diff --git a/ctl/control_tsmp2.sh b/ctl/control_tsmp2.sh
index 31b3cb8..138a4a7 100755
--- a/ctl/control_tsmp2.sh
+++ b/ctl/control_tsmp2.sh
@@ -67,8 +67,11 @@ elif [ "${SYSTEMNAME}" == "jupiter" ]; then
 check_var_def npnode 288 "Taking user setting for npnode "
 check_var_def partition booster "Taking user setting and partition "
 else
-if ( [ -z $npnode] | [ -z $partition ] ); then
-echo "No npnode and/or partition for machine '$SYSTEMNAME'. Valid machine defaults for juwels/jurecadc/jusuf."
+if [ -z "$npnode" ]; then
+echo "No npnode for machine '$SYSTEMNAME'. Please set npnode manually in master.conf. Valid machine defaults for juwels/jurecadc/jusuf/jupiter."
+fi
+if [ -z "$partition" ] && [ "${scheduler:-slurm}" != "local" ]; then
+echo "No partition/queue for machine '$SYSTEMNAME'. Please set partition manually in master.conf. Valid machine defaults for juwels/jurecadc/jusuf/jupiter."
 fi
 fi
 account_def=${BUDGET_ACCOUNTS:-slts}
@@ -77,16 +80,28 @@ check_var_def tsmp2_dir $(realpath  ${ctl_dir}/../src/TSMP2) "Taking TSMP2 defau
 check_var_def tsmp2_install_dir ${tsmp2_dir}/bin/${SYSTEMNAME^^}_${MODEL_ID} \
               "Taking TSMP2 component binaries from default dir at "
 check_var_def tsmp2_env $(find ${tsmp2_install_dir}/ -type f -name "*mpi") "Using environment file "
+check_var_def scheduler slurm "Using job scheduler="
+
+# generic job-submission string (scheduler-specific: sbatch or qsub options)
+if [[ "${scheduler}" == "pbs" ]]; then
+  jobgenstring="-A ${account} \
+                -q ${partition} \
+                -m $(sched_pbs_mailcode) \
+                ${mailaddress:+-M ${mailaddress}} \
+                -V"
+elif [[ "${scheduler}" == "local" ]]; then
+  # no queue, no account/partition/mail options: sched_submit runs jobs directly
+  jobgenstring=""
+else
+  jobgenstring="--export=ALL \
+                --account=${account} \
+                --partition=${partition} \
+                --mail-type=${mailtype} \
+                --mail-user=${mailaddress} \
+                ${reservation:+--reservation=${reservation}}"
+fi
 
-# generic sbatch string
-jobgenstring="--export=ALL \
-              --account=${account} \
-              --partition=${partition} \
-              --mail-type=${mailtype} \
-              --mail-user=${mailaddress} \
-              --reservation=${reservation}"
-
-# convert arrays to string for slurm job script
+# convert arrays to string for job script
 lprestr="${lpre[@]}"
 lsimstr="${lsim[@]}"
 lposstr="${lpos[@]}"
@@ -129,18 +144,13 @@ echo "==="
 # check if any is true
 if [[ ${lpre[*]} =~ true ]]; then
 
-jobprestring="${jobgenstring} \
-              --job-name="${expid}_${caseid}pre_${dateshort}" \
-              --time=${pre_wallclock} \
-              --output="${log_dir}/%x_%j.out" \
-              --error="${log_dir}/%x_%j.err" \
-              --nodes=1 \
-              --ntasks=${npnode}"
+jobname_pre="${expid}_${caseid}pre_${dateshort}"
+jobprestring="${jobgenstring} $(sched_step_opts "${jobname_pre}" "${pre_wallclock}" 1 "${npnode}")"
 
 # Submit to pre.job
 if (! ${debugmode}) ; then
   # Submit to sim.job
-  submit_pre=$(sbatch ${jobprestring} ${ctl_dir}/pre_ctl/pre.job 2>&1)
+  submit_pre=$(sched_submit "${jobname_pre}" "${jobprestring}" "${ctl_dir}/pre_ctl/pre.job")
   echo $submit_pre" for preprocessing"
 else
   # Set lpre run & cleanup to false and source pre.job
@@ -151,7 +161,7 @@ else
 fi
 
 # get jobid
-pre_id=$(echo $submit_pre | awk 'END{print $(NF)}')
+pre_id=$(sched_parse_jobid "$submit_pre")
 
 fi # $lpre
 
@@ -180,18 +190,13 @@ else
 fi # lpre
 
 #
-jobsimstring="${jobgenstring} \
-              --job-name="${expid}_${caseid}sim_${dateshort}" \
-              --dependency=${dependencystring} \
-              --time=${sim_wallclock} \
-              --output="${log_dir}/%x_%j.out" \
-              --error="${log_dir}/%x_%j.err" \
-              --nodes=${tot_node} \
-              --ntasks=${tot_proc}"
+jobname_sim="${expid}_${caseid}sim_${dateshort}"
+jobsimstring="${jobgenstring} $(sched_step_opts "${jobname_sim}" "${sim_wallclock}" "${tot_node}" "${tot_proc}") \
+              $(sched_dependency_opt "${dependencystring}")"
 
 if (! ${debugmode}) ; then
   # Submit to sim.job
-  submit_sim=$(sbatch ${jobsimstring} ${ctl_dir}/sim_ctl/sim.job 2>&1)
+  submit_sim=$(sched_submit "${jobname_sim}" "${jobsimstring}" "${ctl_dir}/sim_ctl/sim.job")
   echo $submit_sim" for simulation"
 else
   # Set lsim run & cleanup to false and source sim.job
@@ -202,7 +207,7 @@ else
 fi
 
 # get jobid
-sim_id=$(echo $submit_sim | awk 'END{print $(NF)}')
+sim_id=$(sched_parse_jobid "$submit_sim")
 
 fi # $lsim
 
@@ -221,20 +226,16 @@ else
 fi
 
 # Configure TSMP2 Postprocessing
-jobposstring="${jobgenstring} \
-              --job-name="${expid}_${caseid}pos_${dateshort}" \
-              --time=${pos_wallclock} \
-              --output="${log_dir}/%x_%j.out" \
-              --error="${log_dir}/%x_%j.err" \
-              --nodes=1 \
-              --ntasks=${npnode}"
+jobname_pos="${expid}_${caseid}pos_${dateshort}"
+jobposstring="${jobgenstring} $(sched_step_opts "${jobname_pos}" "${pos_wallclock}" 1 "${npnode}") \
+              $(sched_dependency_opt "${dependencystring}")"
 
 # Submit to pos.job
-submit_pos=$(sbatch ${jobposstring} ${ctl_dir}/pos_ctl/pos.job 2>&1)
+submit_pos=$(sched_submit "${jobname_pos}" "${jobposstring}" "${ctl_dir}/pos_ctl/pos.job")
 echo $submit_pos" for postprocessing"
 
 # get jobid
-pos_id=$(echo $submit_pos | awk 'END{print $(NF)}')
+pos_id=$(sched_parse_jobid "$submit_pos")
 
 fi # $lpos
 
@@ -253,20 +254,16 @@ else
 fi
 
 # Configure TSMP2 Postprocessing
-jobvisstring="${jobgenstring} \
-              --job-name="${expid}_${caseid}vis_${dateshort}" \
-              --time=${vis_wallclock} \
-              --output="${log_dir}/%x_%j.out" \
-              --error="${log_dir}/%x_%j.err" \
-              --nodes=1 \
-              --ntasks=${npnode}"
+jobname_vis="${expid}_${caseid}vis_${dateshort}"
+jobvisstring="${jobgenstring} $(sched_step_opts "${jobname_vis}" "${vis_wallclock}" 1 "${npnode}") \
+              $(sched_dependency_opt "${dependencystring}")"
 
 # Submit to vis.job
-submit_vis=$(sbatch ${jobvisstring} ${ctl_dir}/vis_ctl/vis.job 2>&1)
+submit_vis=$(sched_submit "${jobname_vis}" "${jobvisstring}" "${ctl_dir}/vis_ctl/vis.job")
 echo $submit_vis" for visualization"
 
 # get jobid
-vis_id=$(echo $submit_vis | awk 'END{print $(NF)}')
+vis_id=$(sched_parse_jobid "$submit_vis")
 
 fi # $lvis
 
diff --git a/ctl/master.conf b/ctl/master.conf
index b545b93..6c675b1 100644
--- a/ctl/master.conf
+++ b/ctl/master.conf
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ EXP_ID="eur-12-iic" #"eur-11u"
 CASE_ID="" # identifier for cases
 conf_file="" # configure file for cases, also possible ${EXP_ID}.conf
 
+# job scheduler: slurm (default), pbs, or local
+scheduler=slurm # 'local' runs jobs synchronously in the foreground with no queue
+
 # main switches (PREprocessing, SIMulations, POSt-processing, VISualisation)
 lpre=( false false false ) # config, run, cleanup
 lsim=( true true true ) # config, run, cleanup
@@ -22,14 +25,14 @@ startdate="2017-07-01T00:00Z" # ISO norm 8601
 inidate=${startdate} # ISO norm 8601, fix for entire simulation
 numsimstep=1 # number of simulation steps, simulation period = numsimstep * simlength
 
-# mail notification for slurm jobs
-mailtype=NONE # NONE, BEGIN, END, FAIL, REQUEUE, ALL
+# mail notification for scheduler jobs
+mailtype=NONE # NONE, BEGIN, END, FAIL, REQUEUE, ALL (mapped to PBS -m code if scheduler=pbs)
 mailaddress=""
 
 # user setting, leave empty for jsc machine defaults
 prevjobid="" # previous job-id, default leave empty
 npnode="" # number of cores per node
-partition="" # compute partition
+partition="" # compute partition (slurm) / queue (pbs)
 account="" # SET compute account. $BUDGET_ACCOUNTS / slts is used, if not set.
 
 # wallclock
diff --git a/ctl/pos_ctl/pos.job b/ctl/pos_ctl/pos.job
index be4de6f..3ca14ce 100755
--- a/ctl/pos_ctl/pos.job
+++ b/ctl/pos_ctl/pos.job
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 ###
 # Import functions
 ###
+source ${ctl_dir}/utils_tsmp2.sh
 source ${ctl_dir}/pos_ctl/pos_config.sh
 source ${ctl_dir}/pos_ctl/pos_run.sh
 source ${ctl_dir}/pos_ctl/pos_cleanup.sh
diff --git a/ctl/pre_ctl/pre.job b/ctl/pre_ctl/pre.job
index 8f2cb88..61277ab 100755
--- a/ctl/pre_ctl/pre.job
+++ b/ctl/pre_ctl/pre.job
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 ###
 # Import functions
 ###
+source ${ctl_dir}/utils_tsmp2.sh
 source ${ctl_dir}/pre_ctl/pre_config.sh
 source ${ctl_dir}/pre_ctl/pre_run.sh
 source ${ctl_dir}/pre_ctl/pre_cleanup.sh
diff --git a/ctl/pre_ctl/pre_cleanup.sh b/ctl/pre_ctl/pre_cleanup.sh
index fc4ecdc..053deeb 100755
--- a/ctl/pre_ctl/pre_cleanup.sh
+++ b/ctl/pre_ctl/pre_cleanup.sh
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ pre_cleanup(){
 
 echo "Start Pre-processing cleanup"
 
+job_id=$(sched_job_id)
+job_name=$(sched_job_name)
+
 ####################
 # CLM
 ####################
@@ -23,7 +26,11 @@ fi
 
 # move logs
 mkdir -p ${eclmfrc_dir}/log/
-mv ${log_dir}/${SLURM_JOB_NAME}_${SLURM_JOB_ID}.{err,out} ${eclmfrc_dir}/log/.
+if [[ "${scheduler}" == "pbs" ]]; then
+  mv ${log_dir}/${job_name}.{e,o}${job_id} ${eclmfrc_dir}/log/${job_name}_${job_id}.out
+else
+  mv ${log_dir}/${job_name}_${job_id}.{err,out} ${eclmfrc_dir}/log/.
+fi
 
 # remove working directory
 rm -rf ${pre_dir:?}
diff --git a/ctl/pre_ctl/pre_config.sh b/ctl/pre_ctl/pre_config.sh
index 47ca63c..7cb7a97 100755
--- a/ctl/pre_ctl/pre_config.sh
+++ b/ctl/pre_ctl/pre_config.sh
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ if ${debugmode}; then
 
 # create job submission script (pre.job)
 echo "#!/usr/bin/env bash" > pre.job
-echo "#SBATCH ${jobprestring//[$'\t\r\n']}" >> pre.job
+echo "$(sched_directive_prefix) ${jobprestring//[$'\t\r\n']}" >> pre.job
 
 # add modelid, which is needed
 echo "" >> pre.job
diff --git a/ctl/pre_ctl/pre_run.sh b/ctl/pre_ctl/pre_run.sh
index 4351fa1..8a6e907 100755
--- a/ctl/pre_ctl/pre_run.sh
+++ b/ctl/pre_ctl/pre_run.sh
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ for yyyymm in "${listfrcfile[@]}"; do
    mkdir -p $yyyymm # temporary directory for scripts
 
    # extract data from ERA5 meteocloud
-   srun --exclusive -n 1 ${lsmforcgensrc_dir}/extract_ERA5_meteocloud.sh iyear=$year imonth=$month \
+   run_serial_step ${lsmforcgensrc_dir}/extract_ERA5_meteocloud.sh iyear=$year imonth=$month \
         outdir=${pre_dir}/${yyyymm} #quiet=y
 
 #  # needs to be done in advance
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ for yyyymm in "${listfrcfile[@]}"; do
    ln -s ${cdsapi_dtadir}/download_era5_${year}_$month.zip ${yyyymm}/
 
    # preparation script
-   srun --exclusive -n 1 ${lsmforcgensrc_dir}/prepare_ERA5_input.sh pathdata=${pre_dir}/${yyyymm} \
+   run_serial_step ${lsmforcgensrc_dir}/prepare_ERA5_input.sh pathdata=${pre_dir}/${yyyymm} \
 	                  iyear=$year imonth=$month wrkdir=${yyyymm}
 
 done
diff --git a/ctl/sim_ctl/sim.job b/ctl/sim_ctl/sim.job
index 87f7a05..2964dcd 100755
--- a/ctl/sim_ctl/sim.job
+++ b/ctl/sim_ctl/sim.job
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 ###
 # Import functions
 ###
+source ${ctl_dir}/utils_tsmp2.sh
 source ${ctl_dir}/sim_ctl/sim_config.sh
 source ${ctl_dir}/sim_ctl/sim_run.sh
 source ${ctl_dir}/sim_ctl/sim_cleanup.sh
diff --git a/ctl/sim_ctl/sim_cleanup.sh b/ctl/sim_ctl/sim_cleanup.sh
index 98c69fe..acbc947 100755
--- a/ctl/sim_ctl/sim_cleanup.sh
+++ b/ctl/sim_ctl/sim_cleanup.sh
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ echo "###"
 echo "# Cleanup Simulation"
 echo "###"
 
+job_id=$(sched_job_id)
+job_name=$(sched_job_name)
+
 parse_config_file ${conf_file} "sim_clean_general"
 
 file_op_mode=${file_op_mode:-"copy"}
@@ -70,7 +73,7 @@ if [[ "${modelid}" == *clm* ]]; then
   file_op ${sim_dir}/eCLM_*.clm2.h* ${simout_dir}/out/eclm
 
   # Model log
-  file_op ${sim_dir}/logs/${SLURM_JOB_ID}.comp_*.log ${simout_dir}/log/
+  file_op ${sim_dir}/logs/${job_id}.comp_*.log ${simout_dir}/log/
   file_op ${sim_dir}/timing/model_timing_stats ${simout_dir}/log/
 
   # Restart
@@ -111,13 +114,22 @@ if [[ "${modelid}" == *parflow* ]]; then
 
 fi # parflow
 
-file_op ${sim_dir}/slm_multiprog_mapping.conf ${simout_dir}/log/
+file_op ${sim_dir}/${mpmd_mapping_file} ${simout_dir}/log/
 
 # sim logs
-mv ${log_dir}/${SLURM_JOB_NAME}_${SLURM_JOB_ID}.{err,out} ${simout_dir}/log/.
+if [[ "${scheduler}" == "pbs" ]]; then
+  mv ${log_dir}/${job_name}.{e,o}${job_id} ${simout_dir}/log/${job_name}_${job_id}.out
+else
+  mv ${log_dir}/${job_name}_${job_id}.{err,out} ${simout_dir}/log/.
+fi
 
 # job info
-echo $(scontrol show job ${SLURM_JOB_ID}) > ${simout_dir}/log/job_info.log
+case "${scheduler}" in
+  slurm) echo $(scontrol show job ${job_id}) > ${simout_dir}/log/job_info.log ;;
+  pbs)   qstat -f ${job_id} > ${simout_dir}/log/job_info.log 2>&1 ;;
+  local) echo "local job ${job_name} (id ${job_id}) ran on $(hostname) at $(date)" > ${simout_dir}/log/job_info.log ;;
+  *)     echo $(scontrol show job ${job_id}) > ${simout_dir}/log/job_info.log ;;
+esac
 
 # remove run directory
 rm -rf ${sim_dir:?}
diff --git a/ctl/sim_ctl/sim_config.sh b/ctl/sim_ctl/sim_config.sh
index b87cc84..1eaca32 100755
--- a/ctl/sim_ctl/sim_config.sh
+++ b/ctl/sim_ctl/sim_config.sh
@@ -23,21 +23,37 @@ if [ -e "${sim_dir}" ]; then
 fi
 mkdir -p $sim_dir
 
-# slm_multiprog
-if [[ "${modelid}" == *icon* ]]; then
-   echo "0-__icon_pe__   ./icon" >> ${sim_dir}/slm_multiprog_mapping.conf
-fi
-if [[ "${modelid}" == *eclm* ]]; then
-   echo "__clm_ps__-__clm_pe__ ./eclm" >> ${sim_dir}/slm_multiprog_mapping.conf
-fi
-if [[ "${modelid}" == *parflow* ]]; then
-   echo "__pfl_ps__-__pfl_pe__ ./parflow __pfl_expid__" >>  ${sim_dir}/slm_multiprog_mapping.conf
+# MPMD program-rank mapping file for the coupled run (format depends on scheduler)
+if [[ "${scheduler}" == "pbs" || "${scheduler}" == "local" ]]; then
+   # Open MPI app-context file, ranks assigned per-line count (used with 'mpiexec --app')
+   mpmd_mapping_file=mpi_multiprog_mapping.conf
+   if [[ "${modelid}" == *icon* ]]; then
+      echo "-np ${ico_proc} ./icon" >> ${sim_dir}/${mpmd_mapping_file}
+   fi
+   if [[ "${modelid}" == *eclm* ]]; then
+      echo "-np ${clm_proc} ./eclm" >> ${sim_dir}/${mpmd_mapping_file}
+   fi
+   if [[ "${modelid}" == *parflow* ]]; then
+      echo "-np ${pfl_proc} ./parflow __pfl_expid__" >> ${sim_dir}/${mpmd_mapping_file}
+   fi
+else
+   # Slurm multi-prog rank-range mapping file (used with 'srun --multi-prog')
+   mpmd_mapping_file=slm_multiprog_mapping.conf
+   if [[ "${modelid}" == *icon* ]]; then
+      echo "0-__icon_pe__   ./icon" >> ${sim_dir}/${mpmd_mapping_file}
+   fi
+   if [[ "${modelid}" == *eclm* ]]; then
+      echo "__clm_ps__-__clm_pe__ ./eclm" >> ${sim_dir}/${mpmd_mapping_file}
+   fi
+   if [[ "${modelid}" == *parflow* ]]; then
+      echo "__pfl_ps__-__pfl_pe__ ./parflow __pfl_expid__" >>  ${sim_dir}/${mpmd_mapping_file}
+   fi
+   sed -i "s/__icon_pe__/$(($ico_proc-1))/" ${sim_dir}/${mpmd_mapping_file}
+   sed -i "s/__clm_ps__/$(($ico_proc))/" ${sim_dir}/${mpmd_mapping_file}
+   sed -i "s/__clm_pe__/$(($ico_proc+$clm_proc-1))/" ${sim_dir}/${mpmd_mapping_file}
+   sed -i "s/__pfl_ps__/$(($ico_proc+$clm_proc))/" ${sim_dir}/${mpmd_mapping_file}
+   sed -i "s/__pfl_pe__/$(($ico_proc+$clm_proc+$pfl_proc-1))/" ${sim_dir}/${mpmd_mapping_file}
 fi
-sed -i "s/__icon_pe__/$(($ico_proc-1))/" ${sim_dir}/slm_multiprog_mapping.conf
-sed -i "s/__clm_ps__/$(($ico_proc))/" ${sim_dir}/slm_multiprog_mapping.conf
-sed -i "s/__clm_pe__/$(($ico_proc+$clm_proc-1))/" ${sim_dir}/slm_multiprog_mapping.conf
-sed -i "s/__pfl_ps__/$(($ico_proc+$clm_proc))/" ${sim_dir}/slm_multiprog_mapping.conf
-sed -i "s/__pfl_pe__/$(($ico_proc+$clm_proc+$pfl_proc-1))/" ${sim_dir}/slm_multiprog_mapping.conf
 
 # change to run directory
 cd ${sim_dir}
@@ -259,7 +275,7 @@ if [[ "${modelid}" == *parflow* ]]; then
   sed -i "s#__inifile__#$(basename "$fini_pfl")#" coup_oas.tcl
   sed -i "s/__pfltsfilerst__/${pfltsfilerst}/" coup_oas.tcl
   sed -i "s/__pfloutmfilt__/${pfloutmfilt}/" coup_oas.tcl
-  sed -i "s/__pfl_expid__/$EXP_ID/" slm_multiprog_mapping.conf
+  sed -i "s/__pfl_expid__/$EXP_ID/" ${mpmd_mapping_file}
 
   # --- execute ParFlow distributeing tcl-scripts
   export PARFLOW_DIR=${tsmp2_install_dir}
@@ -305,7 +321,7 @@ if ${debugmode}; then
 
 # create job submission script (tsmp2.job)
 echo "#!/usr/bin/env bash" > tsmp2.job
-echo "#SBATCH ${jobsimstring//[$'\t\r\n']}" >> tsmp2.job
+echo "$(sched_directive_prefix) ${jobsimstring//[$'\t\r\n']}" >> tsmp2.job
 
 # add modelid, which is needed
 echo "" >> tsmp2.job
diff --git a/ctl/sim_ctl/sim_run.sh b/ctl/sim_ctl/sim_run.sh
index 0331952..1515b09 100755
--- a/ctl/sim_ctl/sim_run.sh
+++ b/ctl/sim_ctl/sim_run.sh
@@ -17,10 +17,11 @@ source $LOADENVS
 if [[ "${modelid}" == *clm* ]]; then
 
 # Set PIO log files
-if [[ -z $SLURM_JOB_ID || "$SLURM_JOB_ID" == " " ]]; then
+job_id=$(sched_job_id)
+if [[ -z "$job_id" || "$job_id" == " " ]]; then
   LOGID=$(date +%Y-%m-%d_%H.%M.%S)
 else
-  LOGID=$SLURM_JOB_ID
+  LOGID=$job_id
 fi
 mkdir -p logs timing/checkpoints
 LOGDIR=$(realpath logs)
@@ -47,7 +48,11 @@ fi # parflow
 # Run model
 TIME_START=$(date +%s)
 echo ">>> ${modelid} started at $(date +%H:%M:%S)"
-srun --multi-prog slm_multiprog_mapping.conf
+if [[ "${scheduler}" == "pbs" || "${scheduler}" == "local" ]]; then
+  mpiexec --app ${mpmd_mapping_file}
+else
+  srun --multi-prog ${mpmd_mapping_file}
+fi
 TIME_END=$(date +%s)
 echo ">>> ${modelid} finished at $(date +%H:%M:%S)"
 echo ">>> ${modelid} runtime: $(date -u -d "0 $TIME_END sec - $TIME_START sec" +"%H:%M:%S")"
diff --git a/ctl/utils_tsmp2.sh b/ctl/utils_tsmp2.sh
index 16ca0a2..1321f83 100755
--- a/ctl/utils_tsmp2.sh
+++ b/ctl/utils_tsmp2.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,17 @@
 # check_var_def - check if variable is defined and if not take default and printing message
 # logging_job_status - log information about the job into job_status.log
 # parse_config_file - parser to read in ini/conf-files
+#
+# Scheduler abstraction to faciliate different schedular
+# sched_pbs_mailcode  - map generic mailtype to a PBS -m code
+# sched_step_opts     - per-job-step submission options (name, walltime, nodes/tasks, log files)
+# sched_dependency_opt - build the scheduler-specific job-dependency flag
+# sched_submit        - submit a job script, returns raw submission output
+# sched_parse_jobid   - extract the job id from submission output
+# sched_job_id        - current job id, read from within a running job
+# sched_job_name      - current job name, read from within a running job
+# sched_directive_prefix - in-script batch-directive comment prefix (#SBATCH / #PBS)
+# run_serial_step     - run a serial helper program (job-step exclusive under slurm, direct under pbs)
 ##
 
 # calculate number of processors for TSMP2 application
@@ -96,14 +107,168 @@ logging_job_status(){
   local step="$1"
 
   if [ "$joblog" = true ] && [ "$debugmode" != true ]; then
-    job_id=$SLURM_JOB_ID
-    job_state=$(scontrol show job $job_id | grep "JobState=" | cut -d= -f2 | cut -d' ' -f1)
+    job_id=$(sched_job_id)
+    case "${scheduler:-slurm}" in
+      slurm)
+        job_state=$(scontrol show job $job_id | grep "JobState=" | cut -d= -f2 | cut -d' ' -f1)
+        ;;
+      pbs)
+        job_state=$(qstat -f "$job_id" 2>/dev/null | awk -F' = ' '/job_state/{print $2}')
+        ;;
+      local)
+        job_state="COMPLETED"
+        ;;
+      *)
+        job_state=$(scontrol show job $job_id | grep "JobState=" | cut -d= -f2 | cut -d' ' -f1)
+        ;;
+    esac
     printf "%10s %8s %3s %15s %14s %10s %10s %14s %8s\n" "${expid}" "${caseid}" "${step}" "${modelid}" \
         "${dateshort}" "${job_id}" "${job_state}" "$(date '+%Y%m%d%H%M%S')" $(date -u -d "0 $timeend sec - $timestart sec" +"%H:%M:%S") \
         >> ${ctl_dir}/job_status.log
   fi
 } # logging_job_status
 
+###
+# Scheduler abstraction: slurm (default), pbs, or local, selected via ${scheduler}
+# 'local' runs job scripts synchronously in the foreground (no queue), for
+# machines without a batch scheduler (e.g. a plain Ubuntu workstation).
+###
+
+# map generic mailtype (NONE,BEGIN,END,FAIL,REQUEUE,ALL) to a PBS -m code
+sched_pbs_mailcode() {
+  case "${mailtype^^}" in
+    BEGIN)            echo "b" ;;
+    END)              echo "e" ;;
+    FAIL|REQUEUE)     echo "a" ;;
+    ALL)              echo "abe" ;;
+    *)                echo "n" ;;
+  esac
+} # sched_pbs_mailcode
+
+# per-job-step submission options (job name, walltime, node/task layout, log files)
+# args: jobname walltime nodes ntasks
+sched_step_opts() {
+  local jobname="$1" walltime="$2" nodes="$3" ntasks="$4"
+
+  case "${scheduler:-slurm}" in
+    slurm)
+      echo "--job-name=${jobname} \
+            --time=${walltime} \
+            --output=${log_dir}/%x_%j.out \
+            --error=${log_dir}/%x_%j.err \
+            --nodes=${nodes} \
+            --ntasks=${ntasks}"
+      ;;
+    pbs)
+      local ppn=$((ntasks/nodes))
+      echo "-N ${jobname} \
+            -l walltime=${walltime} \
+            -l nodes=${nodes}:ppn=${ppn} \
+            -o ${log_dir}/ \
+            -e ${log_dir}/"
+      ;;
+    local)
+      : # no scheduler options: sched_submit runs the job script directly
+      ;;
+    *)
+      echo "--job-name=${jobname} \
+            --time=${walltime} \
+            --output=${log_dir}/%x_%j.out \
+            --error=${log_dir}/%x_%j.err \
+            --nodes=${nodes} \
+            --ntasks=${ntasks}"
+      ;;
+  esac
+} # sched_step_opts
+
+# build the scheduler-specific job-dependency flag
+# args: dependency payload, e.g. "afterok:123:456" (empty => no dependency)
+sched_dependency_opt() {
+  local dep="$1"
+  [ -z "$dep" ] && return 0
+
+  case "${scheduler:-slurm}" in
+    slurm) echo "--dependency=${dep}" ;;
+    pbs)   echo "-W depend=${dep}" ;;
+    local) : ;; # local jobs already run sequentially/blocking, no dependency needed
+    *)     echo "--dependency=${dep}" ;;
+  esac
+} # sched_dependency_opt
+
+# submit a job script; args: jobname opt_string job_script
+# under 'local', runs synchronously in the foreground (blocking) and redirects
+# stdout/stderr into log_dir, matching the slurm output-file naming convention
+sched_submit() {
+  local jobname="$1" opts="$2" job_script="$3"
+
+  case "${scheduler:-slurm}" in
+    slurm)
+      sbatch ${opts} ${job_script} 2>&1
+      ;;
+    pbs)
+      qsub ${opts} ${job_script} 2>&1
+      ;;
+    local)
+      local job_id=$(date +%s%N)
+      TSMP2_LOCAL_JOB_ID="${job_id}" TSMP2_LOCAL_JOB_NAME="${jobname}" \
+        bash ${job_script} > ${log_dir}/${jobname}_${job_id}.out 2> ${log_dir}/${jobname}_${job_id}.err
+      echo "${job_id}"
+      ;;
+    *)
+      sbatch ${opts} ${job_script} 2>&1
+      ;;
+  esac
+} # sched_submit
+
+# extract the job id from a job's submission output
+# args: submission output (e.g. captured from sched_submit)
+sched_parse_jobid() {
+  case "${scheduler:-slurm}" in
+    slurm)     echo "$1" | awk 'END{print $(NF)}' ;;
+    pbs|local) echo "$1" | tail -n1 | tr -d '[:space:]' ;;
+    *)         echo "$1" | awk 'END{print $(NF)}' ;;
+  esac
+} # sched_parse_jobid
+
+# current job id, read from within a running job
+sched_job_id() {
+  case "${scheduler:-slurm}" in
+    slurm) echo "${SLURM_JOB_ID}" ;;
+    pbs)   echo "${PBS_JOBID%%.*}" ;;
+    local) echo "${TSMP2_LOCAL_JOB_ID}" ;;
+    *)     echo "${SLURM_JOB_ID}" ;;
+  esac
+} # sched_job_id
+
+# current job name, read from within a running job
+sched_job_name() {
+  case "${scheduler:-slurm}" in
+    slurm) echo "${SLURM_JOB_NAME}" ;;
+    pbs)   echo "${PBS_JOBNAME}" ;;
+    local) echo "${TSMP2_LOCAL_JOB_NAME}" ;;
+    *)     echo "${SLURM_JOB_NAME}" ;;
+  esac
+} # sched_job_name
+
+# in-script batch-directive comment prefix, used when generating job scripts in debugmode
+sched_directive_prefix() {
+  case "${scheduler:-slurm}" in
+    slurm) echo "#SBATCH" ;;
+    pbs)   echo "#PBS" ;;
+    local) echo "#" ;;
+    *)     echo "#SBATCH" ;;
+  esac
+} # sched_directive_prefix
+
+# run a serial helper program: an exclusive job-step under slurm, directly under pbs/local
+run_serial_step() {
+  case "${scheduler:-slurm}" in
+    slurm)     srun --exclusive -n 1 "$@" ;;
+    pbs|local) "$@" ;;
+    *)         srun --exclusive -n 1 "$@" ;;
+  esac
+} # run_serial_step
+
 
 # input 1: filename of conf-file input 2: section (optional)
 parse_config_file() {
diff --git a/ctl/vis_ctl/vis.job b/ctl/vis_ctl/vis.job
index c4ecfee..f24be03 100755
--- a/ctl/vis_ctl/vis.job
+++ b/ctl/vis_ctl/vis.job
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 ###
 # Import functions
 ###
+source ${ctl_dir}/utils_tsmp2.sh
 source ${ctl_dir}/vis_ctl/vis_config.sh
 source ${ctl_dir}/vis_ctl/vis_run.sh
 source ${ctl_dir}/vis_ctl/vis_cleanup.sh
diff --git a/doc/user_guide/usage_wfe/running.md b/doc/user_guide/usage_wfe/running.md
index e95e475..7528379 100644
--- a/doc/user_guide/usage_wfe/running.md
+++ b/doc/user_guide/usage_wfe/running.md
@@ -39,6 +39,12 @@ If the simulation terminates prematurely (e.g., due to a crash) before the clean
 
 ### Main Settings
 
+#### scheduler
+
+Job scheduler to submit workflow jobs to compute. Options: `slurm` (default), `pbs` (OpenPBS/Torque), or `local`. Selects the submission command (`sbatch`/`qsub`/none), resource-request syntax, dependency handling, and the MPMD launch mechanism used for the coupled simulation step (Slurm `srun --multi-prog` vs. an Open MPI `mpiexec --app` mapping file, used by both `pbs` and `local`).
+
+`local` is for machines without a batch scheduler (e.g. a plain Ubuntu workstation): each workflow stage runs synchronously in the foreground (no queue, no wallclock/partition/account/mail settings), with stdout/stderr redirected into `ctl/logs/`. Requires a working local MPI installation (`mpiexec`) for the simulation step, and enough local cores to cover `npnode`.
+
 #### MODEL_ID
 
 Specifies which model components to use. Options include but are not
@@ -139,8 +145,9 @@ only executed once the previous is done.
 
 #### mailtype
 
-Email notification trigger for SLURM jobs. Options: `NONE`, `BEGIN`,
-`END`, `FAIL`, `REQUEUE`, `ALL`.
+Email notification trigger for scheduler jobs. Options: `NONE`, `BEGIN`,
+`END`, `FAIL`, `REQUEUE`, `ALL`. Mapped to the equivalent PBS `-m` code
+when `scheduler=pbs`.
 
 #### mailaddress
 
@@ -159,7 +166,8 @@ Number of cores per node. Leave empty to use machine defaults.
 
 #### partition
 
-Compute partition to use. Leave empty to use machine defaults.
+Compute partition (`slurm`) or queue (`pbs`) to use. Leave empty to use
+machine defaults.
 
 #### account