Data Scientist

Bodeker Scientific is a research company with expertise in atmospheric and climate research. The company conducts original scientific research through contracts held with both national funding agencies and international organisations.

We seek an enthusiastic and energetic Data Scientist, with an infinite capacity to not know what can’t be done, and who is ready and willing to work in an agile and innovative research environment. The successful applicant will support our team of scientists in writing code for processing and analysing large data sets (including satellite observations), running climate models on site and remotely, and leading the team on software architecture best practices to maximise data processing efficiencies. They will also be expected to use their machine-learning capabilities to develop novel solutions to challenging problems in weather and climate research.

Applicants are required to have a relevant qualification e.g. Bachelor of Computer Science degree, or similar, and/or a proven track record of scientific programming. We seek applicants with a strong mix of the following skills/expertise:

Essential Skills:

• At least 2 years of experience in deep learning, with expertise in at least one deep learning framework, ideally PyTorch.
• Strong Python programming and data processing skills.
• Experience with the use of version control, e.g., Git.
• Experience using either image segmentation, generative adversarial networks (GANs) and ResNet, or UNet architectures.
• Demonstrable experience in creating and training novel convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures, ideally using PyTorch.
• A demonstrated ability to think laterally. The research that we undertake is innovative and requires a high degree of creativity.
• Excellent communication and writing skills, with the ability to clearly document procedures, processes and work performed.
• Excellent organisation skills, i.e. able to juggle a number of tasks with varying priorities.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team. Must have the right to live and work in New Zealand

Preferred Skills:

• A strong background in data science or statistics, with a rich toolbox of data analysis techniques and methodologies.
• Knowledge of, and experience in, using cloud-based high-performance computer facilities (HPCF) such as AWS, GPC or Azure.
• Experiences with additional programming languages such as C++ or R.
• Some understanding of climate observations and climate models.
• Knowledge of advanced deep learning architectures such as LSTM, self-attention and the ability to apply them to spatio-temporal data sets.
• Comfortable in a linux environment and shell.
• Experience with package management tools such Conda or containers such as Docker.

This position has the option to work either at the Bodeker Scientific office in Alexandra, New Zealand, or at our satellite office in Wellington, New Zealand. Occasional travel to meet with clients may be required.

For a detailed position description, please see our website: www.bodekerscientific.com/other/situation-vacant

To apply please email your CV to Brenda along with a cover letter explaining:

• Why you would be a good candidate for this role
• Your strengths relating to the required skills as listed in the position description
• The names and contact details of at least three referees

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: $70,000.00 – $90,000.00 per year

Work Location: Remote