Jobs at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

About the job:

• The CSIR has a vacancy for a Researcher in the Water Centre Area, within the Smart Places cluster. The incumbent will be responsible for leading and conducting research projects in the field of Civil Engineering in Water and Wastewater Infrastructure. This position is based in Pretoria.

Key responsibilities:

• Conceptualise, guide and manage R&D projects within the water value-chain infrastructure;
•  Provide strategic direction to R&D activities, understand, and analyse real world problems and user requirements, select from a range of proposed conceptual solutions, formulate key research questions and appropriate R&D approaches;
• Develop operations and maintenance planning for water and wastewater infrastructure;
• Develop Asset Care management documentation;
• Development of strategic infrastructure planning documentation;
• Design of water distribution network, water and wastewater infrastructure
• Develop and design stormwater management systems and plans;
• Undertake research in the development and application of hydraulic models for water network schemes;
• Utilize software for design, assessment, optimization, re-engineering of water and wastewater infrastructure;
• Ability and willingness to conduct fieldwork, including site visits, surveys and inspections.
• Design of roads and related infrastructure, which includes all aspects of the design process and costing.
• Manage project life cycle, technical resources, scheduling of activities to meet client expectations, balancing competing demands on scope, time, cost and quality;
• Develop proposals for different institutions to generate appropriate funds to pursue the strategic objectives of the CSIR;
• Engage with research programs and researchers to identify and grow opportunities to expand research endeavours and strengthen science at national and international level;
• Network with peers in the field expertise within and outside of the CSIR;
• Engage with clients and industry partners to develop long term relationships;
• Generate research papers, reports, reviews, and summaries;
• Manage and ensure the development of self and interns through coaching, mentoring, work assignment, structured training, and appropriate supervision to maximise human potential in line with the needs of the organisation and the national system of innovation.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A BEng degree or equivalent in Civil Engineering with at least five years’ experience in the field of water engineering;
• A postgraduate degree in civil engineering or Water Engineering will be an added advantage
• Three to five years’ experience in design of water and wastewater infrastructure
• Experience in working with public sector clients (e.g., municipalities, water boards, government departments);
• Experience with road engineering and associated civil works.
• Experience in developing and/or updating operations and maintenance planning documents for water and wastewater infrastructure;
• Professional registration with ECSA;
• Practical knowledge and application of hydraulic modelling is essential;
• Knowledge of civil/water engineering practice and understanding of the water value chain.
• Proven track record in project management and research project leadership;
• Excellent English communication, presentation and writing skills, including the publication of technical outputs;
• Ability to work independently as well as in teams;
• Computer (MS software), programming and IT skills;
• Problem-solving, solution-seeking orientation;
• Ability to network and proactively establish and maintain links with internal and external stakeholders and clients as well as the research community.
• Must have a valid driver’s licence

Closing Date

• 17/09/2025

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About the job:

• The Southern Ocean Carbon–Climate Observatory (SOCCO) at the CSIR has a vacancy for Research Scientist in large-scale ocean carbon cycle processes that can apply machine learning, artificial intelligence, and statistical modelling to advancing understanding of global CO fluxes and their direct policy relevance, positioning the researcher  at the forefront of international climate science. By linking Southern Ocean research to global carbon cycle assessments, the successful candidate will work within a dynamic, world-leading team and help shape future strategies for carbon monitoring and management. This position is based in Cape Town.

Key rsponsibilities:

• Lead the development, refinement, and application of machine learning frameworks to improve surface ocean CO¿ flux estimates, building on SOCCO’s flagship ML-based CO¿ flux product (CSIR-ML6).
• Lead R&D and innovation in the development of emerging AI technologies and techniques and application in the field of ocean-climate research
• Evaluate the performance of Earth System Models (CMIP6/7) against the ML-based observational CO¿ flux product, focusing on: mean-state climatologies, spatial, temporal, and seasonal variability, and long-term trends.
• Diagnose discrepancies between ocean-climate models and reconstruction products using Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) and advanced statistical approaches.
• Conduct high-resolution OSSEs to optimize Southern Ocean CO¿ observing strategies and reduce uncertainty in sink estimates.
• Supervise, train, and mentor postgraduate researchers, contributing to the growth of capacity in AI-driven climate science and advancing its integration into ocean-climate modelling
• Actively contribute to international science-policy processes such as the Global Carbon Budget and State of the Climate reports.
• Contribute actively to the development of competitive research proposals to secure external funding for long term sustainability of research activities.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A Doctoral degree in Earth System Science, Oceanography, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Data Science, or a related field; with at least five years’ proven expertise in machine learning, AI, and high-performance scientific computing;
• At least five years’ experience applying supervised and unsupervised machine learning methods (e.g., neural networks, gradient boosting, clustering) to environmental or geophysical datasets, including development of approaches to improve predictive skill and model performance;
• Demonstrated ability to work with large, sparse, and heterogeneous datasets, including gap-filling, noise reduction, spatiotemporal post-processing, and integration of observational and model outputs;
• Ability to translate machine learning outputs into climate and environmental science applications;
• Demonstrated track record of international collaboration and publications in leading peer-reviewed journals;
• Excellent communication skills, including capacity-building and postgraduate supervision.

Closing Date

• 16/09/2025