Postdoctoral researcher in brown carbon dynamics (R2)

Job Reference
254_26_ES_AC_R2
Position
Postdoctoral researcher in brown carbon dynamics (R2)
Closing Date
Wednesday, 03 June, 2026
Reference: 254_26_ES_AC_R2
Job title: Postdoctoral researcher in brown carbon dynamics (R2)

About BSC

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is the leading supercomputing center in Spain. It houses MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, was a founding and hosting member of the former European HPC infrastructure PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), and is now hosting entity for EuroHPC JU, the Joint Undertaking that leads large-scale investments and HPC provision in Europe. The mission of BSC is to research, develop and manage information technologies in order to facilitate scientific progress. BSC combines HPC service provision and R&D into both computer and computational science (life, earth and engineering sciences) under one roof, and currently has over 1000 staff from 60 countries.

Look at the BSC experience:
BSC-CNS YouTube Channel
Let's stay connected with BSC Folks!

We are particularly interested for this role in the strengths and lived experiences of women and underrepresented groups to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights in science and IT research. In instances of equal merit, the incorporation of the under-represented sex will be favoured.

We promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, fostering an environment where each and every one of us is appreciated for who we are, regardless of our differences.

If you consider that you do not meet all the requirements, we encourage you to continue applying for the job offer. We value diversity of experiences and skills, and you could bring unique perspectives to our team.

Context And Mission

We are looking for a motivated postdoctoral researcher to join the Atmospheric Composition (AC) group of the Earth Sciences Department of the BSC (BSC-ES). The BSC-ES aims to carry out research into modelling and understanding the behavior of the Earth’s system. The AC group is currently composed of about 50 people among researchers, engineers and students of different nationalities. It aims at better understanding and predicting the spatiotemporal variations of atmospheric pollutants along with their effects upon air quality, weather and climate. This is addressed through the continuous development and application of numerical models over multiple scales, from weather to climate and from global to urban scales.

The successful candidate will join the Air Quality and Chemistry team of AC group to conduct research on brown carbon. The light-absorbing portion of organic aerosols (OA) is referred to as brown carbon (BrC), which has gained increasing attention in recent years due to its potential impact on climate. Despite this interest, BrC is still represented in atmospheric models in a relatively simplistic manner. As understanding of BrC in the atmosphere has improved, the representation of BrC in models has progressed from assuming OA as weakly absorbing aerosol to more dynamical representation of BrC emissions and aging processes. Recently, a BrC parameterization has been introduced in the Multiscale Online Non-hydrostatic AtmospheRe CHemistry model (MONARCH) developed by the AC group.

In this context, the successful candidate will contribute to the following activities: (i) review current research on BrC, (ii) improve the BrC representation in the MONARCH model, (iii) conduct numerical simulations with the MONARCH model, (iii) evaluate BrC absorption using sun-photometer observational data, and (iv) quantify the fraction of aerosol absorption attributed to organic aerosols at global scale.

The candidate will work in a highly collaborative environment, with tight links with other researchers in the AC group. The researchers will have the opportunity to follow multiple training activities, including those aimed at improving coding and data analysis, scientific and project writing abilities, or project management. All this will be implemented via the formal courses organized by the Education and Training team and Human Resources, and the participation in the regular seminars organized by the department.

Key Duties

Review and improve the BrC parameterization implemented in the MONARCH model
Process and analyze numerical results of MONARCH experiments
Evaluate the BrC absorption simulated with MONARCH using optical measurements (e.g. sun-photometers)
Conduct original research and dissemination in peer reviewed publications, internal and external meetings and conferences

Requirements

Education
PhD in atmospheric chemistry, environmental engineering, meteorology, geosciences or related disciplines
Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
Advanced understanding of environmental, atmospheric, or chemistry sciences.
Experience with BrC modeling (3 year minimum)
Experience with atmospheric composition (modeling, data assimilation or observations) (3 year minimum)
Experience with UNIX/LINUX environments and with scripting languages (such as bash) (4 years).
Experience in HPC environments will be valued (4 years)
Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
Knowledge of atmospheric science data formats (GRIB, NetCDF) and previous experience with scientific software and tools (CDO, NCO, Python or R)
Experience working with version control systems, such as GitLab or GitHub, will be valued
Competences
Excellent interpersonal skills
Fluency in English
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Ability to take initiative, prioritize and work under set deadlines
Ability to work both independently and within a team

Conditions

The position will be located at BSC within the Earth Sciences Department
We offer a full-time contract (35h/week), a good working environment, a highly stimulating environment with state-of-the-art infrastructure, flexible working hours, extensive training plan, restaurant tickets, private health insurance, support to the relocation procedures
Duration: Open-ended contract due to technical and scientific activities linked to the project and budget duration
Holidays: 22 days of holidays + 6 personal days + 24th and 31st of December per our collective agreement
Salary: we offer a competitive salary commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate and according to the cost of living in Barcelona
Starting date: 1/7/2026

Applications procedure and process

All applications must be submitted via the BSC website and contain:

A full CV in English including contact details
A cover/motivation letter with a statement of interest in English, clearly specifying for which specific area and topics the applicant wishes to be considered. Additionally, two references for further contacts must be included. Applications without this document will not be considered.

Development of the recruitment process

The selection will be carried out through a competitive examination system ("Concurso-Oposición"). The recruitment process consists of two phases:

Curriculum Analysis: Evaluation of previous experience and/or scientific history, degree, training, and other professional information relevant to the position. - 40 points
Interview phase: The highest-rated candidates at the curriculum level will be invited to the interview phase, conducted by the corresponding department and Human Resources. In this phase, technical competencies, knowledge, skills, and professional experience related to the position, as well as the required personal competencies, will be evaluated. - 60 points. A minimum of 30 points out of 60 must be obtained to be eligible for the position.

The recruitment panel will be composed of at least three people, ensuring at least 25% representation of women.

In accordance with OTM-R principles, a gender-balanced recruitment panel is formed for each vacancy at the beginning of the process. After reviewing the content of the applications, the panel will begin the interviews, with at least one technical and one administrative interview. At a minimum, a personality questionnaire as well as a technical exercise will be conducted during the process.

The panel will make a final decision, and all individuals who participated in the interview phase will receive feedback with details on the acceptance or rejection of their profile.

At BSC, we seek continuous improvement in our recruitment processes. For any suggestions or comments/complaints about our recruitment processes, please contact recruitment [at] bsc [dot] es.
For more information, please follow this link.

Deadline

The vacancy will remain open until a suitable candidate has been hired. Applications will be regularly reviewed and potential candidates will be contacted.

OTM-R principles for selection processes

BSC-CNS is committed to the principles of the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers of the European Commission and the Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment principles (OTM-R). This is applied for any potential candidate in all our processes, for example by creating gender-balanced recruitment panels and recognizing career breaks etc.
BSC-CNS is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by applicable state or local law.
For more information follow this link