The Opportunity

• Are you ready for the next step in your career?
• Develop your skills both within your established expertise and in new areas
• Join our Landscape Evaluation Team in this exciting postdoctoral opportunity

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

CSIRO’s Land & Water business unit have an opportunity available for a Postdoctoral Fellow to join the Landscape Evaluation team within the Living Landscape program. The Postdoctoral Fellow will undertake computational research to develop, evaluate and implement landscape models of gully and stream bank erosion and hydrologic processes. The Postdoctoral Fellow will take the lead in developing process-based spatial models building on airborne LiDAR and other datasets using efficient modelling techniques and database structures. They will implement evaluation procedures involving statistical accuracy and spatial patterns, to adaptively develop models that deliver new understanding of erosion behaviour and water movement across diverse landscapes. The Postdoctoral Fellow will aim to deliver meaningful assessments which have value to natural resource managers in prioritising erosion and water resource management, including in northern Australia and catchments draining to the Great Barrier Reef. The research may also open new approaches to improving landscape function by minimising erosion rates and maximising water resource efficiency.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will have access to high-performance computing infrastructure and will have the opportunity to engage with the CSIRO Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Future Science Platform, such as on approaches to handle uncertainty and data integration. The Postdoctoral Fellow will be guided by an international team of hydrology, geomorphology and ecology scientists experienced in field and computational research involving terrain analysis, soil, vegetation, erosion, sediment transport and hydrology. The Postdoctoral Fellow will have opportunities to contribute to the research undertaken by the team regarding the sustainable development and use of soil and water resources, resilience to climate extremes, and ecosystem modelling. The team have, and will be able to introduce the Postdoctoral Fellow to, broad networks within academic institutions, and the natural resource management and agricultural industries.

Your duties will include:

• Investigating and defining methods to represent landscape morphology.
• Rapidly developing an understanding of physical surface processes and mathematical constructs driving terrain-related phenomena.
• Undertaking efficient analysis and management of large datasets.
• Developing spatial models including Python.
• Conducting model evaluation.
• Undertaking remote field work surveying, collecting, recording, and documenting sample collection in inclement weather whilst being outdoors for prolonged periods of time.

Location: Black Mountain, ACT
Salary: AU$86k - AU$94k plus up to 15.4% superannuation
Tenure: Specified term of 3 years
Reference: 72249

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as earth sciences, engineering, environmental sciences, information and computing sciences, mathematical sciences. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (or part-time equivalent) of relevant postdoctoral research experience.
• High level written and oral communication skills with the ability to represent the research team internally and externally, including the presentation of research outcomes at national and international conferences.
• A sound history of publication in peer reviewed journals and/or authorship of scientific papers, reports, grant applications or patents.
• Demonstrated experience in spatial modelling and programming capabilities using Python.
• Demonstrated research experience in spatial analysis of terrain and/or demonstrated research experience in gully and stream bank erosion processes.

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Eligibility

The successful applicant will be required to obtain and provide a National Police Check or equivalent and have, or have the ability to obtain, an Australian driver's licence.

Applicants must be Australian/New Zealand citizens, Australian Permanent Residents or Australian temporary residents currently residing in Australia.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. Talk to us about how this role could be flexible for you. Balance

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit diverse people and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people.

About CSIRO

At CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology.

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

18 April, 2021, 11:00pm AEST