Opportunities

The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University seeks to fill a social science research position with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) located at the Earth System Research Lab (ESRL), Global Systems Laboratory (GSL) in Boulder, CO. The position will be for an interdisciplinary social science researcher with a background in qualitative and quantitative social science research methods, to serve on a User Needs Assessment Team (UNAT) in support of the operations of the Fire Weather Testbed (FWT) within the Weather Informatics and Decision Support (WIDS) Division.  Office will be in Boulder, CO at a Federal building and requires the ability to pass a National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI, Tier 1 federal background check). An onsite presence at the laboratory in Boulder, CO, with an option for part-time telework, is desired for this position, but remote work will be considered.

The UNAT social science researcher will provide subject-matter expertise in the areas of mixed-method, qualitative and quantitative interdisciplinary research, and is responsible for working closely with the other member(s) of the UNAT, including meteorologist(s), to conduct 
risk communication, risk perception, and decision-making research aimed at investigating and understanding the weather and climate-related information needs of members of the wildfire communities who manage wildfires and associated public safety. This could include emergency managers, fire managers, incident commanders, government safety officials, as well as operational weather forecasters who provide fire weather forecasts and decision support services. This research may be conducted solely by the UNAT, or in collaboration with other interdisciplinary research entities. Outcomes of these research efforts will be used to identify proposed FWT experiments and evaluations that would address the users' information needs and associated gaps. Responsibilities may also include assistance with conducting and/or aiding the experiments and evaluations that take place in the FWT which are focused on users' information needs, writing reports and publications, and presenting findings at scientific meetings and conferences.  

To ensure full consideration applications should be submitted by midnight Monday, September 18, 2023. Apply electronically by clicking "Apply to this Job" at the following website:   23-142 Fire Weather Testbed Social and Behavioral Science Researcher  References will not be contacted without prior notification of candidates. In your cover letter, please specifically address the required and preferred qualifications of this position. A cover letter that fails to address the required and preferred qualifications of this position may not be considered further after review by the search committee.

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Jennifer Raab
Project Specialist
Colorado State University - CIRA
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