Research Associate III - Coastal Hazards Modeling & GIS

Research Associate III
- Coastal Hazards Modeling & GIS

Posting Number: SF02203

Position Type:
Professional Staff

Union: PSA/NEA
- Professional Staff Assoc

Pay Grade Level: Grade Level: 11

Pay Grade Range:
Salary Hiring Range: $70,000 - $80,000

Department:
Marine Affairs

Campus

Location:

Kingston

Job Description

Summary:

Search will be open until filled. First consideration will be given to applications received by 09/30/2026. Applications received after 09/30/2026 may be reviewed depending on search progress and needs but are not guaranteed full consideration.

The University of Rhode Island enrolls approximately 17,000 students across its graduate and undergraduate programs and is the State's flagship public research university, as well as the land grant and sea grant university, for the state of Rhode Island. The main campus is located in the historic village of Kingston, and the Bay Campus is located in Narragansett. Both campuses are near major beaches in a beautiful coastal community.

URI is just 30 minutes from Providence, RI and within easy reach of Newport, Boston, and New York City.

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A HYBRID WORK SCHEDULE IS POSSIBLE AFTER SIX MONTHS.

The Research Associate III will provide advanced technical support for natural hazards decision support tools at the University of Rhode Island. URI has dedicated significant expertise and resources to develop a suite of tools, including the Coastal Hazards Analysis, Modeling and Prediction system (CHAMP), STORM TOOLS, and MyCoast:
Rhode Island, which play key roles in addressing storm risks and predicting the impacts of sea level rise and increasing wind and precipitation.

CHAMP is an interdisciplinary system developed and maintained by a team of 10-15 researchers and staff spanning Marine Affairs, Ocean Engineering, Oceanography, and RI Sea Grant. The system is in active operational use at the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency and supports ongoing projects with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. This position will support applied coastal hazards research that leverages numerical storm and compound flood modeling (rainfall-driven and wind-driven) and geospatial decision-support systems to advance the goals of the Rhode Island Natural Hazards Collaborative, and will serve as the operational and technical lead for CHAMP.

The CHAMP team is actively exploring opportunities to integrate AI and machine learning tools into system development, operations, and decision-support products. Candidates with relevant experience or interest in this area are encouraged to discuss it in their application materials.

• Operate existing applied workflows and maintain dashboards during initial work period.
• Develop, maintain, and enhance advanced GIS products, including interactive dashboards, spatial analysis tools, and map-based decision-support products.
• Use GIS tools to acquire, process, and manage hydrological and land-use datasets in support of environmental and flood modeling applications.
• Produce GIS-based risk and vulnerability reports to support long-term planning, research, and stakeholder needs.
• Design, implement, and manage GIS systems that support tiered user access and varying security and permission levels.
• Run and translate model outputs into accessible, user-driven GIS products for planners, emergency managers, researchers, and the public.
• Coordinate with Environmental Data Center staff to support data management, system performance, hosting, and long-term reliability of GIS infrastructure.
• Support real-time ADCIRC model deployment during storm events, including hurricanes and nor'easters. This requires availability on short notice, including during evenings,…