NCICS’s diverse team of researchers, technical experts, post-docs, and support staff engage in research projects and collaboration activities with the fundamental goal of enhancing our collective interdisciplinary understanding of the state and evolution of the full Earth System. The Institute is located in downtown Asheville, NC, where we are co-located with the headquarters of NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.
Click here for a list of positions currently available.
The Work Matters
We work on big challenges and important topics. Our team
- studies climate change and its impacts
- turns satellite, radar, and in situ observations into useful and usable information
- helps produce key NOAA datasets, including global temperature and hurricane data
- is helping NCEI adapt to rapid environmental and technological change by developing new systems for ingest, stewardship, and access to information
- does cutting-edge research on weather, climate, data stewardship, and data science
- supports the U.S. National Climate Assessment process
NC State’s motto is Think and Do, and we embody that philosophy at NCICS.
We thrive on tackling difficult challenges and taking risks. New ideas are encouraged, even if there is a chance they might not work. This ethos of innovation—of identifying and testing better ways to do things and then delivering results—has been the hallmark of our success throughout our first decade.
Our dedicated high-performance computing cluster, extensive IT resources, and strong administrative support ensure that our staff has the tools they need to do big things.
We seek candidates who look for hard problems to solve and thrive at finding and delivering solutions.
Think and Do
NOAA Partnership
Our primary activity is supporting NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and other NOAA offices as the North Carolina location of the Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies.
We work side-by-side with NOAA colleagues and contractors at the world’s premiere archive of climate, weather, and geophysical data, where we serve as a center of innovation for observing systems, data science, climate research, and more.
With a focus on research-to-operations, we find new, better, faster, and more efficient ways to provide stakeholders and the public with critical environmental intelligence.
In addition to our work with NOAA, NCICS engages in collaborative research with and for many other agencies and organizations, including the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the State Department, and the private sector. Our scientists have a proven track record of turning innovative ideas into funded research and tangible outcomes.
Other Partners
Because Asheville
Nestled in the French Broad River Valley in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville is a dynamic, eclectic mountain city that is routinely identified as one of the best places in the country to live, visit, eat, hike, enjoy live music, sample craft brews, and more. Asheville’s natural beauty, rich cultural life, relaxed vibe, and outdoor opportunities make it a place people choose to live and help foster a healthy work–life balance.
Asheville is also a hub of climate-related activities, which facilitates formal partnerships with organizations like UNC Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center, the Asheville Museum of Science, and The Collider as well as informal opportunities for sharing ideas and collaborating with other climate and data experts.
NCICS offers the best of both worlds in terms of scale: with a staff of about 40, we are a close-knit community that offers a welcoming environment for new arrivals, regular opportunities for professional collaborations, and a busy calendar of social activities. NCICS social activities include a weekly coffee break, birthday celebrations, an annual potluck dinner, community service activities, organized hikes, happy hours, apple picking, and more.
At the same time, our co-location with NCEI offers many of the benefits of working in a much larger organization with an expansive mission and global impact. We interact regularly with colleagues who offer diverse scientific and technical skills and backgrounds. We also work closely with colleagues at other NCEI locations, including Boulder, CO, Silver Spring, MD, and the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Our projects stretch across NOAA, other U.S. federal agencies, and international organizations involved in the weather, climate, and environmental data enterprise.
Community
Research and Development
NCICS actively encourages professional and scientific development by supporting independent research, scientific publications, grant proposals, and participation and attendance at conferences and meetings. The Institute also engages with stakeholders and end-users to identify knowledge gaps and research needs, which provides our team with opportunities to develop innovative tools and analyses and advance the state of knowledge.
NC State employees are eligible for tuition waivers for undergraduate and graduate courses taken at any of the schools in the UNC system, and our staff have access to many other training and development opportunities through NC State and through our association with NOAA NCEI.
As employees of North Carolina State University, we are part of a major public research institution and center of innovation—one that is home to more than 35,000 students and more than 10,000 faculty and staff. Through the university, we have access to a full portfolio of competitive research grant opportunities, an extensive institutional support system, and significant technology resources.
The university also provides competitive salaries and benefits packages.
As an inter-institutional research institute of the University of North Carolina system, NCICS facilitates climate-related research activities across the entire UNC system and its partner organizations.