Postdoctoral Fellow - 525315
The University of Alabama

Pay Grade/Pay Range: Minimum: $48,600 - Midpoint: $60,800 (Salaried E7)

Department/Organization: 750501 - Alabama Water Institute (AWI)

Normal Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am to 4:45pm

Job Summary: The Postdoctoral Fellow provides for an internship and continuation of scholarly activity and research after achieving the PhD or other doctoral degree under the direction of a senior faculty member who serves as a mentor for the postdoctoral appointee.

Additional Department Summary: The Alabama Water Institute at University of Alabama seeks applications for a postdoctoral fellow for an NOAA-funded project. The Postdoctoral Fellow will be embedded in the Alabama Water Institute under the supervision of James Halgren and working with Arpita Patel and Shahab Alam.

The Postdoctoral Fellow collaborates with a research team exploring strategies to achieve performant and repeatable end-to-end continental scale hydrologic simulation. Develops large scale modeling tests, perform calibration/training experiments, explore model configuration options, and work with development staff to recommend adjustments to community-developed datasets, applications, and workflows used in the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH) research hydrology data stream. Develops manuscript descriptions of the novel methods, tools, and datasets being produced within the CIROH science team to submit for refereed journal publication.

Successful candidates will hold an advanced degree in a closely aligned discipline to the research needs and have a strong record of achievement in the noted research areas. Initial appointment will be for one year. Renewal will be contingent upon availability of funds up to a period of one year. Continuation in this position is contingent upon availability of external funding derived from research programs or specific projects.

Required Minimum Qualifications: Doctorate. Additional qualifications based on assignment.

Additional Required Department Minimum Qualifications: Candidates with a Ph.D. or in a Ph.D. program and all but dissertation in one of these fields (applied hydrology, civil engineering, computer science, geoscience), or a closely related field and demonstrated relevant experience in pre-doctoral research will be considered.

Applicants should upload a brief cover letter, curriculum vitae, and names, emails, and phone numbers of three references.

Skills and Knowledge: Strong interest in (or be already skilled in) the development and application of hydrologic models (conceptual, physics-inspired and/or data driven). Knowledge and experience in one or more of the following: working with large-scale hydrologic models, high-performance and cloud computing, programming in Python, data analysis and visualization, geospatial analysis, and processing of large amounts of meteorological and remote sensing data. Strong programming skills, particularly in Pyth. Experience with hydrologic modeling and environmental data analysis. Knowledge of regional hydrology and factors affecting local water systems. Familiarity with model calibration/training and parameterization and generalization techniques. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative team. Demonstrated record of publishing in peer-reviewed journals.

Preferred Qualifications: Strong interpersonal skills to facilitate effective collaboration with academics, scientists, practitioners, and students. Exhibit outstanding capabilities in personal responsibility, taking initiative, innovative thinking, and communication proficiency. Familiarity with the NextGen framework or similar hydrologic modeling systems. Experience with the CSDMS Basic Model Interface (BMI) or similar coupling frameworks. Knowledge of water systems in Alabama or other specific regions of interest. Background in model regionalization, downscaling, or multi-scale modeling approaches. Experience with cloud computing platforms (e.g., AWS) for large-scale modeling. Familiarity with NOAA's operational forecasting systems. Experience with containerization technologies (e.g., Docker) for creating portable modeling environments.

Background Investigation Statement: Prior to hiring, the final candidate(s) must successfully pass a pre-employment background investigation and information obtained from social media and other internet sources. A prior conviction reported as a result of the background investigation DOES NOT automatically disqualify a candidate from consideration for this position. A candidate with a prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags will receive an individualized review of the prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags before a hiring decision is made.

Equal Employment Opportunity: The University of Alabama is an Equal Employment/Equal Educational Opportunity Institution. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment or volunteer status without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, age, genetic or family medical history information, disability, protected veteran status, or any other legally protected basis, and will not be discriminated against because of their protected status. Applicants and employees of this institution are protected under Federal law from discrimination on several bases. Follow the link below to find out more. "EEO is the Law" Poster