Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Geosciences

Postdoctoral Research Associate

The Atterholt research group in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arizona is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to develop and apply fiber-optic sensing, primarily distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), to address problems in the solid Earth. Our research uses ultra-dense seismic observations to investigate outstanding questions in earthquake dynamics and multi-scale Earth structure.

The successful candidate will work with both existing archives of multi-year deployments throughout California, including in southern Cascadia, the San Andreas, and the Eastern California Shear Zone, as well as new deployments planned in California and Arizona. The candidate will have latitude to develop an independent line of research within this scope, in collaboration with the PI.

This position is a year-to-year appointment, expected to last two years, with possible extension contingent on additional funding. This position has a flexible start date, ideally by summer 2027. Candidates are encouraged to contact atterholt with informal inquiries.

Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Conceive, design, and execute research projects that address questions in Earth structure and earthquake dynamics using fiber-optic datasets and complementary observations.
• Prepare and submit first-author manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals and present results at national conferences.
• Participate in field deployments, including instrument installation, data acquisition, and quality control.
• Contribute to proposal development and to the open release of data, code, and derived products.
• Interact with students and contribute to a collaborative research group.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Geophysics, Seismology, Earth Science, or a closely related field by the start date.
• Research experience with seismic or other geophysical time-series data, as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications, thesis chapters, or conference presentations.
• Experience with, and proficiency in, scientific programming in Python or MATLAB.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with distributed acoustic sensing, nodal arrays, or other dense seismic deployments.
• Experience with large-volume data management.
• Experience with seismic imaging or source characterization methods (e.g., ambient-noise interferometry, travel-time tomography, waveform modeling).

Contact Information for Candidates:

James Atterholt, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Geophysics atterholt