Senior Science Associate

About Spark

Spark accelerates progress in emerging, high-impact climate fields. By working directly with scientists, policymakers, and peer organizations, Spark supports the growth of emerging fields with the potential to limit warming, monitor and manage Earth systems risk, and help enable our return to a safe climate. Spark focuses on expanding the portfolio of mitigation and adaptation approaches that enable our return to a safe climate and minimize environmental and social risks along the way.

Spark’s first programs focus on large, under-addressed methane areas that currently represent unmanaged risks to our overall climate trajectory, including work on enteric methane mitigation, atmospheric methane removal research, natural systems feedbacks, and additional innovation areas to assist efforts to mitigate super climate pollutants.

Spark's work is made possible through support from the Grantham Foundation, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Spitzer Charitable Trust, Astera Fund, Additional Ventures, and additional generous and audacious funders.

About the Role

Spark is looking for a Senior Science Associate who will use their technical and analytical abilities to help shape Spark’s work to accelerate progress in emerging climate fields. We’re looking for a rigorous, action-oriented problem solver with science expertise who has the ability to identify things others may have missed and get to the root cause of things to create a well-informed, impact-oriented path forward. 

Working collaboratively with Spark team members, the Senior Science Associate will leverage their technical/scientific background to explore the state-of-the-research across multiple scientific disciplines and topic areas to identify potential transformative opportunities, and the best path forward.

This role is a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of multiple emerging climate fields that have the potential to limit warming, manage Earth systems risk, and help to enable our return to a safe climate. As a member of an interdisciplinary team focused on climate impact you will help shape the long-term trajectory of needed climate solutions and responses.

Responsibilities

• Conduct investigations and quantitative analysis to effectively landscape well-scoped subsets of climate fields, potential solution spaces, and currently unmitigated areas of climate risk
• Synthesize and communicate key findings and recommendations into clear and compelling presentation, written reports, or white papers for both technical and non-technical audiences
• Create stakeholder maps of current people and organizations engaged in specific areas
• Engage and collaborate with external researchers and experts
• Support current programs and exploratory areas by:
  • Assisting in and/or leading subject matter expert interviews
  • Reading and synthesizing the latest literature in the field 
  • Partnering with Spark team members to translate what they’re learning about the field into action-oriented workflows to ensure tangible progress is made toward desired impact
  • Developing and administering systems and processes for management of our outgoing research grants

Desired Skills & Experience

• Ph.D. degree in a relevant field such as physical or biological sciences, chemistry, chemical engineering, biological engineering, earth system sciences OR a or Master’s degree in an applicable field, plus 2 years of relevant work experience OR a Bachelor’s degree in an applicable field, plus 4 years of relevant work experience.
• Proven ability to conduct research, synthesize, and clearly communicate research findings to a diversity of audiences (both subject matter experts and non-experts) across a range of different topic areas
• Demonstrated aptitude for solving challenging problems and critical thinking
• Proven ability to drive meaningful results both as an individual and part of a team
• Adept at system-level thinking –  understanding how scientific research, policy, funding, industry, etc all play a role in the development of new critical climate fields
• Strong written, speaking / presentation, and interpersonal communication skills –  specifically experience writing short technical reports on topics that clearly communicate context and conclusions 
• Insatiable curiosity about the climate problem; open-mindedness in exploring all possible climate solutions; and the flexibility, creativity, and tenacity to drive the necessary work forward

Eligibility

• Fluency in English
• Able to work as a W2 employee for a US non-profit
• At least 4 overlapping work hours with US Pacific time work day (9am-5pm PT)
  

Location

As with all positions at Spark Climate Solutions, this will be 100% remote. Employees can work anywhere within the United States, or internationally with approval.

Compensation

This is a all full-time positions with benefits. The salary range is $110,000-$130,000 / year.  In addition, Spark Climate Solutions provides exceptional benefits including flexible PTO, sick time, holidays, a 401-k match, generous health insurance coverage, and full-covered dental/vision/life insurance, and parental leave.