Coastal Scientist

THE WATER INSTITUTE OF THE GULF•Pittsburgh, PA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Water Institute is seeking an experienced Coastal Scientist to contribute to the development of physics-based multidimensional coastal and estuarine hydrodynamic modeling frameworks. This role will support decision-making, evaluate coastal restoration approaches, and quantify the impacts of restoration activities, including flooding in urban, coastal, and marsh settings, coastal sediment transport, nature-based solutions, and other ecosystem restoration strategies. The position involves conducting advanced research and development in coastal systems, requiring a strong grasp of hydrodynamic processes, proven expertise in hydrodynamic modeling, climate scenario analysis, co-development, and effective communication of findings to communities.

Requirements

PhD degree and 1-2 years of experience in quantitative fields such as science or engineering and expertise in coastal science, surface processes, climate model downscaling, sea level science, and coastal hydrodynamics.
Proven experience with collaborative model development and communication of science to community and stakeholder audiences.
Graduate-level training in hydrology and hydraulics, climate science, statistics, data science, spatial analysis, and related fields.
Excellent programming skills in Python, including experience processing geospatial, climate, coastal, and global reanalysis datasets.
Strong background in coastal hydrodynamic modeling using SFINCS/Delft3D.
Working knowledge of HPC environments and BASH scripting.
Excellent written skills, ability to describe highly technical information clearly (including writing technical reports, non-technical summaries, and publishing in peer-reviewed scientific journals).
Strong oral communication skills for discussing highly technical concepts to diverse audiences
Pro-active attitude to problem-solve, ability to work independently, and self-motivated.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with climate downscaling or reanalysis products.
Familiarity with land use, flow monitoring observational datasets, digital elevation datasets, and other geospatial datasets relevant to coastal modeling.
Familiarity with additional hydrologic and hydraulic modeling (e.g., HEC-RAS 1D/2D, HEC-HMS, EPA SWMM/NET, SMS).
Knowledge and experience with data analysis and interpretation using statistical techniques
Understanding of current scientific literature related to coastal surface processes and the response of coastal ecosystems to climate forcing
Identify and assist with the acquisition of funding from public, private, and federal sources
Ability to independently design, execute, and validate science-based solutions to complex, open-ended problems related to coastal modeling applications in various geomorphic systems.

Responsibilities

Support/lead the identification, acquisition, analysis and synthesis of datasets for coastal modeling applications, including but not limited to downscaling climate model data, sea level projections, NOAA and USGS gauges, spatial datasets for initial conditions, global re-analysis datasets from atmospheric, ocean, and climate models and related datasets to support hydrodynamic model development, decision science, and long-term planning.
Support creation of physics-based hydrodynamic models for various coastal applications.
Interpret and disseminate data and model outputs for the evaluation of ecosystem restoration projects, support decision science, or conduct specialized analysis to support both.
Publish methods, results, and interpretations in technical memos and original research in scientific papers.
Present research findings to diverse audiences, including at conferences, seminars, and stakeholder meetings.
Demonstrate willingness to interact across disciplines and with technical teams from different departments throughout the organization.
Perform other duties as assigned.