PhD student - Multisource data integration for high-resolution Arctic prediction

About the position

We are looking for a PhD student with a background in computational physics and/or geosciences and a strong interest in machine learning, Earth observation, and numerical modelling for Arctic prediction. The PhD project will develop methods to improve monitoring and prediction of the Arctic environment through multisource data integration, combining modelling with in-situ observations and high-resolution satellite remote sensing. 

The work will focus on sea ice and Arctic weather, but will also consider relevant ocean and surface parameters that influence Arctic predictability and air-ice-ocean interactions. A core part of the project will be the development of robust workflows for satellite-data access, preprocessing, quality control, and information extraction for ML-based prediction systems. 

The position is part of Polhavet 2050 (Arctic Ocean 2050), a national 10-year research initiative that brings together Norwegian and international expertise to understand the ongoing transformation of the Arctic Ocean and support its sustainable use and governance toward 2050 and beyond. The PhD project will contribute to building elements of a future digital twin capability for the Arctic environment, by advancing methods that combine observations, modelling, and machine learning to characterize environmental conditions, quantify uncertainty, and improve robustness and interpretability of high-resolution predictions. 

The project will build on and interact with a novel ML-based weather prediction system developed at MET Norway that uses a stretched-grid configuration, the Bris model, to achieve locally high resolution over the Arctic. The PhD candidate will work closely with a team of experts at MET Norway spanning ML development, satellite remote sensing, and Arctic geosciences, and will engage with operational services and stakeholders to support user-informed research, evaluation and implementation. Interest in, and preferably experience with, fieldwork and observational campaigns in Arctic environments is considered an advantage. 

The PhD candidate will be employed at MET Norway and will be enrolled as a PhD student at the University of Oslo (UiO). The work language at MET Norway is Norwegian. For all applicants fluency in written and spoken English is required, and for foreign applicants a willingness to learn Norwegian. Training courses will be provided.

Expected impact

The expected impact of the project is the development of new methods for integrating multisource observations into ML-enhanced Arctic prediction systems, contributing to improved forecasting skill, robustness, uncertainty awareness and operational use of high-resolution sea-ice and weather information in a rapidly changing Arctic environment.

Qualifications

Required skills and qualifications

• Master’s degree in computational and/or geophysical sciences (or equivalent)
• Strong skills in scientific programming in a Linux environment
• Demonstrated programming skills in python 
• Experience with machine learning / deep learning (e.g., deep neural networks) 
• Ability to take responsibility and work independently within an interdisciplinary environment
• Good collaborative and interpersonal skills
• Good oral and written communication skills in English 

Desired / beneficial qualifications

• Experience with sea-ice and/or Arctic weather prediction 
• Experience with high-resolution satellite remote sensing data and geospatial processing workflows (radar and/or optical sensors are an advantage) 
• Experience with geospatial data formats and tools (e.g., NetCDF/CF, GeoTIFF, xarray, GDAL/rasterio)
• Interest in combining observations and modelling toward digital twin concepts, including evaluation and uncertainty quantification
• Motivation to collaborate with operational services and stakeholders to support user-informed scientific development and evaluation
• Fieldwork experience (or strong motivation to participate in field campaigns)

We can offer

• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse (SPK) with good schemes for pensions, insurances and mortgages (read more here: https://www.spk.no/Medlemskap-i-SPK/)
• We can offer a good working environment with professional challenges in a modern, technological environment.
• Possibility of one hour of training during working hours per week
• Salary on the governmental salary scales as a PhD student, dependent on qualifications and experience, range NOK 550.800 - NOK 650.000. 
• A 2% statutory contribution to the Statens Pensjonskasse is deducted from the salary.
• The position is for a period of three years. 
• The PhD candidate will be enrolled in the PhD programme at the University of Oslo (UiO) and must fulfil the formal admission requirements. The successful applicant will therefore be required to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme at UiO.

Diversity and positive discrimination

We believe that diversity is a strength, and want employees with different skills, subject combinations, work experience, gender, life experience and perspectives.We encourage all qualified candidates to apply for a job with us regardless of ethnic background, age or ability.

We practice positive discrimination, and will call at least one qualified applicant in each of these groups for an interview: applicants with a disability, immigrant background or gaps in the CV. To be considered in one or more of these categories, you must mark the appropriate category in your application.

Functional impairment: applicants who need accommodation in the workplace or in the working relationship.

Immigrant background: applicants who have themselves immigrated to Norway. Or who was born in Norway with two parents who both immigrated to Norway.

Gaps in CV: applicants who have had a break from work, education or training for a total of at least two years in the last five years due to e.g. physical or mental illness or injury, intoxication or punishment.

The ticks can be used for anonymised statistics or reporting purposes.

Publication of applicant lists for public sector positions is an important principle to ensure transparency. If you want your name to be excluded from the applicant list, you must ask for it yourself, and give us a reason. In order to be exempted from the public applicant list, your justification for exemption must outweigh the consideration of transparency in the applicant list. If your request is not accepted, you will have the opportunity to withdraw your application.

The application

The application with CV and other attachments is sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. Attach certificates and all pages of diplomas. The documents must be in Norwegian, a Scandinavian language or English. Translations must be authorized. Before any employment, we will check the documents. In the case of foreign education, we ask that you attach an explanation of the grading system.