Senior Research Specialist Structures/Earthquakes

The person in this position will be responsible for planning and conducting research regarding structural response and damage induced by natural catastrophes with emphasis on earthquakes, and subsequent property losses.

He or she will be responsible for the evaluation, implementation and development of techniques, computer models or experiments related to property loss. Other responsibilities involve analyzing data, including the development of new techniques to identify trends in intensity, frequency and other relevant attributes of hazards; preparing reports and presentations that describe the results of studies completed or in progress, the relevance of the results for loss prevention and risk management, and development and implementation of prevention and mitigation techniques; development of plans for strategic research that will lead to measurable, significant improvements in the ability to estimate future property loss.

The position requires a PhD degree; significant research record related to earthquake engineering; strong knowledge and experience in structural mechanics and dynamics, earthquake structural response and testing, and vulnerability functions for structural and non-structural components; solid background in probability and statistics, and finite element modeling of structural systems; proven technical programming and modeling experience; and knowledge of model physics, principles, setup, calibration, validation and sound analysis practices. Applicants must have demonstrated project management abilities and excellent written and verbal communication skills.

The preferred candidates will have a solid background in geotechnical engineering and wind structural response, GIS skills, and experience with parallel computing.