Research Environmental Engineer - Hydrology and Flood Risk

Why RTI

RTI International is an independent, scientific research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Our vision is to address the world’s most critical problems with technical and science-based solutions in pursuit of a better future. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach—one that integrates expertise across social, statistical, data, and laboratory sciences, engineering, and other technical disciplines to solve the world’s most challenging problems.

We believe in the promise of science and technical solutions, and we push ourselves every day to deliver on that promise for the good of people, communities, and businesses in the US and around the world. If you are looking for the opportunity to make a real difference, RTI is the place for you.

Are you passionate about water resources and environmental science? RTI’s Water, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy Solutions (WARES) Group is seeking a motivated Research Environmental Engineer to join our hydrology and flood risk team. We develop innovative tools and analytical methods that support hydropower owners, dam safety programs, and the broader water resources community.

Our team is recognized for expertise in precipitation frequency analysis, probable flood hazard assessments (PFHA), and downstream consequence analysis. As a nonprofit research institute, RTI also supports internal R&D to drive innovation and create real-world impact.

As part of the CWR team, you will contribute to a broad range of water resources modeling projects. Candidates should be able to demonstrate experience or exposure in several of the areas listed below (not all are required).

• Work on impactful domestic and international water resources projects.
• Apply state-of-the-art computational tools to complex water management challenges.
• Help advance modeling technologies and analytical methods.
• Collaborate with leading experts in a supportive, multidisciplinary environment.

This position can be either based in RTI’s U.S. office in Research Triangle Park, NC, or it can be fully remote. Teleworking is permitted within the United States only.

You will support hydrologic, hydraulic, and reservoir modeling projects, including data analysis, model setup, calibration, and interpretation of results. Our staff work with multiple modeling platforms and develop tools that support a range of water management decisions for our clients.

• Collaborate with the WARES team to implement and enhance RTI’s water resources modeling tools.
• Collect, analyze, and summarize technical and hydrologic data.
• Develop and calibrate hydrologic, hydraulic, and river basin simulation models.
• Design and develop spreadsheets, scripts, and databases to manage data and improve workflow efficiency.
• Develop models to simulate large-scale water system operations and stochastic hydrologic modeling.
• Perform data processing, quality control, and automation using scripts and tools.
• Lead small projects or task orders of moderate complexity.
• Contribute to proposal development and sections of larger proposals.
• Share work internally and externally through presentations and conference papers.
• Make informed decisions based on data, best practices, and team input.
• Support business development by identifying opportunities to expand or enhance existing projects and developing research ideas or white papers.

• Bachelor’s degree at least 5 years of experience; or
• Master’s degree at least 3 years of experience; or
• PhD + 0 years of experience; or
• Equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Experience in at least one of the following areas:
  • PFHA
  • Hydrologic, hydraulic, watershed, or reservoir modeling (setup, calibration, analysis):
    • Statistical analysis of hydrometeorological time series.
    • Collection, QA/QC, and interpretation of hydrologic data.
• Experience with technical documentation and report writing.
• Experience with water resources statistics.
• Basic geospatial processing and mapping experience using ArcGIS or QGIS.
• Proficiency with…