RSA III - AI/ML Modeling of Land-Atmosphere Interactions

Job Posting Title:

RSA III - AI/ML Modeling of Land-Atmosphere Interactions

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Hiring Department:

Bureau of Economic Geology

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue Until Dec 15, 2026

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Location:

PICKLE RESEARCH CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General Notes

This is for a fixed-term, in-person position at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus in North Austin.

Purpose

The RSA III will lead research on environmental challenges under meteorological extremes (hurricanes, heatwaves, droughts, and floods) and their impacts on resources in Texas. This includes integrating hydroclimatic, land and atmospheric datasets, applying advanced AI/ML approaches, and contributing to the development of digital twin frameworks. The duration of this position is 1 year from start date.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research on hydroclimatic extremes using large datasets, satellite remote sensing products, and regional/global climate model outputs.

• Develop and apply machine learning and hybrid AI methods to forecast hydrological and weather extremes

• Publish peer-reviewed papers and present findings at international conferences

• Contribute to grant proposal development and support the mentoring of students and interns.

• Development of Visualization portals or websites.

• Perform geospatial analysis and mapping using GIS and geostatistical tools to assess spatiotemporal variability in meteorological variables.

• Design and execute multi-model evaluation studies (e.g., WRF, HRLDAS, AI-NWP) for extreme weather and water variability predictions

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering and 4+ years of experience with a concentration in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Hydrological Foundational Knowledge, or Master’s degree in civil engineering, Environmental Science, Hydrology, or related field and 2+ years of research experience with particular focus on hydrology or hydrometeorology

• Demonstrated experience in large meteorological and hydrological data analysis, including extreme event assessments as evidenced by contributions to data repositories.

• Strong programming skills (Python, Bash) and experience with machine learning libraries (PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn), especially with HPC/cloud-based environments.

• Proficiency in developing websites or visualization portals (ReactJS)

• Proficiency in GIS software (ArcGIS, QGIS, GDAL, GeoPandas)

• Experience writing and contributing to developing grants for federal agencies

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, Environmental Science, Hydrology, or related field + 3 years of research experience with particular focus on hydrology or hydrometeorology.

• 2+ years of postdoctoral researcher experience.

• Research experience applying AI/ML to hydrological prediction problems for Texas region.

• Prior work on coupled modeling frameworks and integration of observational, model, and remote sensing datasets for City-scale applications with WRF, SOLWEG or similar building resolving models.

• Experience in digital twin development or interdisciplinary projects linking hydrology, extremes.

• Record of peer-reviewed publications, invited talks, and grant proposal contributions.

• Self-motivated and collaborative with strong problem-solving and mentorship skills.

Salary Range

$80,000+ depending on experience

Working Conditions

• May work in all weather conditions

• May work in extreme temperatures

• May work around chemical fumes

• May work around standard office conditions

• May work around chemicals

• May work around electrical and mechanical hazards

• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation

• Climbing of stairs

• Climbing of ladders

• Lifting and moving

• Occasional weekend, overtime, and evening work to meet deadlines

• Occasional fieldwork as necessary

Required Materials

• Resume/CV

• 3 work references with their contact information

• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.