Ocean Modeling Integration/Testing/Validation (ITV) Developer

Science Systems and Applications, Inc. (SSAI) seeks a talented and goal-oriented Ocean Modeler to join our modeling Integration/Testing/Validation (ITV) team supporting a large and complex earth system model at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.  The successful candidate will be responsible for integrating scientific and engineering updates from lead developers of the model into valid engineering and release tags, executing and maintaining a suite of standard testing and evaluation runs for the model’s ocean and coupled components, and publishing results from a standard the model’s validation package for all candidate system releases. The selected candidate will also maintain and modernize the existing ITV suite for the model’s ocean and coupled components in support of the scientific needs of the model’s lead developers.  

The selected candidate will have the knowledge of MOM6 software and will work closely with an interdisciplinary team of researchers, scientists, and engineers to advance our understanding of ocean dynamics, atmosphere/ocean coupling and global atmosphere/ocean prediction and data assimilation on daily to seasonal timescales. 

Job Responsibilities:

• Develop, implement, calibrate, and validate numerical models of ocean circulation, waves, and other marine processes
• Simulate oceanic phenomena such as ocean currents, temperature, salinity, sea level rise, and interactions with the atmosphere
• Collaborate with researchers, scientists, and engineers to design and implement modeling experiments
• Implement high-performance computing techniques to optimize large-scale ocean models for efficiency and accuracy
• Analyze observational data (e.g., satellite, in-situ) and integrate it with models to improve forecasting and hindcasting
• Maintain and update model code, ensuring best practices in version control and software documentation
• Stay up to date with advancements in ocean modeling and incorporate new techniques and methods into our models
• Communicate complex modeling concepts and results to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at conferences

Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. or equivalent in Oceanography, Physical Oceanography, or related field, with 2 years of relevant experience
• Experience with ocean modeling software (e.g. MOM6, ROMS, MITgcm, HYCOM)
• Strong programming skills in languages such as Python, Fortran, or C++
• Experience with high-performance computing environments (HPC) and parallel processing (MPI, OpenMP)
• Knowledge of oceanographic observational datasets (e.g., ARGO floats, satellite altimetry, etc.)
• Proficiency with Linux shell scripting, and collaborative version control software such as Git
• Experience with data analysis and visualization tools (e.g. Python libraries)
• Ability to work with large datasets, including satellite and in-situ observations, to validate and improve model performance
• Ability to work independently and within interdisciplinary teams
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• US Citizenship or Permanent Residency required.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with data assimilation techniques and machine learning applied to oceanographic modeling.
• Familiarity with climate models and coupled ocean-atmosphere modeling systems
• Experience with cloud computing platforms (AWS, Google Cloud) for large-scale simulations 

EOE, including disability/vets

Physical Requirements:  While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, and use hands to touch, handle or feel objects, tools or controls. The employee frequently is required to talk and hear and occasionally required to reach with hands and arms and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. Must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.