Postdoctoral position in Water Resources Engineering with a focus on urban-rural water infrastructure management under hydroclimatic extremes

Description of the workplace

The Division of Water Resources Engineering, at the Department of Building and Environmental Technology, conducts research and teaching on how water occurs and is transported in nature and in urban systems. The division has about 30 employees and a total of 20 PhD students. The position is placed in the hydrology group, which includes research in hydrology and water resource management in rivers, lakes and nature.

The Department of Building and Environmental Technology has a stimulating and international environment consisting of PhD students, postdocs and teachers from many parts of the world. Research and teaching take place in an open and progressive climate with challenges and collaborations both within the academy and with industrial partners, both nationally and internationally. The working environment is characterized by commitment, collaboration, creativity and personal responsibility.

Subject description

You will work on developing new and improved tools for risk assessment and integrated modelling of floods in urban catchments. You will analyse hydroclimatic (HC) extremes for present and future climate in Arctic and Nordic regions.

Work duties

The main task of the postdoctoral fellow is to conduct research. Teaching may also be part of the duties, but not more than one fifth of the working time. Within the framework of the position, there is the possibility of three weeks of university pedagogical training. The purpose of the position is to develop independence as a researcher and create the conditions for further merit.

The tasks include the development of an innovative modelling framework with a) Broad Big Data Integration, including high-resolution real-time weather data; drainage network characterization; integration of land use and wetland information to provide decision support for optimal water management; b) Flexible user interface design taking into account safe access for user groups and socio-economic impact and risk analysis; c) Advanced modelling/simulation with further development of well-established open source packages, taking into account different scenarios and cumulative impacts, such as extreme hydrological events for urban and rural areas.

Detailed description of the work duties:

• research in the subject area as described above.
• development of methodologies for quantification of ecosystem services in Arctic and Nordic wetlands with respect to hydrological functions, including hydrological modelling of the coupled urban-rural water regime for both normal operation, extreme events and different future climate projection scenarios with ecosystem services incorporated. 
• development of a smart water management and decision support system for future urban-rural water management under the challenges of climate change/variability and intensified extreme hydroclimatic events. 
• database development with historical data, projected meteorological data for future scenarios and high-resolution data for regional and global climate change and definition of hydro-climatic extreme events, especially to improve knowledge of the Arctic and the Nordic region.
• teaching at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level.
• supervision of graduate and postgraduate students.
• interaction with industry and society.
• administration related to the above tasks.

Qualification requirements 

Eligible for employment as a postdoctoral fellow is anyone who has completed a doctoral degree, or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree, in the subject area of the position. Proof of fulfilment of the eligibility requirement must be received no later than the date of the employment decision. Preference will be given to applicants who have completed their degree no more than three years before the closing date for applications. If there are special reasons, a doctorate may have been obtained earlier.

Additional requirements:

• very good knowledge of English, spoken and written.
• documented knowledge of hydrological model development, AI modelling, big data or cloud environment, especially in QSWAT+, QGIS and Python+Matlab.
• documented experience in analysing multidisciplinary data, e.g. environmental data.

Assessment criteria 

This is a merit position mainly focused on research. Particular emphasis will be placed on scientific ability in the subject area. When appointing a postdoctoral fellow, the following shall form the basis for assessment: 

• good ability to develop and conduct high-quality research.
• teaching ability.

Other qualifications:

• experience in problem solving using data-driven methods.
• experience in visualization tools for hydrological models.
• experience from previous studies of Arctic and Nordic regions.
• communication of research results to decision makers and the public.
• documented experience of working in an international research group.

Consideration will be given to how the applicant's experience and skills are expected to complement and strengthen research within the department/institution and contribute to its future development.

We offer

Lund University is a public authority, which means that you get special benefits, generous holidays and an attractive occupational pension. Read more on the university's website about working with us.

Further information

The employment is limited to two years and is full-time. The employment is time-limited according to the collective agreement, "Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral fellow".

How to apply

The application should be written in English and should include a CV including a list of publications, a cover letter explaining why you are interested in the position and how the position matches your research qualifications. The application should also include a copy of your doctoral degree or equivalent and any other information you wish to provide (copies of grades, information on references, letters of recommendation, etc.

Welcome with your application!