Postdoctoral Research Associate - Water Resources and Hydrology

About UMass Amherst

The flagship of the Commonwealth, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a nationally ranked public land-grant research university that seeks to expand educational access, fuel innovation and creativity, and share and use its knowledge for the common good. Founded in 1863, UMass Amherst sits on nearly 1,450-acres in scenic Western Massachusetts and boasts state-of-the-art facilities for teaching, research, scholarship, and creative activity. The institution advances a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community where everyone feels connected and valued-and thrives, and offers a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees across 10 schools and colleges, and 100 undergraduate majors. We believe every member of our university community can contribute to our ongoing success by striving for the highest level of excellence as we seek breakthrough solutions to mounting environmental, social, economic, and technological challenges in our world.

Job Description

The postdoctoral researcher(s) will join an active group engaged in research projects funded by a variety of agencies and foundations. The position is supported by a contract with the US Bureau of Reclamation. Research opportunities will focus on the use of novel modeling tools for hydrology and water resources systems, with an emphasis on machine learning and remote sensing, with a focus on developing detailed representations of human alteration of water resources that can scale globally. The initial study area focuses on the Rio Grande Basin in New Mexico, a water stressed basin adjusting to overallocation of water resources and warming climate. The ideal candidate will have highly developed skills in any of the following areas: hydrologic and/or water resources modeling, data science and machine learning with strong computational skills applied to hydrologic or climate variables, sub-seasonal to seasonal climate forecasting or climate change projections. Other research specializations broadly related to water resources and systems analysis will be considered.

Essential Functions

• Conduct research related to climate change and water resources, with an emphasis on human dominated basins.
• Develop and execute hydrologic and river basin model code, including assimilation of remotely sensed observations.
• Engage with a variety of stakeholders in the Rio Grande Basin.
• Write scientific publications, reports, policy briefs, and guidelines.
• Present findings at regional and national conferences and organizing workshops.
• Participate in weekly research meetings with faculty advisor(s); Participate in larger project team meetings and support project reporting activities required by project sponsor.
• Provide support for and/or lead the preparation and submission of proposals for future research funding for the research group.
• Meet weekly with graduate students working on related research projects to provide mentoring that supplements that provided by the faculty advisor(s).
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• PhD in Civil or Environmental Engineering or a related field, including hydrologic and earth sciences, systems analysis, data and information science, or hydroclimatology.
• Demonstrated expertise in hydrologic modeling.
• Ability to program in Python; conduct appropriate statistical analysis of experimental data.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to mentor undergraduate and graduate students.
• Ability to travel to project research meetings.

Additional Information

This position is based on the UMass Amherst campus.

Application Instructions

Please provide a CV, a cover letter describing research experience and interests, and the names and contact information for three professional references.

Review of applications will begin on September 15, 2025 and continue until the position is filled.

The anticipated start date is October 15, 2025.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst welcomes all qualified applicants and complies with all state and federal anti-discrimination laws.