Lead AI postdoctoral research fellow position in climate science
Deadline: 10.09.2025
Publisert
The University of Bergen is a renowned educational and research institution, organised into seven faculties and approximately 54 institutes and academic centres. Campus is located in the centre of Bergen with university areas at Nygårdshøyden, Haukeland, Marineholmen, Møllendalsveien and Årstad.
Through robust and close interaction with the world around us – globally, nationally and locally – we shall be instrumental in building a society based on knowledge, skills and attitudes.
The position is open to either an incoming or an outgoing candidate; see LEAD AI mobility rules
About the host research group and research theme
The implications of internal climate variability for future climate change are far-reaching, particularly when it comes to identifying and interpreting trends in regional-to-local scale signals and extreme events. Large ensembles of climate simulations are a key tool in such applications, but the computational cost of producing ensembles at high enough resolution and with enough members to adequately sample internal variability and capture rare events is a challenge. This project aims to explore data-driven Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI-ML) approaches to meeting this challenge. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: storylines for plausible narratives of regional climate change, novel algorithms for rare event sampling or ensemble boosting, and the development and use of hybrid climate models combining physics-based and ML components.
About the LEAD AI fellowship programme
LEAD AI is the University of Bergen's career and mobility fellowship program for training 19 postdoctoral fellows in artificial intelligence.
The program has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 101126560.
The LEAD AI programme offers high-quality inter- and transdisciplinary research and training opportunities in the area of artificial intelligence supported by a dedicated supervision and mentoring, encouraging inter-sectoral exposure, in particular
academic freedom
benefits from knowledge and skills transfer between disciplines, organisations and sectors
Applicants must hold a Norwegian PhD or an equivalent degree in meteorology, atmospheric sciences, climate or oceanography. PhD-students may apply if defence of the PhD-thesis is completed by 31 December 2025. It is a condition of employment that the PhD has been awarded.
Applicants should have a genuine interest in AI, and the research proposal must be related to artificial intelligence.
Applicants cannot previously have been employed as a postdoctoral fellow at UiB and they cannot be employed by any other institution for the duration of the fellowship.
Experience with AI-related research and/or innovation is an advantage.
A strong background in statistics is required, as well as experience in atmospheric dynamics or climate dynamics, basic shell scripting, and python/Matlab/R or similar languages.
Experience with “traditional” climate modelling, data-driven climate modelling, and working with large ensembles of climate/weather model output are advantages.
Outgoing fellowships require an uninterrupted stay of minimum 12 months at an institution outside of Norway, followed by a mandatory return period to the University of Bergen of at least 12 months.
Applicants must be able to work independently and in a structured manner and have the ability to cooperate with others.
Applicants must have excellent skills in oral and written English (self-assessed in the CV and demonstrated in the application).
The application and relevant documents must be in English.
Personal and relational qualities will be emphasized. Research experience, ambitions and potential will also be considered during candidate evaluation.
Special requirements for the position
The University of Bergen is subjected to the regulation for export control system. The regulation will be applied in the processing of the applications.
About the position of postdoctoral research fellow:
The postdoctoral position is a fixed term position with the primary objective of qualifying the appointee for work in top academic positions. The position may be extended by up to one year (maximum 4 years in total) if the appointee is granted externally financed research stays abroad. Individuals may not be hired for more than one fixed-term period as a postdoctoral research fellow at the same institution.
For all LEAD AI fellows, a Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP) will be developed jointly by the fellow, supervisor, and co-supervisor by the end of Month 3 of the fellowship, including a plan for the individual research budget, and information on additional funding where applicable.
It is a requirement that the project is completed in the course of the period of employment.
We can offer:
An engaged and professionally stimulating working environment.
Welfare benefits* and social benefits including pension-saving in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, occupational injury insurance, full salary during sick leave for 52 weeks, and paid parental leave**.
Position as postdoctoral fellow (code 1352 in the basic collective agreement) and a gross annual salary of NOK 657 000 upon appointment. Further increases in salary are made according to length of service in the position. A higher salary may be considered for a particularly well-qualified applicant.
Extension of the position term (work contract) due to sick leave and parental leave.
Norwegian language courses free of charge.
High standards for working hours, holidays, place of work, health, and safety.
Access to specific training activities exclusively provided within the framework of the LEAD AI programme.
*) Subject to membership in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. For non-EU outgoing fellows, individual benefit agreement must be considered.
**) Right to paid parental leave requires 6 months paid work before first day of leave. See full requirements.
How to apply:
Before starting the online application process, please familiarise yourself carefully with our application requirements in the Guide for Applicants and Application templates It is essential that all required attachments (see next section) are uploaded via our electronic recruiting system JobbNorge.
Before uploading any documents in the portal (to minimise repetition of information):
In the ‘JobbNorge-application field’: Only write your name.
In the ‘JobbNorge-CV form’: Only fill in your 1) personal details, 2) information about your PhD-degree (in the field ‘Academic qualifications’) and 3) recent relevant work experience.
You do not need to fill in any other sections in the JobbNorge form, as all the information we need will be provided by you when attaching the mandatory elements listed in the next section.
Your application must include:
Research proposal (5 pages, using a template based on the evaluation criteria), must be relevant to the AI-related research themes defined by LEAD AI host research groups in the call. It is essential that you discuss the details of the project idea with your potential UiB supervisor at an early stage in the application process, to ensure that there is a match between resources and expertise needed to implement the project.
A brief (max 1 page) account of your motivation for applying for the position
Scanned copy of the PhD diploma or documentation of formally delivered doctoral thesis (translated to English if necessary; Scandinavian languages are accepted).
References. Contact information for references from the PhD programme or previous employment are encouraged.
The application and appendices with certified translations into English must be uploaded at JobbNorge.
Evaluation
We anticipate the whole evaluation procedure to take approximately 4 months from application deadline. Eligible applicants will be evaluated by three internationally renowned experts and assessed against criteria addressing excellence, impact, implementation, quality of the researcher and training, knowledge transfer, and networking opportunities (outgoing only). Details are stated in the Guide for applicants.
General information:
For further details about the position, please contact:
Camille Li, Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen (camille@uib.no)
Stefan Sobolowski, Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen (stefans@uib.no)
For HR related questions contact:
HR advisor Maria Svåsand, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Bergen (maria.svasand@uib.no)
Diversity is a strength that enables us to solve our tasks even better. UiB therefore needs qualified employees regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, worldview, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and age.
The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.
Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.
We encourage applicants with disabilities, immigrant backgrounds, or gaps in their CV to apply. By indicating such circumstances in your application, you may receive favourable consideration. We ensure that at least one qualified applicant from each of these groups is invited for an interview as part of our commitment to inclusivity and equal opportunity.
Further information about our employment process can be found here.
