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Job Description
Undergraduate/Graduate Research Internship (BS/MS/PhD Level)
Advanced Seismo-Acoustic Waveform and Event Processing and Pipeline Development
Location:Desert Research Institute (DRI), Reno, Nevada (or Remote/Hybrid)
Duration:Summer (10-12 weeks, flexible)
Mentor:Dr. Cleat Zeiler
The Seismology 4 All STEM effort at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) invites applications for research internships focused on the development of advanced, data-driven systems that enable seismology workflows for all education levels. This opportunity is open to highly motivated students with strong technical backgrounds and an interest in solving complex, real-world problems at the intersection of software engineering, data science, and algorithm design.
We are seeking to recruit one undergraduate student for this internship.
The project involves designing and implementing scalable, intelligent platforms that integrate structured data, user interaction, and adaptive decision-making logic. The goal is to develop a data workflow for implementation in High Schools that connect students to local seismic activity. Much of the software is already developed, but ease of access to data and sharing results for collaborative science needs to be coordinated.
Research Scope
Interns will contribute to the design, development, and evaluation of seismo-acoustic work flows, including:
Development of structured data models to enable rapid analysis Design and implementation of algorithmic matching, ranking, or recommendation methods Backend system development for scalable data processing and interaction Integration of real-time system components and performance optimization Data-driven evaluation and iterative improvement of system performance
Key Responsibilities
Contribute to system architecture design and core development Implement and test algorithms and backend components, Work with databases, APIs, and cloud-based infrastructure, Perform data analysis, benchmarking, and system optimization, Collaborate on improving system performance and scalability.
Required Qualifications
Current undergraduate in: Computer Science, Data Science, Electrical Engineering, Geosciences or related fields
Strong background in: Programming (Python, C++, JavaScript, or similar), Data Structures, algorithms, and system design
Solid foundation in data structures, algorithms, and system design
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with machine learning, recommendation systems, or large-scale data systems
Experience with backend frameworks (Node.js, Django, FastAPI, etc.)
Experience with databases (SQL/NoSQL)
Experience to cloud platforms (AWA, GCP, Azure)
Experience with Seismo-Acoustic systems and distributed architectures
Salary
Undergraduate Students: $20-25/hour, Master's Students: $23-28/hour, PhD Students: $25-30/hour
Schedule: Summer (10-12 weeks), flexible hours and potential to continue during fall semester if scheduling permits
For more information, please contact: cleat.zeiler@dri.edu
Exempt
No
Full-Time EquivalentÂ
47.5%
Required Attachment(s)
Please submit a resume
Posting Close Date
Note to Applicant
Applicants should fully describe their qualifications and experience with specific reference to each of the minimum and preferred qualifications. The search committee will use this information during the initial review of application materials. Â
References will be contacted at the appropriate phase of the recruitment process based on applicant notification and permission.
Newly hired faculty and postdoctoral fellows must assure that their official transcript is submitted to the Human Resources Office within 30 calendar days from the effective date of employment. Academic degrees must have been awarded by regionally accredited institutions.
This position may require a criminal background check to be conducted on the candidate(s) selected for hire.
As part of the hiring process, applicants for positions in the Nevada System of Higher Education may be required to demonstrate the ability to perform job-related tasks.
DRI employs only U.S. citizens and aliens authorized to work in the U.S. DRI only sponsors aliens applying for research faculty or postdoctoral fellow positions (J-1 or H-1B Visas).
All applicants hired by the Desert Research Institute are subject to E-Verify.