New

Postdoctoral Scholar

The Pennsylvania State University
remote work
United States, Pennsylvania, University Park
201 Old Main (Show on map)
Apr 18, 2026
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday. CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday. If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click "Apply" and complete the application process for external applicants. Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location.For additional information on remote work at Penn State, seeNotice to Out of State Applicants. This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the termlengthdiscussed willbebasedonuniversityneed,performance,and/oravailabilityoffunding. POSITION SPECIFICS Join a Dynamic Team Focused on Foundation AI modeling and Physics-Informed Machine Learning as a Postdoctoral Researcher at The Pennsylvania State University. The Pennsylvania State University is seeking applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher position in the field of computational land surface hydrology, with a focus on Foundation AI model pretraining and finetuning, geospatial data processing and physics-informed machine learning. Prior experiences with these topics are highly desired. Pending approval of the grant, the successful candidate will work on innovative research in hydrology, collaborating with Dr. Shen and other faculty members, while also participating in the development of research projects and providing support to graduate students. The postdoctoral scholar will combine foundation AI modeling and differentiable modeling (a genre of physics-informed machine learning) for hydrologic modeling to improve large-scale hydrologic forecast. The scholar will work with a large, interdisciplinary team on the next-generation land surface model. Especially, the scholar will integrate state-of-the-art AI and physics-informed AI techniques into an operational system. The contribution could bring benefits to society and reduce the damage of floods. Duties include, but are not limited to: Develop and implement novel modeling techniques. Stay current with the latest developments and be willing to learn and adopt frontier methods. Collaborate with research team members to design, execute, and interpret research findings. Contribute to the development of high-quality research publications and presentations. Provide support to graduate students within the department. Requirements: The Postdoctoral Researcher should possess a Ph.D. in hydrology, civil engineering, environmental science, or a closely related field by the appointment start date. The successful candidate will also have: A strong background in numerical modeling and the application of computational methods to land surface hydrological problems. Research experience with a track record of published work in relevant scientific journals. Excellent communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Proficiency in programming languages, such as Python or Fortran. Experiences with machine learning is a plus to the application. Solid understanding of the physical hydrologic cycle and large-scale geographic datasets. The Pennsylvania State University offers a dynamic research environment, providing access to world-class facilities and resources. We encourage highly motivated candidates with a passion for advancing the field of computational hydrology to apply for this exciting position. To apply, please submit your CV, a cover letter detailing your research interests and experience, and contact information for three references with your online application. BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies. BENEFITS Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. For more detailed information, please visit ourBenefits Page. (Note: For Postdoctoral benefits, please see our Postdoctoral Benefits page.) CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here. EEO IS THE LAW Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473. Penn State is committed to and accountable for advancing equity, respect, and belonging. We embrace individual uniqueness, as well as a culture of belonging that supports equity initiatives, leverages the educational and institutional benefits of inclusion in society, and provides opportunities for engagement intended to help all members of the community thrive. We value belonging as a core strength and an essential element of the university's teaching, research, and service mission. 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