The Urban Systems Lab is an interdisciplinary research, design and practice space at The New School that provides knowledge and analysis for developing more equitable, resilient, and sustainable cities. The Lab’s work advances cutting edge science, data visualization, and computation to develop systemic solutions to social and environmental challenges driving inequity and injustice in urban areas. We bring together designers, urban ecologists, scientists, researchers and policymakers with the goal to improve the lives of those most vulnerable, and to enhance decision making and science communication from local to global scales. To learn more visit: http://urbansystemslab.com
The Schools of Public Engagement comprise the School of Media Studies, the School of Undergraduate Studies, the Milano School of Policy, Management, and Environment, the Creative Writing Program, and the Julien J. Studley Graduate Programs in International Affairs, as well as several programs, research centers and institutes; the Urban Systems Lab is among them. You can find more information on The Schools of Public Engagement here: https://www.newschool.edu/public-engagement/
The New School, a private university in New York City’s Greenwich Village, serves undergraduate and graduate students across a range of fields with a commitment to bringing practices in design and social research to studying issues of our time and challenging students to become engaged citizens dedicated to solving problems and contributing to the public good.
The New School is strongly committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and particularly seeks applications from members of underrepresented groups, as well as candidates who share this commitment.
POSITION OVERVIEW
We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Spatial Analyst with expertise in urban climate vulnerability, risk, and impact analysis. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in using ArcGIS, Python and/or R, and other related spatial and coding software to analyze spatial data, develop spatial models, and develop risk analysis for multiple climate hazards in cities, especially urban flooding and heat risk. The Spatial Analyst will work with a diverse research team on a Google.org funded project ClimateIQ, an integrated AI-driven climate risk modeling environment and data visualization tool that provides near term and future flood risk data in urban areas. The fellow will also assist with a Kresge Foundation funded effort to better understand the environmental justice impacts of climate change related stormwater driven flooding on minority and low-income communities. This is an exciting opportunity to work with a global team of climate scientists, researchers and modelers across the world including with partners at Google, Climasens, Stockholm Resilience Center, Virginia Climate Center and more leveraging cutting edge technologies and data science to improve planning and urban climate adaptation across the world. This is a fixed term grant funded position with the possibility of renewal or extension contingent on funding for up to three years. The position is eligible for Full Time benefits. This position will report to the Director of the Urban Systems Lab.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Work with a diverse team of modelers and data scientists to provide spatial analysis and assist with urban flood modeling.
- Co-lead hydrological model development and social vulnerability analysis for urban area.
- Utilize Python, R, or related software to develop spatial models and to automate geospatial data processing, analysis, and model simulations.
- Perform data validation, calibration, and verification of hydrological and urban climate models using real-world observations.
- Participate in all hands meetings with research team members and stakeholders.
- Generate maps, visualizations, and technical reports to effectively communicate analysis results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Contribute to active research projects with partners at the George Mason University, Climasens, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Princeton Environment Institute, and The Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences within and its international initiative “AI, People and Planet”.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
The selection among eligible candidates will be based on:
- A Master’s or Doctorate equivalent in geography, Earth Science & Modeling, environmental studies or fields that use GIS, and computer-based modeling to solve real-world problems, such as geospatial analysis, urban modeling, or data mining.
- Experience working with ArcGIS, Python, R, geopandas, Google Earth Engine software and associated libraries as well experience in cloud computing in or Google Cloud or AWS.
- Geospatial analytical skills especially strong GIS analysis and spatial modeling skills with preference for urban case study experience.
- Strong statistical analytical skills including spatial statistics.
- Familiarity with urban resilience, climate change, complex systems, and scenario development literature.
- Strong organization, communication, and writing skills for coordinating research with international colleagues and research dissemination.
- Demonstrated academic and other outputs in the form of scientific publications and/or public repositories such as GitHub.
- Willingness and ability to work as part of a multi- and transdisciplinary team with varying backgrounds and expertise.
- Commitment to The New School’s EISJ principles.
- Ability to adhere to the University’s Covid-19 policy.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
The following skills are preferred, but not required:
- Experience and publications on spatial analysis of urban flooding, vulnerability and risk including rainfall scenario modeling and hydrological modeling.
- Climate scenario modeling including potential work with CMIP6 global scenarios.
- Dynamic integrated modeling is a plus as is experience working with multi-hazards or cascading hazards.
- Expertise in the use of Google Earth Engine and Google Colab for geospatial data analysis and visualization.
- Familiarity with geoprocessing workflows and geospatial analysis design.
- Comfort with machine learning in quantitative modeling environments.
- Experience in the fields of: Climate Change Adaptation, Resilience, and/or Disaster Risk Reduction.
WORK MODALITY
On-campus Position: The USL Research Fellow is expected to work on-campus due to the nature of the work.
SALARY RANGE
$65,000 – $70,000 depending on experience
TO APPLY
Review of applications will be on a rolling basis and open until filled.
Interested candidates should submit:
- a cover letter describing the applicant’s research, scholarship and work experience relevant to this position
- a curriculum vitae
- names and contact information of three references
We look forward to receiving your application!
