The pay rate for this position is $5,840.00 per month an is non-negotiable.

Post Doctoral Researcher

Established in 1943, the mission of the SDSU Research Foundation (SDSURF) is to support the research objectives of San Diego State University by helping faculty and staff find, obtain, and administer funding for their research and sponsored programs. SDSU achieved its strategic plan goal of becoming an R1, premier public research university in early 2025 furthering discoveries, interventions, and solutions that improve communities and change the world. SDSURF provides the full life cycle of grants services to faculty and staff to further their important work.

Our vision is to foster a culture of creativity and collaboration with integrity and respect for individuals that results in the delivery of superior service to support the university’s strategic aspirations.

Our core values:

Service: We are a service organization that strives to provide superior support to the university community to achieve SDSU’s goals; we are committed to being professionally competent by setting high standards and working hard to achieve results; and we continually seeking to improve our skills and capabilities by valuing education and professional development.

Collaboration: We seek to actively engage with our stakeholders and employees to identify issues and design solutions, build strong relationships grounded in trust, openness, and inclusion and achieve the best results by taking pride in the accomplishments of our colleagues.

Innovation: We work towards inspired solutions to improve and adapt to emerging opportunities and challenges, creative ways to streamline and enhance our delivery of services through resourceful and proactive problem solving and strategic use of technology and reduction of obstacles.

Respect: We promote a culture where every individual is valued and treated with dignity, we honor open-mindedness toward different viewpoints and ideas and have a genuine appreciation for varied backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking.

Integrity: We are committed to act with the highest ethical standards, with honesty, integrity, and transparency, provide consistent and accurate information and value and respect all individuals.

FUNCTION OF THE UNIT

The two projects relevant to this position are (a) NSF project on AI and data science applications to environmental science, in particular, in the areas of AI weather forecasting and its related data science/Machine learning; and (b) NOAA project on climate hub for analytical research and modeling, specifically on climate data visualization, delivery, and value-added products development for business and industry. These two projects are led by Distinguished Professor Sam Shen of SDSU, in collaboration with several other universities.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

Under direction, the incumbent works independently in the preparation of detailed plans for the research study, the compilation and interpretation of data, and the preparation of detailed reports on phases of major studies/research studies. Responsible for supervising and directing a small work group consisting of students, Grad Students, Research Assistants and lower level Research Specialists engaged in the compilation and analysis of data.

Examples of RSIII duties consist of developing scientific constructs in a laboratory; consulting with PI to confirm approaches, data collection and analysis; serves as lead on research project initiatives; collaborates with team to make recommendations for processing/analysis/interpretation of data based on up to date literature.

This advanced-level position for incumbents who can provide program leadership with a higher level of scope and responsibilities which requires a specialized knowledge, skill and experience relevant to the program/project.

Job Responsibilities (95%)

• Data science and machine learning applications to the ocean data and weather models: 10%.
• Python coding for weather maps and SDSU FCN model: 18%.
• Paper writing for journal publications: 20%. 
• Develop initial conditions for the FCN AI weather forecasting model: 30%.
• Train AI models and make real-time global weather forecasting for hurricanes: 10%.
• Collaborate with and supervise the FCN team using SDSU GPUs and AWS cloud computing: 5%.
• Present FCN research results at conferences: 2%.

Other Duties as assigned (5%)

• SCIL lab management: 1%.
• Management of group meetings: 1%.
• Group meeting management: 1%.
• Apply for grants: 1%.
• Write meeting summaries: 1%.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SPECIAL SKILLS

MINIMUM EDUCATION

• Doctoral degree in appropriate field.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS AND SPECIAL SKILLS

• PhD or Equivalent to a PhD graduate student who has successfully defended his/his PhD dissertation in the areas of computational science, computer science, mathematics, or statistics.
• Four years of experience in AI weather forecasting research, statistical analysis of climate science data, and excellent Python coding and machine learning skills.

ADDITIONAL APPLICANT INFORMATION

• Candidate must reside in California and live within a commutable distance from SDSU at time of hire.

• Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on background check results (including a criminal record check).

• San Diego State University Research Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with California law and federal civil rights laws, SDSU Research Foundation provides equal opportunity in employment without unlawful discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin or any other categories protected by federal or state law.

• Employment decisions are based on an individual’s qualifications as they relate to the job under consideration. Our commitment to equal opportunity means ensuring that every employee has equal access to resources and support.

• SDSU Research Foundation complies with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the California Equity in Higher Education Act, California’s Proposition 209 (Art. I, Section 31 of the California Constitution), and other applicable state and federal anti-discrimination laws including grant or contract terms and conditions related to funded program activities. Further the SDSU Research Foundation maintains a Nondiscrimination Policy that prohibits discriminatory preferential treatment, segregation based on race or any other protected status, and all forms of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in all programs, policies, and practices.

• SDSU Research Foundation makes all employment decisions including, but not limited to, applicant screening, hiring, promotion, demotion, compensation, benefits, disciplinary actions, and terminations on the basis of merit.