The Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences is the national centre for research into the geosphere. With around 1,650 employees, we develop a sound understanding of systems and processes of the solid Earth as well as strategies and options for action to counter global change, understand natural hazards and sustainably secure energy and raw material requirements.

Section 2.7 Space Physics and Space Weather is working on understanding the dynamical evolution of the hazardous space radiation environment and developing tools for specification and prediction of the adverse effects of the space environment utilizing physics-based numerical models and data assimilation. 

The MIPT project: The overarching science objective of the research unit will be to better understand how the magnetosphere, ionosphere, plasmasphere, and thermosphere are coupled to each other. The complexity of this system, which covers altitudes from tens to tens of thousands of km and over time scales from minutes to decades, requires an interdisciplinary team with experts in different domains, expertise in modeling and observations, as well as established collaborative ties to the international community.

Your responsibilities:

The successful candidate should have extensive experience in scientific programming. Job responsibilities will include:

• Utilize existing data of measurements and codes to calculate Phase Space Density (PSD) as a function of adiabatic invariants
• Investigate the effect of wave-particle interactions on the dynamic evolution of radiation belt electrons
• Study the influence of low-energy plasma on the dynamics of relativistic and ultra-relativistic electrons
• Develop scientific codes
• Maintain data and code repositories
• Develop visualizations
• Develop various programming tools for scientific codes and data analysis
• Document and test existing codes
• Adopt scientific codes for different scientific problems
• Write manuscripts that will be published in peer-reviewed journals
• Collaborate within the MIPT Research Unit

Your qualifications:

• Master/diploma in physics, mathematics, or related natural sciences
• Proficiency  in scientific programming using Python or MATLAB
• Work experience with Unix operating systems
• Knowledge about code architecture and design patterns
• Knowledge of C++ is a plus
• Experience with machine learning is a plus
• Knowledge of space physics is preferred, but candidates with exceptional computing skills and no background in space physics will also be considered
• Ability to work with large data sets
• Ability to work within a team
• Attention to detail and organizational skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Excellent English skills