Computer Scientist II

About the role

Axiom is seeking candidates to support workflow development activities for the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Seasonal Forecast System (SFS) at the Environmental Modeling Center (EMC). EMC is one of the National Weather Service's (NWS) National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) located at the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP) in College Park, MD. EMC develops and transitions state‑of‑the‑art numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems that provide guidance to the NWS weather, sub‑seasonal, and seasonal forecasts, working with coupled Earth system models and participating in all phases of model development—from data ingest and assimilation to integration, post‑processing, product generation, validation, and verification. The successful candidate will utilize AI/ML to design, develop, optimize, and maintain NWP workflows running on High‑Performance Computing (HPC) and Cloud platforms, collaborating with multidisciplinary software engineers and physical scientists in an Agile‑style environment to build new capabilities and modernize infrastructure for the planned NOAA SFS.

Responsibilities

• Develop innovative AI/ML‑based methods and tools to improve and optimize the workflow.
• Design, develop, and maintain workflow features to enable seamless deployment of NWP applications to HPC and Cloud‑based platforms.
• Ensure the workflow efficiently utilizes both HPC resources and Cloud platforms.
• Work closely with cross‑functional teams in an Agile‑style development environment to achieve project milestones and deliver high‑quality software.
• Follow software development best practices.
• Create clear and comprehensive documentation for software and processes.

Qualifications

• Background in Physical Sciences, Computer Sciences, or Mathematics with proven experience in numerical modeling.
• Strong knowledge of AI/ML and available packages and tools.
• Strong knowledge of parallel computing, especially using GPUs.
• Experience developing and optimizing code for HPC systems.
• Experience designing and deploying applications on Cloud platforms.
• Knowledge of Object Oriented Programming concepts with emphasis on efficient and scalable code.
• Familiarity with modern Fortran, C++, MPI, and scientific computing libraries is a plus.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot complex software systems.
• Experience with Python and Unix Shell Scripting.
• Experience with version control systems such as Git and GitHub.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, able to convey technical concepts to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Candidates must be U.S. Citizens or Green Card Holders to qualify (please indicate in your cover letter).

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and life insurance
• Matching 401(k) contribution