OPS Temp Visiting Research Scholar - Civil & Environmental Engineering

Temporary Visiting Research Scholar: Coastal Compound Flood Modeling and Infrastructure Resilience

Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering

Position #220094099

Appointment Details

• Duration: 1 year with potential for extension
• Support: $25.48/hr. (53,000/yr.)
• Hours per week: 40 hrs.
• Location: On-site at USF Tampa campus

Position Overview

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida (USF) invites applications for a temporary Visiting Research Scholar to join the Sustainable Adaptation for Flood and Emergency Resilience (SAFER) initiative. SAFER is an interdisciplinary effort, funded through USF's Interdisciplinary Center Preparation Grant program, to prepare a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center (ERC) proposal. It brings together faculty from four USF colleges working in coastal engineering, hydrology, transportation, geosciences, supply chain management, manufacturing, and urban design.

The central goal of SAFER is the Coastal Adaptation Platform (CAP). CAP is an AI/ML-enabled, human-in-the-loop decision-support system that links coastal storm surge, urban flooding, transportation disruption, logistics, and community vulnerability. The initial testbed is the Tampa Bay region.

The Visiting Research Scholar will work with Dr. Andres Tejada-Martinez on the coastal and compound flood modeling component of CAP. The scholar will also collaborate with Drs. Mauricio Arias (urban drainage and hydraulics), Yu Zhang (transportation modeling), and Barnali Dixon (geospatial analytics and the Community Resiliency Information System, CRIS).

Responsibilities

• Set up, calibrate, and validate a 3D coastal storm-surge and circulation model for Tampa Bay and its estuaries, including tides, wind forcing, and river discharge.
• Couple coastal model outputs with HEC-RAS (overland and surface flooding) and SWMM (stormwater drainage). The coupled system will represent compound flooding from the coast into the urban interior.
• Build a library of representative Tampa Bay storm and flood scenarios. These will produce water-level and inundation fields that feed transportation impact analyses (MATSim/AIMSUN) and supply-chain analyses.
• Contribute to the design of SSIF and the Tampa Bay CAP prototype, including data formats, workflows, and dashboard-ready outputs such as flood extent, water depth, and roadway closure risk.
• Explore AI/ML approaches, such as surrogate modeling and scenario generation, that complement physics-based simulations.
• Take part in stakeholder workshops with local governments, emergency managers, transit agencies, and port partners.
• Prepare journal publications, conference presentations, and technical material supporting the NSF ERC pre-proposal and related proposals.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an appropriate field of  specialization. 

• Degree Equivalency Clause: Four years of direct experience for a bachelor’s degree.
  • Senate Bill 1310- The Florida Senate (https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1310) is conditional upon meeting all employment eligibility requirements in the U.S.
  • SB 1310: Substitution of Work Experience for Postsecondary Education Requirements
  • A public employer may include a postsecondary degree as a baseline requirement only as an alternative to the number of years of direct experience required, not to exceed:
  • (a) Two years of direct experience for an associate degree;
  • (b) Four years of direct experience for a bachelor’s degree;
  • (c) Six years of direct experience for a master’s degree;
  • (d) Seven years of direct experience for a professional degree; or
  • (e) Nine years of direct experience for a doctoral degree
  • Related work experience may not substitute for any required licensure, certification, or registration required for the position of employment as established by the public employer and indicated in the advertised description of the position of employment.
  • Minimum Qualifications that require a high school diploma are exempt from SB 1310.

   

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with compound flooding, or with coupling coastal models to urban flood or drainage models such as HEC-RAS 2D or SWMM.
• Familiarity with GIS and geospatial data processing.
• Experience with data assimilation, model-data integration using gauge or sensor data, or machine learning for hydrodynamic or flood prediction.
• Interest in how flood hazards affect transportation, logistics, or community vulnerability.
• Experience with stakeholder-engaged or applied resilience research.
• A PhD in civil, environmental, coastal, or ocean engineering, physical oceanography, hydrology, or a closely related field, completed by the start date. Advanced doctoral candidates may be considered.
• Hands-on experience with at least one coastal ocean, estuarine, or storm-surge model, such as ADCIRC, ROMS, FVCOM, Delft3D, or SCHISM.
• Strong programming skills in Python, MATLAB, Fortran, or C/C++, and experience running simulations on Linux-based high-performance computing systems.
• A record of peer-reviewed publications appropriate to career stage.

• Ability to work across disciplines and communicate clearly in English, both in writing and orally.

   

Please include the following with application package:

1. A cover letter describing your research interests, relevant modeling experience, and how you would contribute to the SAFER project.
2. A curriculum vitae with a full publication list.
3. One or two representative publications.
4. Contact information for two or three references.

 

****This job is subject to Foreign Influence Screening: During the 2021 Florida legislative session, House Bill 7017 (“HB 7017”) was passed and later signed into law by Governor DeSantis.  The new law modifies a variety of Florida Statutes to address concerns regarding improper foreign influence.  With regard to employment at major research institutions like the University of South Florida, the new law requires thorough review of certain applicants for positions involving research.  

The University of South Florida is a top-ranked research university serving approximately 50,000 students from across the globe at campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and USF Health. In 2025, U.S. News & World Report recognized USF with its highest overall ranking in university history, as a top 50 public university for the seventh consecutive year and as one of the top 15 best values among all public universities in the nation. U.S. News also ranks the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in the highest tier, placing it as one of the top 16 medical schools in the nation and inside the top 10 among public universities. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group that includes only the top 3% of universities in the U.S. With an all-time high of $750 million in research funding in 2025 and as a top 20 public university for producing U.S. patents, USF uses innovation to transform lives and shape a better future. The university generates an annual economic impact of nearly $10 billion for the state of Florida. USF’s Division I athletics teams compete in the American Conference. Learn more at www.usf.edu