CIRES ​/ NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, PTR-ToF-MS Post-Doctoral Associate

Job Summary

The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder encourages applications for a Postdoctoral Associate position within NOAA’s Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL) in Boulder, Colorado. The successful candidate will work in the Tropospheric Chemistry (TC) program along with federal and university employees engaged in research of trace gases and aerosol particles and their impacts on air quality and climate.

Our group develops and deploys world-class instrumentation to measure these species in the field on stationary and mobile research platforms, including research aircraft.

The successful candidate will become a key member of the CIRES and NOAA CSL’s TC Program. This position involves investigating the emissions and atmospheric chemistry of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), during the NASA Farm Flux Earth Venture Suborbital program (EVS-4) in 2027 and future CSL missions and research. The candidate will participate in field research, collecting in-situ atmospheric observations of VOCs aboard a NASA heavy-lift research aircraft during the Farm Flux mission.

Data will be used in airborne eddy covariance flux calculations, emissions source identification, source apportionment analyses, and thermodynamic models. Results will be used for comparisons to emissions inventories and assessing the air quality and climate impacts. This position requires domestic travel for field work and scientific meetings totaling up to 3 months per year.

This position requires the use of PTR-ToF-MS or other CIMS instruments in close collaboration with other CSL scientists including from the modeling community for the evaluation and improvement of satellites, weather, air quality, and climate models. Individuals without CIMS field campaign experience, but with relevant scientific background in mass spectrometry, instrumentation, modeling and data science, or laboratory studies, are encouraged to apply.

CSL has a collaborative lab culture, and we are looking for a candidate who actively subscribes to this philosophy. Successful candidates will demonstrate competency and sensitivity for collaboration.

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

CIRES is an internationally recognized leader in innovative environmental science and research and is located at the University of Colorado Boulder. At CIRES, more than 900 environmental science professionals work to understand the dynamic Earth system, including people’s relationship with the planet. CIRES has partnered with NOAA since 1967, and our areas of expertise include weather and climate, changes at Earth’s poles, air quality and atmospheric chemistry, water resources, solid Earth sciences, and more.

Our vision is to be instrumental in ensuring a sustainable future environment by advancing scientific and societal understanding of the Earth system.

In the Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL) of NOAA, researchers develop and use instruments to make scientifically valuable atmospheric measurements, conduct laboratory experiments, design and implement field missions, analyze observations, and use sophisticated computer models to better understand how our changing atmosphere is influencing climate - and therefore people.

• Analyze and interpret PTR-ToF-MS VOC measurements from Farm Flux and other CSL research and use data for research studies including air quality, wildfires, and climate, as well as measurement studies designed to inform numerical model improvement efforts. (50%)
• Participate in the planning of group short- and long-term research strategies. (10%)
• Participate in field campaigns; specifically, the NASA Farm Flux mission. (30%)
• Present results at scientific meetings and publish them in peer-reviewed literature. (10%)

• Vis…