Location
University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Application Due Date
April 15, 2026

Description
The University of Washington (UW) Program on Climate Change (PCC) seeks applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar to develop and conduct novel climate science research that would benefit from the expertise, cross-disciplinary interactions, and collaborative environment of the PCC community. We anticipate offering one Postdoctoral Scholar appointment in 2026.

Appointments are based on the applicant’s research experience, research proposal, academic/scientific leadership and service, and fit with a proposed mentoring team. Applicant research proposals should demonstrate relevance to the areas of climate system science and/or climate solutions, broadly defined. Applicants should contact UW faculty members to form a proposed mentoring team prior to submitting their application. The mentoring team must include at least one faculty member from an academic unit within the College of the Environment (including the Department of Atmospheric & Climate Science, School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, Department of Earth & Space Sciences, School of Environmental & Forest Sciences, School of Marine & Environmental Affairs, and School of Oceanography). Multiple faculty mentors from two different units at UW are encouraged.

Appointments are 100% FTE for 12 months, renewable for a second 12 months subject to availability of funding and scholarly progress. A competitive salary, a small travel budget, and a relocation allowance are included in the award. The base salary range for this position will be $6,681 to $7,623 per month.

Postdoctoral scholars are engaged in full-time research and are expected to participate in PCC activities including through attending events, interacting with students, and presenting their research. Scholars must be physically present at their place of work on university property to fulfill their appointment duties.

General Information for Applicants and Letter Writers
Applications are due (applicant submission portal) by April 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

Letters of support from mentors and references are due (support letter submission portal) by April 22, 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

For disability accommodations and/or questions about the position, please contact uwpcc@uw.edu.

Qualifications
A Postdoctoral Scholar is an academic appointment that requires evidence of a conferred PhD in a PCC-relevant field by the appointment start date (approximately September 2026). Eligible candidates cannot exceed 5 years of Postdoctoral experience from the start of their first Postdoctoral appointment to the end of the PCC Postdoctoral appointment. Applicants already employed at UW will only be considered for the PCC Postdoctoral Scholar program under extraordinary circumstances that should be addressed in the cover letter.

Application Instructions
Please submit the following required documents using one-inch margins (headers and footers may be outside margins), single or greater line spacing, and ≥ 11 point font:

• A cover letter specifying: research interests; a list of three academic references from whom letters of recommendation have been requested; the primary academic faculty mentor (and secondary mentor, if applicable) at UW that has agreed to support the research; date (or anticipated date) of PhD; and proposed Postdoctoral Scholarship start date. Please also add a justification statement, if applicable, to any breaks in your career path. Cover letters may not exceed 1 numbered page.

• A current Curriculum Vitae with dates of education, appointments, research experience, mentoring experience, academic/scientific leadership and service, list of presentations, and list of publications. Curriculum Vitae may not exceed 5 numbered pages.

• A research proposal describing objectives, methods, and expected outcomes during a two-year period. The proposal should describe the novelty and importance of the planned research in the areas of climate system science and/or climate solutions, broadly defined, and be accessible to a general scientific audience while also addressing issues suited to a specialist in the proposed area of study. The proposal should also provide a brief narrative of how the project grows your research program and should describe the fit with both the mentoring team and the PCC. Proposals may not exceed 5 numbered pages (note:references are not included in this 5-page limit).

• Three letters of recommendation must be submitted within one week of the application due date. Letters should be submitted through the support letter submission portal directly by the letter writer.

• Letters of support from proposed UW faculty mentors must be submitted within one week of the application due date (a joint letter of support from two mentors is also acceptable). Letters should be submitted through the support letter submission portal directly by the mentor(s). Letters should describe how the mentoring team will interact the candidate, the level of input that was provided on the candidate’s research proposal, and willingness to
provide the necessary resources in the case of specific laboratory, field work, or computing needs. Letters should also include a brief postdoctoral mentoring plan.