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. 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 oceanograp