Postdoctoral Research Associate

Florida Gulf Coast University • Lexington, MA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The multidisciplinary project “Evaluating Interventions to Avoid Flooding in Southwest Florida’s Barrier Island Communities” aims to provide coastal communities in Southwest Florida with site-specific guidance and geo-economic models to improve flood planning and protect vital infrastructure through multi-scale modeling, ongoing field data collection and communication with stakeholders. This is a NOAA-funded and collaborative project between The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers and the United States Geological Survey in St. Petersburg.

The postdoctoral researcher will be based at FGCU and is expected to assess sediment dynamics and impacts to barrier island stability using process-based modeling scenarios under different management strategies, regimes of beach/dune nourishment, and future storm types. The postdoctoral researcher is expected to develop, run and evaluate morphodynamic simulations, assist with field data collection, write/edit project reports, attend local/international conferences, and collaborate with a dynamic team of researchers. An important aspect of the project is communication of results to stakeholders, which includes a number of coastal communities in the southwest Florida region.

We seek a highly motivated researcher interested in combining computational modeling, field observations, and stakeholder engagement to address applied coastal management challenges on barrier island coasts. This is a grant-funded, 24-month position, with an initial 12-month appointment renewable for a second year contingent upon satisfactory performance and continued funding. We anticipate a start date in February 2027.

Requirements

• PhD in relevant field, such as Coastal Engineering, Coastal Geomorphology, or Oceanography.
• Strong background in numerical modeling of coastal processes.
• Proficient programming, data analysis and scientific writing skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Delft3D and/or XBeach is highly desirable.
• Experience with programming in MATLAB or Python.
• Experience with GIS mapping and data tools such as ArcGIS or QGIS
• Experience with environmental sampling and field research.
• Experience in or interest in learning: High-performance computing (HPC)
• Experience in or interest in learning: Analysis of GPR data
• Experience in or interest in learning: Analysis of wave and current data

Responsibilities

• Collaborating with faculty research mentor and project team members.
• Using existing and newly collected data to set up and calibrate morphodynamic models.
• Applying calibrated models to assess sediment fluxes around barrier islands and tidal inlets.
• Assisting with hydrodynamic and/or sediment coring field data collection efforts.
• Publishing research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at both public and scientific meetings.
• Performing other job-related duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree