Centre for Hydrology

Primary Purpose: Applicants are invited for the position of Post-Doctoral Fellow to undertake research to apply a new land surface hydrological model in the Canadian Rockies and evaluate its representation of snow and glacier physical processes and ability to predict cold regions hydrology. The researcher will use the observations from the Canadian Rockies Hydrological Observatory of Global Water Futures Observatories and remote sensing products to evaluate model performance and diagnose deficiencies.  Comparisons to model predictions using the Cold Regions Hydrological Model, Canadian Hydrological Model and MESH model will be made. Model diagnostics will be used to identify hydrological change and cryospheric tipping points in headwater river basins of the Canadian Rockies.  This research is part of the MountAInWater Project of the Virtual Institute for Earth’s Water.

Nature of Work: The successful candidate will conduct research under the direction of Distinguished Professor John Pomeroy in the USask Centre for Hydrology’s Coldwater Laboratory in Canmore, Alberta as a contribution to of the MountAInWater Project of the Virtual Institute for Earth’s Water – a program funded by Schmidt Sciences that is headquartered at ISTA in Austria.  The candidate will evaluate and apply the Thethys-Chloris land surface hydrology-cryosphere model and evaluate its process representation against field and remote sensing observations in the Canadian Rockies, compare its simulations to Canadian models such as CRHM, CHM and MESH and diagnose model improvements and tipping points in cryospheric-hydrological system behaviour in the region.  There will be opportunities to participate in fieldwork in the Canadian Rockies Hydrological Observatory at its 40 sites in Banff and Jasper National Parks and Kananaskis Country parks.  This is the most intensely monitored mountain environment in Canada including research basins on glaciers, tundra, forests and wetlands.

The Centre for Hydrology is the premier research group for cold regions hydrology in Canada and is known around the world for advances in snow, glacier and frozen ground hydrology and modelling www.usask.ca/hydrology.  The work will be based out of its Coldwater Laboratory in Canmore, Alberta.  The Coldwater Lab has scientists, technicians, students and professors devoted to better measuring, predicting and understanding mountain cryospheric hydrology. It contributes to the USask Global Institute for Water Security, the top ranked water resources research institute in Canada, and contributes to the World Climate Research Programme’s GEWEX and the UN’s Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences.

Accountabilities:

• The PDF will report directly to Prof. John Pomeroy.
• Work with minimal supervision, multi-task, and prioritize workload.
• Conduct studies that advance the science and practice of hydrological-cryospheric modeling.
• Prepare drafts of papers and reports as necessary.
• Mentor graduate students and junior colleagues as necessary.
• Establish and maintain effective, productive relationships with staff, peers, immediate supervisor and senior management and with the campus community.
• Manage own time effectively and ensure the managers are kept informed of activities, and progress of work.
• Provide technical support for other team members through technical advice.
• Recommend changes to processes or procedures.
• Must be open to learning and development and be willing to accept new challenges and assignments.

Education: The successful candidate will have completed a PhD in a relevant discipline such as hydrology, water resources, civil or agricultural engineering, environmental earth science, physical geography or atmospheric science, within the last 5 years.

Experience: The PDF will have knowledge either in hydrology, water resources engineering, physical geography, environmental earth science, computer science, data science, atmospheric physics, or a related discipline. Experience in cold regions hydrology or water resources engineering and computational methods is essential.

Skills:

• In-depth knowledge of hydrological and water resources principles and modelling in cold regions.
• Experience handling large and heterogeneous geophysical datasets including research basin observations and field data collection.
• Strong competence in data preparation/analysis/visualization with Python, R, or a similar scripting and visualization language.
• Experience with high performance computing.
• Strong competence in programming with C/C++ or Fortran for model development & debugging.
• Competence in software engineering best practices such as unit testing, use of modern version control systems, such as git, use of profilers / debuggers, software development etc.
• Experience and dedication to open science.
• Ability to conduct fieldwork and collect hydrological observations in cold remote environments.
• Ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and effectively in both spoken and written English.
• Sharp analytical abilities and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated leadership abilities and record of positive contributions in a team environment.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision, multi-task, and prioritize workload.
• Interest in mentoring junior team members.
• Interest in science communication (e.g., blog posts, social media, and media interviews).

How to Apply
Interested applicants must include the following in their application: cover letter, curriculum vitae, 3 references and at least one publication from their previous research work showcasing their skills relevant to this posting. Enquiries regarding this position can be directed to joni.onclin@usask.ca.

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Internal applicants: Apply here ⨠

Department: Geography and Planning
Supervisor Job Title: Principal Investigator
Status: Term
Employment Group: Postdoctoral Fellows – PSAC
Full Time Equivalent (FTE): 1.0
Salary Information: The starting salary will be commensurate with education and experience.
Posted Date: 9/2/2026
Closing Date: Open until filled
Number of Openings: 1
Work Location: USask Coldwater Laboratory, Canmore, Alberta

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