Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. KoBold Metals is collaborating with Stanford Mineral-X on a fully funded 3-year postdoctoral fellowship focused on developing new methods for critical mineral exploration. The role involves applying AI and advanced geophysical techniques to discover and characterize mineral deposits using real exploration data.
Responsibilities
- Develop stochastic and ensemble inversion frameworks that jointly assimilate muon flux, seismic (active-source, passive, DAS), magnetics, gravity, and EM data into 3D subsurface property models with calibrated uncertainty
- Forward modeling, sensor placement optimization, and inversion of cosmic-ray muon attenuation data from borehole and surface detectors to constrain ore body density at depth
- Apply deep generative models, geostatistical priors, and physics-informed neural networks to regional-to-deposit-scale targeting and resource estimation
- Build pipelines that respect geological process constraints rather than purely data-driven correlations
- Extend Mineral-X’s intelligent agent framework to sequential data acquisition decisions (drill hole placement, geophysical survey design) that maximize information value per dollar
Skills
- PhD (fully completed, and within 4 years of graduation) in physics, applied physics, geophysics, computational earth sciences, machine learning, applied mathematics, or related field
- Strong Python proficiency (NumPy, PyTorch or JAX, scientific stack); experience with HPC, GPU computing, and reproducible research workflows
- Track record of publishing in peer-reviewed venues and willingness to engage directly with industry collaborators and field data
- Demonstrated research output in at least two of: geophysical inversion, Bayesian/probabilistic methods, deep learning, particle physics detection, or seismic imaging
- Experience with muon transport simulation (GEANT4, CORSIKA), distributed acoustic sensing, or full-waveform inversion
- Familiarity with mineral systems, ore deposit geology, or exploration workflows
- Prior work with diffusion models, normalizing flows, or generative models
Benefits
- Medical, dental, vision, and conference travel support
Company Overview
KoBold Metals is an AI-powered critical mineral startup that discovers essential materials for electric vehicles and renewable energy. It was founded in 2018, and is headquartered in Berkeley, California, USA, with a workforce of 51-200 employees. Its website is https://www.koboldmetals.com.Company H1B Sponsorship
KoBold Metals has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 1 in 2026, 1 in 2023. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role.