The Global Water Security Center (GWSC) seeks both a postdoctoral fellow and an earlier career data scientist passionate about addressing global environmental challenges in the real world. We’re looking for candidates knowledgeable about environmental data and experience working with large datasets and conducting both spatial and temporal analysis. The candidates will work closely with Senior Data Scientists as well as with researchers across a range of disciplines to analyze water, weather, climate, and environmental data to solve water security issues.
The Postdoctoral Fellow must have a PhD or anticipate receiving one within 3 months. This is a one year position renewable for up to three years.
GWSC anticipates that the Data Scientist I candidate will have either a Master’s degree or a Bachelor’s degree coupled with more extensive work experience.
GWSC is a research-to-operations center, so the candidates will support the production of environmental information briefs in support of our stakeholders. The candidates will also be involved in a range of activities from exploratory analysis to development and implementation of data workflow to visualization and communication. The postdoctoral fellow in particular will have flexibility to select among a large number of data-driven questions that must be addressed to improve GWSC’s work. Applicants should be self-starters, analytically creative, willing to brainstorm, and inquisitive.
Continuation in this position is contingent upon availability of external funding derived from research programs or specific projects. To best execute its mission, the Office for Research & Economic Development (ORED) prefers that all ORED employees work on the campus of The University of Alabama. Postdoctoral Scholars and early career scientists are required to work on campus, though hybrid work agreements may be allowed after 6 months in the position.
- Experience with and understanding of environmental data
- Experience managing and analyzing large, multi-dimensional datasets
- Experience with statistical analyses. For example, experience with non-normally distributed data and statistical analyses including regressions, t-tests, nonparametric tests, power analyses, multivariate and/or ordination techniques
- Demonstrable knowledge in a programming language or languages often applied to environmental datasets; examples could include R, Python, mySQL, MATLAB and JavaScript, or other GIScience.
Salary Range
Commensurate with experience.
GWSC anticipates a midpoint salary for both positions of $70,000
Minimum Qualifications
See UA Careers Website
Preferred Qualifications
- Degree in any type of environmental science, economics, geography, psychology or related field working with large data sets
- Experience with Bayesian statistics
- U.S. citizen capable of receiving a security clearance
Postdoc additional qualifications:
- Experience developing scientific data-management tools/processes to manage large volumes of data originating from sensors or other continuous data sources.
- Knowledge of a variety of machine learning techniques (clustering, decision tree learning, artificial neural networks, etc.) and their real–world advantages and drawbacks.