Postdoctoral Research Associate

Texas A&M University; El Paso (TX); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

12-15 days of annual paid holidays

Paid sick leave and vacation

Employee Wellness Initiative

Job summary

Texas A&M University seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate for the ‘Arid Hydrology and Water Systems’ group. The successful candidate will contribute to a NASA-funded project aimed at water resources modeling and management.

The role requires a Ph.D. in related fields, strong knowledge of hydrologic processes, and proficiency in geospatial tools. Benefits include health insurance, paid holidays, and retirement system enrollment.

Qualifications

• Peer-reviewed publications in hydrology or related domains.
• Strong knowledge of transboundary/shared water resources management.
• Experience with remote sensing data integration.

Responsibilities

• Develop remote-sensing-enabled models for surface-water and groundwater assessment.
• Lead data harmonization and processing workflows for TMDH framework.
• Compose research articles for peer-reviewed journals.

Skills

Hydrologic processes

Remote sensing data application

Geospatial and scientific computing tools

AI/ML/DL for environmental applications

Excellent communication skills

Surface water and groundwater modeling

Transboundary/shared water resources management

Education

Ph.D. in relevant field

Tools

Python

GIS

Job description

Job Title: Postdoctoral Research Associate

Position Overview

A postdoctoral research associate will join the ‘Arid Hydrology and Water Systems’ research group at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center at ElPaso. The current focus of the group is on transboundary and shared water resources modeling for sustainable management and binational cooperation, with a strong emphasis on hydrologic modeling, participatory numerical modeling, remote sensing applications, and the development of data-driven decision-support tools.

The successful candidate will work on a NASA-funded Transboundary Model and Data Homogenization (TMDH) project that aims to integrate NASA Earth observation products, in‑situ and field-sensor records, and advanced hydro‑geologic models into an operational platform to support U.S.–Mexico treaty-based water allocation and infrastructure planning.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and validate remote-sensing-enabled models for transboundary surface-water and groundwater assessment, including the integration of NASA EO products (e.g., GRACE/GRACE‑FO, SWOT, MODIS, GPM, Landsat, ECOSTRESS, OpenET, and others) with in‑situ and field-sensor data.
• Configure, calibrate, and apply hydrologic and groundwater modeling systems (e.g., SWAT+ with gwflow/MODFLOW, ParFlow) for the RioGrande and other arid and semi-arid basin settings.
• Design and implement AI/ML/DL-based predictive frameworks to assess water availability, drought impacts, groundwater depletion, and salinity risk under climatic and anthropogenic changes.
• Lead data collection, QA/QC, harmonization, storage, and processing workflows across heterogeneous binational datasets for the TMDH framework.
• Support the development of APIs, dashboards, and decision-support tools (e.g., web-based interfaces and visualization workflows) for IBWC, NADBank, and other regional stakeholders.
• Coordinate usability testing, stakeholder workshops, and feedback loops, and contribute to advancing the platform from prototype to operational readiness.
• Compose research articles for peer-reviewed journals and present results at scientific and stakeholder meetings.
• Assist the supervisor in writing project reports and potential grant proposals.
• Train and supervise under/graduate students, interns, and other project team personnel.
• Perform other assigned research and outreach duties related to ongoing research projects.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Hydrology, Water Resources Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Geosciences, or a closely related field with remote sensing data application at the time of appointment.
• Peer-reviewed publications in hydrology, water resources, environmental modeling, remote sensing, or related domains.
• Strong knowledge of hydrologic processes, transboundary/shared water resources management, and coupled human–natural systems.
• Proficiency in geospatial and scientific computing tools (e.g., Python, R, GIS, Google Earth Engine, or equivalent) to handle and process complex datasets.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to interact with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to work multi-tasking with project team, end-users, and binational stakeholders; complete project tasks before the deadline; and work cooperatively with the interdisciplinary project team.
• Experience with surface water and groundwater modeling using tools such as SWAT/SWAT+ with gwflow/MODFLOW, ParFlow, and other similar models.
• Experience with remote sensing and Earth observation data integration into hydrologic or environmental models.
• Demonstrated experience with AI (ML/DL), data assimilation, or advanced statistical modeling for environmental or water resources applications.
• Experience working with large, multi-source geospatial datasets, preferably in transboundary or data-scarce contexts.
• A valid driver's license is required to commute to project-related fieldwork and meetings.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of arid and semi-arid water resources and systems, drought, surface-groundwater interactions, and water-treaty policies.
• Experience in building web-based tools, APIs, or dashboards for environmental data and model output visualization.

Salary

Compensation for this position is commensurate based on the selected candidate’s qualifications.

Benefits

• Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums.
• 12‑15 days of annual paid holidays.
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month.
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
• Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer. The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a statewide network of twelve universities, eight state agencies, a comprehensive health science center, Texas A&M-Fort Worth and Texas A&M-RELLIS. The A&M System is committed to providing an educational and work environment that is conducive to the personal and professional development of each employee. Each member institution provides equal opportunity and access to all students, employees and prospective employees.

The Texas A&M System is an Equal Opportunity/ Veterans/ Disability Employer.