fortran, C/C++, or comparable languages and tools.
• Ability to work with large observational, reanalysis, remote-sensing, and operational ocean/environmental datasets and to integrate these data with physics-based models.
• Knowledge of model validation, uncertainty assessment, data assimilation, model initialization, downscaling, or related model-data integration approaches.
• Excellent analytical, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills for addressing complex physical and computational research questions.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to communicate technical modeling results effectively to multidisciplinary research teams and funding agencies.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively, manage research tasks, maintain reproducible technical documentation, and meet project milestones and deadlines.

Other Requirements:

• U.S. citizenship is required due to the nature of the federally funded research and applicable export-control and project access requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct experience with HYCOM is preferred.
• Experience with regional ocean model configuration, operational ocean forecasting, data assimilation, model downscaling, or coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave modeling is desirable.
• Familiarity with sound-speed profiles, underwater acoustic propagation, or the influence of ocean environmental conditions on acoustic performance is a plus but is not required.
• Experience working in multidisciplinary federally funded research projects and a strong record of peer-reviewed research are also preferred.

Applicant Instructions

Applicants should be prepared to upload the following documents when applying online within the My Experience: Resume/Cover Letter section of your application:

• Resume/CV
• Cover Letter

Applications that are missing any of the required items may not move forward for consideration.  Additional uploaded documents not requested in the position announcement will not be reviewed.

Compensation Pay Range

$70,000.00/Annual

Please be advised that this position is supported by external sponsor funding. As such, continued employment in this role is contingent upon the availability of those external funds. If, for any reason, the sponsor funding is reduced or discontinued, employment may be subject to modification or termination in accordance with applicable policies and procedures. 

The University of New Hampshire is an R1 Carnegie classification research institution providing comprehensive, high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs of distinction. UNH is located in Durham on a 188-acre campus, 60 miles north of Boston and 8 miles from the Atlantic coast and is convenient to New Hampshire’s lakes and mountains. There is a student enrollment of 13,000 students, with a full-time faculty of over 600, offering 90 undergraduate and more than 70 graduate programs. The University actively promotes a dynamic learning environment in which qualified individuals of differing perspectives, life experiences, and cultural backgrounds pursue academic goals with mutual respect and shared inquiry.

EEO Statement

The University System of New Hampshire is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access employer. The University System is committed to creating an environment that values and supports diversity and inclusiveness across our campus communities and encourages applications from qualified individuals who will help us achieve this mission. The University System prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or marital status.

Compensation Pay Range:

$10,000.00 - $300,000.00

The pay range for this position is listed above. Actual offer will be based on skills, qualifications, experience, and internal equity, in addition to relevant business considerations. More information on benefits can be found here: USNH Employee Benefits | Human Resources

Location:

Durham