WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The CMCC Foundation, Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, is seeking a motivated and skilled post-doc researcher to join the Earth System Modelling and Data Assimilation (ESYDA) Division. The successful candidate will join the ESYDA climate modelling team in Bologna and contribute to the development of a regional Earth System Model (ESM) for the Mediterranean region. The work will involve producing simulations and climate change projections using the regional ESM, and analyzing the results to characterize climate variability and climate change signals in the region, with particular emphasis on the hydrological cycle.
This position is part of CMCC’s strategic initiative to model and predict climate variability and climate change in the Mediterranean region, with particular attention to assessing the impacts on the regional water cycle. It will also contribute to the HORIZON-CL6-2024-CLIMATE-01-6 RIVIERADE project.
The successful candidate will have a strong background in climate modelling, particularly in regional or coupled Earth system models; experience with model configuration, execution, and diagnostics, ideally using models such as WRF, NEMO or components of larger ESM frameworks (e.g., CESM); familiarity with hydrological cycle processes, including atmosphere–land–ocean interactions; knowledge of climate variability and climate change dynamics specific to the Mediterranean region.

ABOUT US

CMCC Foundation is a cross-cutting scientific research center on climate change and its interactions with the environment, society, the world of business, and policymakers. Our work aims to stimulate sustainable growth, protect the environment, and develop strategies for the adaptation and mitigation of climate change. CMCC’s core objective is to conduct cutting-edge science, to train the next generation of scientists at both national and international levels, and to be a beacon for climate modelling.
CMCC pursues fundamental and applied science with utmost scientific integrity, prioritizing data-driven science and providing data, information, and research results that can support informed public debate and decision-making processes. To achieve climate research objectives at the highest international standards, we invest in training all our talents and strive to create a workplace where everyone can excel.
At CMCC you will find a strong, professional environment. Join an inclusive community that values diversity, where every voice is heard and respected. Help foster a culture of innovation and societal change, where individuals from all backgrounds can thrive and succeed.
Over the last decade, CMCC has experienced extraordinary growth. We are now embarking on a new chapter of our journey that will further boost CMCC’s global position in climate change research…Together!

REQUIREMENTS

• PhD (or equivalent experience) in climate science, meteorology, geophysics, hydrology, environmental physics, or a related field.
• Proficiency in programming languages commonly used in climate modelling (particularly Fortran and Python).
• Experience with high-performance computing (HPC) environments and job scheduling systems (e.g., SLURM, PBS).
• Strong skills in data analysis and visualization, especially using tools such as CDO and NCO.
• Experience publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
• Excellent communication skills in English (written and spoken).

ROLE

The successful candidate will contribute, playing a central role, to the development, configuration, and coupling of components within a regional ESM tailored for the Mediterranean region. This includes integrating atmospheric, oceanic, land surface, and river routing modules with a focus on capturing hydrological processes at high resolution. The role includes running climate simulations to produce present-day and future climate scenarios for the Mediterranean, assessing model performance through validation against observational datasets and other reference simulations. The candidate will conduct diagnostic studies to understand model strengths and weaknesses, especially in representing regional hydrological processes. The successful applicant will work closely with a multidisciplinary team of scientists in CMCC’s ESYDA division and contribute to collaborative EU-funded project RIVIERADE. The role includes preparing scientific publications and presenting results at national and international conferences. Furthermore, in collaboration with colleagues working on socio-economic and climate impact modelling, the candidate will help generate datasets and knowledge relevant for downstream applications such as water resource management, agriculture, and climate risk assessment in the Mediterranean region.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The post-doc researcher will have the following key responsibilities:

• Contribute to the development, integration, and evaluation of the regional ESM
• Run and analyse regional climate simulations to assess model performance and support scientific publications.
• Collaborate with scientists within the ESYDA division and across CMCC to support interdisciplinary research efforts.
• Present results at scientific conferences and contribute to peer-reviewed publications.