Research Associate III
Software Engineer (09-127)
The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University seeks to fill a professional scientific position for its collaborative research as a Cooperative Institute with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) in Boulder, Colorado (office will be in Boulder).
Background:
The Advanced Computing Section (ACS) of the Earth System Research Laboratory’s (ESRL’s) Global Systems Division (GSD) provides parallel programming support of NOAA earth system models being run on NOAA’s supercomputers. The ACS works with modelers within the laboratory to assist in code development, debugging, porting and performance tuning of new and existing parallel codes. Some codes utilize the Message Passing Interface (MPI), while other codes utilize the Scalable Modeling System (SMS) developed by the ACS. The Scalable Modeling System (SMS) is high-level software designed to assist modelers and programmers in developing and maintaining their codes in a parallel computing environment.
Traditionally, ACS has worked primarily with atmospheric codes, but recently, modeling research at GSD has shifted toward earth system models where an atmospheric code is but one component of a more complex coupled system. Modeling components in an earth system model could include ocean, land surface, atmospheric chemistry, and inter-component couplers. The NOAA Environmental Modeling System (NEMS) is a high level framework designed to support coupling of model components via a software infrastructure and metadata standards. NEMS relies on the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF). ESMF is software being developed by NOAA and other agencies to provide a standard way to couple modeling components together. NEMS is being adopted by NOAA operational centers and will be required for all models run operationally at NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).
Responsibilities:
As part of the ACS, this position will be converting models and model components into the NEMS framework for use on NOAA’s developmental and operational super-computers. Initially, the individual will be responsible for two primary tasks using ESMF and NEMS: (1) coupling the Flow Following Finite-volume Icosahedral Model (FIM) with a icosahedral variant of the HYCOM Ocean Model; and (2) coupling the Non-hydrostatic Icosahedral Model (NIM) with an alternate physics package. The FIM and NIM models, written in Fortran, were developed at ESRL and rely on the Scalable Modeling System (SMS) to run on distributed memory parallel computers. SMS is directive-based parallelization software that was also developed at ESRL and relies on the Message Passing Interface (MPI) library.
The candidate will initially work with another senior software engineer to become familiar with the ESMF and NEMS, but may eventually become a focal point for model coupling activities, responsible for development, coupling, collaborating with other agencies, and supporting scientific inquiries and use by scientists and software engineers in ESRL and other NOAA laboratories.
Qualifications:
Required qualifications include a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related Physical Science, with 5-10 years experience in Fortran programming, parallel programming, structured coding, and skill in debugging parallel codes. The candidate must have worked extensively in Linux or Unix operating systems and have some experience developing shell scripts and working with software management systems such as Subversion. An ability to effectively communicate technical concepts via oral presentations or written reports is also required.
Knowledge of and experience with NEMS and/or ESMF are highly desirable. The candidate will be required to interact extensively with the ESMF and NEMS teams in order to be effective. Since NIM and FIM were written using the MPI-based SMS, experience with SMS and/or MPI is also highly desirable. Additional useful qualifications include familiarity with scientific models and data formats, and experience with the Climate and Forecasting (CF) metadata standards.
Application Deadline: Tuesday, September 15, 2009