Postdoctoral Research Associate

About Texas A&M Agri Life

Texas A&M Agri Life is the agriculture and life sciences arm of the Texas A&M University System. It includes the following entities:

• Texas A&M Agri Life Extension Service
• Texas A&M Agri Life Research
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University
• Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory

A Postdoctoral Research Associate will join the Arid Hydrology and Water Systems research group at the Texas A&M Agri Life Research Center in El Pasto. The focus is on modeling transboundary and shared water resources for sustainable management and binational cooperation, with emphasis on hydrologic modeling, participatory numerical modeling, remote sensing applications, and data‑driven decision‑support tools. The successful candidate will work on NASA‑funded Transboundary Model and Data Homogenization (TMDH) project supporting U.S.–Mexico treaty‑based water allocation and infrastructure planning.

• Develop, implement, and validate remote‑sensing‑enabled models for transboundary surface‑water and groundwater assessment, integrating NASA Earth observation products with in‑situ and field‑sensor data.
• Configure, calibrate, and apply hydrologic and groundwater modeling systems such as SWAT+ with GWFLOW/MODFLOW and Par Flow 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 development of APIs, dashboards, and decision‑support tools (web‑based interfaces and visualization workflows) for IBWC, NADBank, and 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 project reports and potential grant proposals.
• Train and supervise under/graduate students, interns, and other project team personnel.
• Perform other assigned research and outreach duties related to ongoing research projects.

• 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 such as Python, R, GIS, Google Earth Engine, or equivalent for handling complex datasets.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to interact with both technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Ability to multi‑task with project team, end‑users, and binational stakeholders, complete project tasks before deadlines, and work cooperatively with an interdisciplinary team.
• Experience with surface water and groundwater modeling using tools such as SWAT/SWAT+ with GWFLOW/MODFLOW, Par Flow, and 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.

• Knowledge of arid and semi‑arid water resources and systems, drought, surface‑groundwater interactions, and water‑treaty policies.
• Experience building web‑based tools, APIs, or dashboards for environmental data and model output visualization.
• A valid driver’s license is required to commute to fieldwork and meetings.

Compensation for this position is commensurate based on the selected candidate’s qualifications.

• Health, dental, vision, life and long‑term disability insurance with Texas A&M Agri Life 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 Agri Life.

Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.