Postdoctoral Associate—Florida Digital Twin (FLDT)

FLDT • Jacksonville, FL

12h • Onsite

About The Position

The JaxLab program of the School of Architecture (SoA) at the University of Florida (UF) is hiring two Postdoctoral Associates as part of a coordinated team effort, each with a distinct focus but both contributing to the advancement of the FLDT mission. About the JaxLab and the Florida Digital Twin (FLDT) JaxLab is an applied research and teaching program operated by UF SoA in Jacksonville, Florida delivering the Master of Architecture degree. It serves as a place-based design and innovation hub—embedding faculty, students, and researchers within the dynamic urban fabric of Jacksonville. JaxLab’s mission centers on community-engaged scholarship, transdisciplinary collaboration, and real-world impact, with an emphasis on resilient, equitable, and design-driven futures. The Florida Digital Twin (FLDT) is a flagship research initiative funded by the UF Office of Research that leverages high-performance computing, AI, and geospatial modeling to build AI-powered replicas of the built and natural environment. FLDT enables real-time monitoring, predictive modeling, and scenario testing for Florida’s most pressing planning, environmental, and infrastructure challenges. JaxLab plays a pivotal role in translating this statewide initiative into community-centered applications with a focus on the Jacksonville region and beyond. Position 1: Postdoctoral Associate – Software Engineering & Technical Development This position focuses on the technical development of FLDT. The postdoc will help develop, build, and maintain a suite of geospatial tools and data infrastructure that support large-scale 3D modeling, spatial data integration, and public-facing decision-support applications. Position will teach AI, coding, or other related course. Position 2: Postdoctoral Associate – Community Engagement & Teaching This position focuses on community and urban design, hazard resilience, and/or stakeholder engagement. The post-doc will assist and/or teach related courses. The postdoc will work closely with community partners, faculty, and students to ensure that the Florida Digital Twin reflects local priorities, values, and lived experiences—especially within Jacksonville and surrounding areas. Expectations & Duties Each postdoc will be expected to: Collaborate with interdisciplinary faculty across the FLDT and JaxLab programs. Deliver tangible outputs within their domain (e.g., a working prototype or public-facing workshop series). Support documentation and publication efforts. Help build sustainable, scalable processes that benefit UF and partner communities. Location & Logistics These positions are based in Jacksonville, Florida, with frequent interaction with UF’s main campus in Gainesville. Travel support, computing resources (including access to HiPerGator), and collaborative workspace will be provided.

Requirements

• Required to have a terminal degree in Urban and Regional Planning, Architecture, or a closely related field. Master’s degree in Computer Science, Geoinformatics, Data Science, is preferred.
• Terminal degree in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning, Public Policy, or related field.

Nice To Haves

• Proficiency in Python, geospatial libraries, API design (e.g., FastAPI), and cloud/HPC environments.
• Experience with containerization tools and orchestration platforms (Docker, Podman, Kubernetes), spatial databases (e.g., PostGIS), or 3D modeling workflows.
• Familiarity with GIS platforms (ArcGIS, QGIS) and web-based data visualization.
• Knowledge with Apache Jena, Neo4j, and Cloud Platform (e.g., GCP, AWS).
• Demonstrated experience in community engagement, participatory methods, or public-interest design.
• Teaching or curriculum development experience in a university setting.
• Excellent facilitation, writing, and communication skills.
• Interest in digital tools for resilience, equity, or urban systems.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain ETL pipelines, APIs, and geospatial data services using UF’s HiPerGator supercomputing environment.
• Support integration of diverse datasets across partner systems (e.g., JTA, FDEP, UF GeoPlan).
• Co-develop resource description framework (RDF) and knowledge graph databases that supports semantic query.
• Contribute to publications and white papers documenting system design, workflows, and findings.
• Develop technical documentation to support scalability and reproducibility.
• Assist when needed to help with the administrative development of the JaxLab program.
• Teach 1 course per year in JaxLab.
• Lead community engagement activities including public forums, stakeholder interviews, and participatory mapping.
• Translate technical outcomes from FLDT into accessible materials and prepare high-quality content (document, image, case study) for FLDT’s landing webpage.
• Teach one course per year (studio or seminar) with themes such as urban design, hazard resilience, civic technology, or digital twins.
• Collaborate with researchers to incorporate community feedback into model development and decision workflows.
• Contribute to proposal writing and documentation that reflect community outcomes and impact.

What This Job Offers

• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree