Researcher in prediction, attribution and impacts of extreme events in a changing climate

We seek to appoint a Research Associate (postdoctoral scientist) to join the prolific climate/weather/environmental and impact science community at the University of Oxford, that is interested in playing a crucial part in the outcomes and deliverables of the multi-institutional NERC-funded ExtAnt project on Antarctic extremes led by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge.

The ExtAnt will deliver the first comprehensive assessment of current and future high-impact extreme weather events in Antarctica and their associated risks. Key risks include impacts of extreme weather on vulnerable ice shelves, the breakup of which can speed up flow of grounded ice and affect global sea level, and on the highly specialised Antarctic biodiversity. This ambitious programme brings together leading UK (BAS, Oxford, Leeds, Reading, and Birmingham) and international (Utrecht University, ETH Zurich, Université Catholique de Louvain, etc.) scientists to use new modelling resources and methods to elucidate drivers of extreme events. New modelling capability will be developed to quantify impacts of extreme events on surface melt of ice shelves. These advances will bring a step change over current knowledge of extremes in Antarctica.

The post holder will be a member of Climate Research Programme at ECI in SoGE, reporting to Dr Neven Fučkar, Senior Researcher, and there is opportunity to engage Oxford researchers with common research interests at SoGE and other Department and Schools in Oxford and beyond, including the world-renowned BAS. Hybrid (combination of on-site and remote) working approach for this full-time post is an available option. Applicants with a range of academic subject backgrounds are welcomed, including natural sciences, engineering, statistics and applied mathematics with experience and/or growing interest in atmospheric physics, meteorology, climate, numerical methods, and data science.

The Research Associate will be proficient in programming/scripting (e.g., in Python, and/or R, and/or Matlab, and/or Bash script & NCO & CDO, etc.), and have demonstrable expertise in the analysis of big data, and the interpretation of climate/weather observations/reanalyses and model simulations. Additionally, experience with configuring and running climate general circulation models (CGCMs such as HadGEM3, UKESM, EC-Earth3, etc.) and attribution of extreme events would be of substantial value.

The post holder will have a doctorate (or have recently submitted) in a relevant subject (climate, meteorology, physical geography, earth and environmental sciences, physics and astronomy, applied mathematics, statistics, computer science, etc.). The Research Associate will need to be proactive, working both independently and as part of ECI/SoGE climate group and the ExtAnt project team spanning BAS and several other universities, whilst managing and prioritising elements of an ambitious list of exciting and impactful objectives.

This post offers an outstanding opportunity to advance the Research Associate’s career in the area of attribution and causality analysis, extreme weather events, climate system science, data science (including AI/ML/DL tools) and beyond, as well as to opening a spectrum of options outside of academia.

As an employer, we genuinely care about our employees’ well-being, and this is reflected in the range of benefits that we offer including:

For further guidance and support, please visit https://www.jobs.ox.ac.uk/how-to-apply.

Any technical questions related to this vacancy can be sent to: [email protected] **

The closing date for applications is 12.00 noon on 18 September 2025. Only applications submitted by this time will be considered. Interviews will likely take place in the following week.