Post Doctoral Associate at the University of Florida's Coastal Resilience Design Studio - University of Florida

Post Doctoral Associate

The Coastal Resilience Design Studio (CRDS) at the University of Florida's Landscape Architecture Department explores the impacts of changing climate, urbanization, and environmental degradation on coastal communities. We work across disciplines to develop innovative flood adaptation strategies for coastal communities in the Mid-Atlantic and southern U.S.

CRDS Mission: Explore landscape solutions that help coastal communities prepare for environmental changes.

Current Research:

• Site suitability and innovative design of oyster-based living shorelines.
• Future land use modeling and ecosystem service (carbon storage and water quality) valuation.
• Best practices for coastal community and stakeholder engagement.

Position Overview: The CRDS seeks a creative and collaborative post-doctoral associate to work on the Developing Engineering Practices for Ecosystem Design Solutions (DEEDS) project.  The goal of DEEDS is to develop engineering and design strategies that leverage natural coastal ecosystems to protect both military infrastructure and people. It looks to inform the Army about land-use management designs to enhance the resilience of military missions and operations in present and future terrains by using ecosystem services to address threats posed by climate and coastal hazards.

This position aligns with President Biden's Executive Order 14072, which emphasizes nature-based solutions for addressing the climate crisis. It directly contributes to the growing federal commitment to deploying these solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation. The Post-Doctoral Associate’s role involves using GIS to develop site suitability models and employing additional modeling techniques to explore optimal nature-based practices.

Key Responsibilities: Depending on expertise and interest, the selected candidate will advance their research in one of the following key areas:

• Developing a social-ecological framework to determine the suitability of various nature-based solutions in coastal communities or the baseline of community resilience.
• Quantifying ecosystem services to understand the benefits and costs provided by nature-based solutions.
• Developing approaches and tools to understand and respond to the needs of coastal community members adapting to coastal challenges.

In addition, the successful candidate will be a dedicated and motivated researcher who can lead and contribute to scientific, peer-reviewed publications, assist with project management, and model various scenarios to develop best practices for the implementation of nature-based solutions.

This position requires strong technical, organizational, and communication skills, along with independent research capabilities. The ideal candidate will excel in interdisciplinary collaboration with scientists, engineers, project partners, and community leaders. 

$58,656

Candidates must have received a Ph.D. within the past three years (36 months) from an accredited university.

• Professional Degree: Applicants with a degree in landscape architecture (BLA or MLA) or architecture.
• Socio-Ecological Systems: Strong background in coupled socio-ecological systems.
• Communication Skills: Strong interpersonal communication skills.
• Problem-Solving and Creativity: Exceptional problem-solving abilities and creativity.
• Modeling and Analysis: Experience with integrated modeling and quantitative analysis.
• Technical Proficiency: Proficiency in spatial analysis in ArcGIS.
• Publication: Demonstrated interest and ability to publish work in peer-reviewed journals.
• Collaboration: Experience working with diverse collaborators and interdisciplinary teams.
• Ecosystem Services Modeling: Experience with modeling ecosystem services for coastal ecosystems.

In order to be considered, you must upload cover letter and resume. Application must be submitted by 11: 55 p.m. (ET) of the posting end date.