Postdoctoral Research Associate - Oceanography

Job Title

Postdoctoral Research Associate - Oceanography

Agency

Texas A&M University

Department

Oceanography

Proposed Minimum Salary

Commensurate

Job Location

College Station, Texas

Job Type

Staff

Job Description

Here’s a Glimpse of the Job

The Carbon Cycle and Earth Environment (CACEE) Lab in the Department of Oceanography at Texas A&M University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate, offering a unique opportunity to investigate river system responses to terrestrial enhanced weathering. This position is part of the Global Ocean and Land Alkalinization (GOAL‑A) project, funded by the Department of Energy’s Earth Shot initiative and led collaboratively by researchers at Yale, Georgia Tech, Princeton, and Texas A&M.

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will examine how downstream carbon cycling responds to enhanced terrestrial weathering, with a focus on changes in aquatic geochemistry and carbon fluxes within the interconnected river–lake–groundwater–atmosphere–sediment system.

Opportunities to Contribute

• Develops dynamic river‑lake network models to assess geochemical and ecological changes—including carbon cycling and elemental fluxes—resulting from enhanced rock weathering.

• Writes approximately two manuscripts and co‑authors additional research papers and journal articles with students on river‑lake responses to enhanced rock weathering.

• Participates in collaborative research activities (e.g., group meetings, annual PI meetings), presents at research conferences, and liaises with departmental and cross‑departmental peers on collaborative projects.

• Serves as PI or Co‑PI on new grants, overseeing research activities, experimental design, and the associated budget and expense management.

• Mentors students by encouraging them to develop research ideas and hypotheses and working collaboratively to refine and test those ideas.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Geosciences or a related field.

A well-qualified candidate for this position will also possess:

• Prior experience in river modeling, river-lake network analysis and biogeochemistry.

• Demonstrated ability to solve complex differential equations, essential for modeling fluid dynamics and geochemical processes in river-lake systems.

• Extensive knowledge of river topology, including understanding of riverine structures, branching patterns, and flow dynamics.

• Experience in network analysis, capable of analyzing and interpreting the interconnectedness and hierarchical structuring of river systems.

• Familiarity with software and tools for simulating river network dynamics, such as R, Julia, Python, or GIS-based hydrological modeling platforms.

• Ability to integrate physical, chemical, and biological components into the river-lake network models to simulate realistic environmental conditions.

• Experience with various hydrology, hydraulic, sediment transport, and water quality models, especially public domain models.

• Experience with simulation of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling in the water column and sediments of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Common examples include, but are not limited to, SWAT, ATS, or CrunchFlow.

• Collaborative spirit to contribute positively to our multi-institutional team.

• A solid understanding of basic hydrology and water quality.

• Knowledge in coding and modeling dynamic river biogeochemistry change.

Salary: Compensation will be commensurate based on the selected candidate's education and experience.

Please note: This position is grant funded; future employment may be contingent upon future funding.

What you need to do

Apply! Submitting a cover letter, resume’/CV to assist us with the review process. You may upload these documents on the application under CV/Resume. 

Why Texas A&M University? 

Texas A&M University is committed to enriching the learning and working environment by promoting a culture that respects all perspectives, talents & lived experiences. Embracing varying opinions and perspectives strengthens our core values which are: Respect, Excellence, Leadership, Loyalty, Integrity, and Selfless Service.   

The Department of Oceanography in the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M University (TAMU) is part of an alliance of Ocean Sciences at Texas A&M that spans the Marine Biology and Marine Sciences Departments at TAMU Galveston, Geochemical and Environmental Research Group.  This alliance of Ocean Sciences represents a truly unique concentration of educational and research resources.  Our educational and research capacity is greatly enhanced by close ties to the College Departments of Atmospheric Sciences, Geography, and Geology & Geophysics, as well as the Berg Hughes Center, and Texas Center for Climate Studies.

We are a prestigious university with strong traditions, Core Values, and a community of caring and collaboration.  Amenities associated with a major university, such as sporting and cultural events, state-of-the-art recreation facilities, the Bush Library and Museum, and much more await you.  Experience all that a big city has to offer but with a reasonable cost-of-living and no long commutes.  

• Medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life and AD&D, flexible spending accounts, and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M contributing to employee health and basic life premiums 

• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays  

• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month 

• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas  

• Health and Wellness: Free exercise programs and release time 

• Professional Development: All employees have access to free LinkedIn Learning training, webinars, and limited financial support to attend conferences, workshops, and more  

• Educational release time and tuition assistance for completing a degree while a Texas A&M employee 

• Living Well, a program at Texas A&M that has been built by employees, for employees 

Instructions to Applicants: Applications received by Texas A&M University must either have all job application data entered, or a resume attached. Failure to provide all job application data or a complete resume could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application. We encourage all applicants to upload a resume or use a LinkedIn profile to prepopulate the online application.

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.