The vacancy is a Research Hydrologist GS-12 position located in Urbana, IL that will lead modeling studies aimed at producing stream water quality and harmful algal bloom predictions in the Illinois River Basin, which will become the foundation for an applied system to support decision makers from farm (meter) to watershed (many hectare) scale management in tile-drained agricultural lands in the US Midwest with specific focus on the Illinois River and Great Lakes Basins. The applied modeling work will leverage insights of existing computationally intensive process-based models as well as availability of high-resolution spatial data (e.g., airborne LiDAR and space based remote sensing) and novel in situ sensing deployed as part of the USGS GLRI and Next Generation Observing System (NGWOS) efforts.
The new employee will join a collaborative group of scientists (from USGS, EPA, University of Illinois) with a wide range of expertise. The initial appointment will be for two years with continuation based on performance and continued availability of funds. The postdoc will be hired at a GS-12 (starts at $82,830), and we are seeking scientists with experience and expertise in process-based and/or machine learning modeling and knowledge of high-performance computing. In addition, exposure to hybrid process-guided machine learning approaches, which can bridge physically based and data-driven methods, is desirable but not required. Duties include leading a collaborative modeling team, preparing data and identifying data gaps, developing, applying, and evaluating watershed models, and communicating results through presentations and scientific publications.
The position is posted to USAJobs and will open be open from February 1st – 28th. Please carefully read all requirements and qualifications in USAjobs. To qualify for this postdoc fellowship, you must meet the basic education requirements, and be within 5 years of receiving your PhD (no earlier than Feb 1, 2018) or can complete requirements before your start date. You will need to submit unofficial transcripts that show you have the required coursework, a resume that shows you have the required experience/expertise, and a short research proposal that describes the work you’ll do. Please reach out to the research advisor Randy Hunt (rjhunt@usgs.gov) about the proposal or to the hiring manager Kelly Warner (klwarner@usgs.gov) with questions about the position.
