Special Information

• This position is an on-site position which requires the incumbent to complete their work primarily at an NAU site, campus, or facility with or without accommodation. Opportunities for remote work are rare.
• This position is subject to the availability of funding. The incumbent is not eligible for Service Professional non-renewal notice, or Classified Staff layoff or recall status.

About the Department/College

The School of Earth & Sustainability is part of the College of the Environment, Forestry & Natural Science at Northern Arizona University's Flagstaff Mountain Campus. The Department of School of Earth and Sustainability offers programs focused on environmental science, sustainability, and earth systems.

About the Position

The Postdoctoral Scholar will take a leading role in development and application of innovative seismic imaging techniques utilizing unique combined active and passive source seismic datasets to probe crustal and mantle dynamics. In particular, the primary project will involve developing models of crustal velocity structure and using them to evaluate the possible past and present role of partial melt and lithospheric heterogeneity in controlling continental rifting in East Africa. The Postdoc will be a part of an active group of faculty and students in geophysics and tectonics and will also have the possibility to work on a range of other projects, depending on availability of funds.

The Postdoctoral Scholar will be provided office space in the Geology Building on the Flagstaff campus of NAU. Access to computational facilities will also be provided (including a laptop for the postdoc and access to other workstations managed by Geophysics group, etc). Occasional travel is anticipated, including to conferences to present research and at least one trip to Tanzania and Malawi to meet with project partners.

The Postdoctoral Scholar will report to James Gaherty and Donna Shillington. They may provide informal mentorship to other graduate students and undergraduate students in our group, but no one will report to them.

Responsibilities Include

85% - Research & Technical Development

• Development of a joint-inversion algorithm combining active- and passive-source seismic data for tomographic imaging of Earth’s crust.
• Application of algorithm to existing seismic refraction and surface-wave observations from Malawi and Tanzania, East Africa.
• Development of a comprehensive seismic velocity model of the crust beneath and surrounding the Malawi rift.
• Iterating with project partners in Malawi and Tanzania to finalize a model that is most useful for mitigating seismic hazard.
• Presenting project progress and results at scientific meetings.
• Publishing project results in scientific publications.
• Interacting effectively with project mentors and collaborators.

5% - Mentorship & Student Development

• Informal mentoring of graduate and undergraduate students in the Geophysics/Tectonics group.

5% - Peer Review & Service

• Reviewing papers or proposals for journals or funding agencies.
• Participation in other community activities.

5% - Other

• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• PhD in geophysics or related field conferred by the start date

*A combination of related education, experience, and training may be used as an equivalent to the above Minimum Qualifications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in seismic data analysis. Previous experience in active- and/or passive-source tomography is particularly desired.
• A record of publication in the peer-reviewed literature in relevant fields, including lead authorship.
  
  

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Expertise in analysis of active and/or passive-source seismic data and inverse modeling.
• Expertise in computational seismic analysis tools in MATLAB, Python, and/or equivalent.
• Outstanding communication skills.
• Innovation, self-motivation, critical thinking and problem solving.
• Ability to integrate new geophysical observations with existing geological, geochemical and geophysical data for comprehensive evaluation of tectonic and geodynamical processes.
• Willingness to mentor graduate and undergraduate students.

Compensation

Salary range begins at $58,882. Annual salary commensurate with candidate's qualifications and related experience.

Pre-Employment Check

Northern Arizona University requires satisfactory results for the following: a criminal background investigation, an employment history verification and a degree verification (in some cases) prior to employment. You may also be required to complete a fingerprint background check. Also, as an employer in the state of Arizona, NAU is required to participate in the federal E-Verify program that assists employers with verifying new employees' right to work in the United States.

This position has been identified as a safety/security sensitive position. Therefore, per AZ Revised Statute, Northern Arizona University requires satisfactory results for the following: a criminal background investigation, employment history investigation, degree verification (in some cases) and fingerprinting. If you are applying for a job that requires a CDL, you will be required to register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse and adhere to the clearinghouse requirements.

Notice of Availability of the Annual Fire and Security Report

Each year Northern Arizona University releases an Annual Security Report. The report is a result of a federal law known as the Clery Act. The report includes Clery reportable crime statistics for the three most recent completed calendar years and discloses procedures, practices and programs NAU uses to keep students and employees safe including how to report crimes or other emergencies occurring on campus. In addition, the Fire Safety Report is combined with the Annual Security Report for the NAU Flagstaff Mountain Campus as this campus has on-campus student housing. This report discloses fire safety policies and procedures related to on-campus student housing and statistics for fires that occurred in those facilities. If you would like a free paper copy of the report, please contact the NAUPD Records Department at (928) 523-8884 or by visiting the department at 525 E. Pine Knoll Drive in Flagstaff.

Immigration Support/Sponsorship

Northern Arizona University will not provide any U.S. immigration support or sponsorship for this position.

Submit your Application

To apply for this position, please click on the "Apply" button on this page. You must submit your application by midnight of the application deadline.

If you are an individual with a disability and need reasonable accommodation to participate in the hiring process, please contact the Disability Resources Office at 928-523-8773, DR@nau.edu, or PO Box 5633, Flagstaff AZ 86011.