Postdoctoral Scholar - Global modeling of riverine sediment connectivity and human alterations

Position overview

Position title: Postdoctoral Scholar

Salary range: A reasonable estimate that the University expects to pay for this position at 100% time is $71,491-$85,736

Percent time: 100%

Anticipated start: As soon as the position is filled

Position duration: 2 years

Application Window

Open date: August 3, 2026

Next review date: Monday, Aug 17, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Wednesday, Sep 30, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The Schmitt Lab for River System Science and Sustainability (RS3) is seeking a postdoctoral scholar to lead the development of a globally applicable framework for studying sediment connectivity in rivers. The framework will be designed to evaluate human alterations of riverine sediment fluxes and sediment transport between sources and sinks since 1950.

RS3 is part of the Schmidt Sciences Virtual Institute on Earth's Water (VIEW), an ambitious consortium aiming to advance global understanding of human pressures on freshwater ecosystems. The successful candidate will join a rapidly growing lab and lead part of RS3's contribution to the DARE project-the Digital Atlas of Riverine Ecosystem Services-which is one of the research projects within the VIEW consortium.

As the global need for water has intensified over recent decades, rivers have been extensively altered by water abstractions and infrastructure. One critical but often overlooked aspect of these alterations is their impact on sediment supply and riverine sediment fluxes, with cascading downstream consequences for river morphology, ecosystems, and water users.

The successful candidate will spearhead the development of novel modeling approaches to estimate terrestrial sediment supply to rivers and track riverine sediment fluxes between sources and sinks at continental to global scales. The work will have two main research components.

First, the candidate will develop a globally applicable river-network sediment-routing model, building on frameworks such as CASCADE (Schmitt et al., 2016) or the Network Sediment Transporter (Czuba, 2018), or developing new approaches where appropriate. This work will also involve integrating the sediment-routing framework with hydrologic models developed by project partners.

Second, the candidate will develop approaches to estimate terrestrial sediment supply to rivers, including sediment volumes and grain-size distributions, drawing on existing methods or developing novel ones as appropriate. These tools will be used to reconstruct how sediment production and delivery to river networks have changed since 1950 in response to human activities such as deforestation.

The successful candidate will be expected to take intellectual ownership of the research and work across the full research pipeline, from developing research questions and formulating hypotheses to designing analyses, testing hypotheses, and leading resulting publications. We are particularly interested in candidates eager to collaborate closely with partners in the DARE project and the broader VIEW consortium.

The postdoctoral scholar will be recruited through the Environmental Studies Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Department: https://es.ucsb.edu/

Lab: https://www.riversystem.science/

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

Applicants must have completed all of the requirements for a Ph.D. (or equivalent) except the dissertation at the time of application in civil and environmental engineering, environmental sciences, geomorphology/geology, earth system science, data and computer science, or a related field.

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)

A Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering, environmental sciences, geomorphology/geology, earth system science, data and computer science, or a related field (or equivalent international degree) by start date of appointment.

Preferred qualifications

• Expertise in at least one of the following: numerical sediment transport modeling, empirical sediment transport equations and geomorphology, remote sensing of rivers and sediment
• Track record of independent research and innovation, from inception and hypothesis building to scientific publications
• Advanced proficiency in numerical approaches, including Python, R or a similar scientific programming language, with a focus on reproducibility and open-source best practices
• Demonstrated experience in geospatial data analysis and the management of large, gridded hydrologic and environmental datasets (e.g., NetCDF, Xarray)
• Experience, or strong willingness to learn, working with large global models and high-performance computing
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex modeling results into high-impact manuscripts and innovative visualizations for both technical and non-technical audiences

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.

• Cover Letter - Please describe your interest in sediment connectivity, your approach to research, and how your background and goals align with this position (1.5 pages max).

• Statement of Research Interests and Experience - Please summarize your past research contributions and technical expertise, and outline the steps you would take toward implementing a framework for global modeling of sediment connectivity (2 pages max).

• Writing Sample - 1-2 representative publications or a writing sample (e.g., published journal article, a submitted manuscript, or a dissertation chapter)

Reference requirements

• 3 required (contact information only)

References will be contacted for candidates who advance as finalists, upon completion of successful interviews.

Apply link: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF03130

Help contact: ES-AP@es.ucsb.edu

About UC Santa Barbara

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, students and third parties
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Additionally, you will be required to comply with the University of California Policy on Vaccination Programs, as may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

Job location

Santa Barbara, CA