Postdoctoral Research Associate

Job Title

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Agency

Texas A&M Agrilife Research

Department

El Paso

Proposed Minimum Salary

Commensurate

Job Location

El Paso, Texas

Job Type

Staff

Job Description

About Texas A&M AgriLife

Texas A&M AgriLife is comprised of the following Texas A&M University System members:

• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

• Texas A&M AgriLife Research

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University

• Texas A&M Forest Service

• Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory

As the nation's largest most comprehensive agriculture program, Texas A&M AgriLife brings together a college and four state agencies focused on agriculture and life sciences within The Texas A&M University System. With over 5,000 employees and a presence in every county across the state, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely positioned to improve lives, environments and the Texas economy through education, research, extension and service.

Click here to learn more about how you can be a part of AgriLife and make a difference in the world!

Position Information

A postdoctoral research associate will join the 'Arid Hydrology and Water Systems' research group at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center at El Paso. The current focus of the group is on transboundary and shared water resources modeling for sustainable management and binational cooperation, with a strong emphasis on hydrologic modeling, participatory numerical modeling, remote sensing applications, and the development of data-driven decision-support tools. The successful candidate will work on a NASA-funded Transboundary Model and Data Homogenization (TMDH) project that aims to integrate NASA Earth observation (EO) products, in situ and field-sensor records, and advanced hydro-geologic models into an operational platform to support U.S.-Mexico treaty-based water allocation and infrastructure planning. The postdoc will have opportunities to work at the interface of research and practice, interacting closely with U.S.-Mexico stakeholders and agency partners, including the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) and the North American Development Bank (NADBank).

Responsibilities:

• Develop, implement, and validate remote-sensing-enabled models for transboundary surface-water and groundwater assessment, including the integration of NASA EO products (e.g., GRACE/GRACE-FO, SWOT, MODIS, GPM, Landsat, ECOSTRESS, OpenET, and others) with in situ and field-sensor data.

• Configure, calibrate, and apply hydrologic and groundwater modeling systems (e.g., SWAT+ with gwflow/MODFLOW, ParFlow) for the Rio Grande and other arid and semi-arid basin settings.

• Design and implement AI(ML/DL)-based predictive frameworks to assess water availability, drought impacts, groundwater depletion, and salinity risk under climatic and anthropogenic changes.

• Lead data collection, QA/QC, harmonization, storage, and processing workflows across heterogeneous binational datasets for the TMDH framework.

• Support to develop APIs, dashboards, and decision-support tools (e.g., web-based interfaces and visualization workflows) for IBWC, NADBank, and other regional stakeholders.

• Coordinate usability testing, stakeholder workshops, and feedback loops, and contribute to advancing the platform from prototype to operational readiness.

• Compose research articles for peer-reviewed journals and present results at scientific and stakeholder meetings.

• Assist the supervisor in writing the project reports and potential grant proposals.

• Train and supervise under/graduate student(s), interns, and other project team personnel.

• Perform other assigned research and outreach duties related to ongoing research projects.

Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Hydrology, Water Resources Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Geosciences, or a closely related field with remote sensing data application at the time of appointment.

• Peer-reviewed publications in hydrology, water resources, environmental modeling, remote sensing, or related domains.

• Strong knowledge of hydrologic processes, transboundary/shared water resources management, and coupled human-natural systems.

• Proficiency in geospatial and scientific computing tools (e.g., Python, R, GIS, Google Earth Engine, or equivalent) to handle and process complex datasets.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to interact with both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Ability to work multi-tasking with project team, end-users, and binational stakeholders, complete project tasks before the deadline, and work cooperatively with the interdisciplinary project team.

• Experience with surface water and groundwater modeling using tools such as SWAT/SWAT+ with gwflow/MODFLOW, ParFlow, and other similar models.

• Experience with remote sensing and Earth observation data integration into hydrologic or environmental models.

• Demonstrated experience with AI (ML/DL), data assimilation, or advanced statistical modeling for environmental or water resources applications.

• Experience working with large, multi-source geospatial datasets, preferably in transboundary or data-scarce contexts.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of arid and semi-arid water resources and systems, drought, surface-groundwater interactions, and water-treaty policies.

• Experience in building web-based tools, APIs, or dashboards for environmental data and model output visualization.

• A valid driver's license is required to commute to project-related fieldwork and meetings.

What You Need to Know

Salary: Compensation for this position is commensurate based on the selected candidate's qualifications.

Why Work at Texas A&M AgriLife?

When you choose to work for Texas A&M AgriLife, you become part of an organization that is an established leader in agriculture and life sciences with a wide range of capabilities to meet the needs of our statewide, national, and international constituents.

In addition, Texas A&M AgriLife offers a comprehensive benefit package including the following:

• Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums

• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays

• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month

• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas

• Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife

Applicant Instructions

Interested candidate, submit your application in a single PDF including: (1) a cover letter, (2) an updated CV, and (3) contact information of three professional references. Failure to provide requested application could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application.

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution's verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution's procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.