12789 - Early Career Postdoctoral Researchers

**CMCC Position cod. 12789**
**Early career postdoctoral researchers**
Deadline: January 31st, 2025

**WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR**

We are seeking two highly motivated and talented early-career Postdoctoral Researchers with a strong background in environmental modelling, data science, or related fields to join the interdisciplinary team at the CMCC Foundation - Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, based in Milan, Italy.

By integrating these behavioural insights into next-generation global hydrological and energy system models, the research will contribute to a more behaviourally realistic and climate-sensitive representation of water use and management — essential for planning resilient and sustainable futures.

Through the integration of techniques such as feature extraction, explainable AI, clustering, transfer learning, and reinforcement learning, the researchers will extract behavioural insights from global-scale data on water use and infrastructure, reconstruct implicit decision rules governing water management, and assess their impacts under changing hydro-climatic and socio-economic conditions.

**ABOUT US**

CMCC Foundation is a cross-cutting **scientific** research center on climate change and its interactions with the environment, society, the world of business, and policymakers. Our work aims to stimulate sustainable growth, protect the environment, and develop strategies for the adaptation and mitigation of climate change. CMCC's core objective is to conduct cutting-edge science, to train the next generation of scientists at both national and international levels, and to be a beacon for climate modelling.

The European Institute in Economics and the Environment (EIEE) is one of the three institutes of CMCC. It was established in 2018 in a trans-Atlantic partnership with Resources for the Future (RFF). It is one of the leading research centers on climate economics, featuring a diverse and international team of economists and natural scientists.

CMCC pursues fundamental and applied science with utmost scientific integrity, prioritizing data-driven science and providing data, information, and research results that can support informed public debate and decision-making processes. To achieve climate research objectives at the highest international standards, we invest in training all our talents, and strive to create a workplace where everyone can excel.

At CMCC you will find a strong, professional environment. Join an inclusive community that values diversity, where every voice is heard and respected. Help foster a culture of innovation and societal change, where individuals from all backgrounds can thrive and succeed.

Over the last decade, CMCC has experienced extraordinary growth. We are now embarking on a new chapter of our journey that will further boost CMCC’s global position in climate change research Together

**ROLE**

**RESPONSIBILITIES**
- Reconstruct and analyze spatiotemporal patterns in global water use, across domestic, agricultural, and energy sectors, using large datasets and machine learning.
- Develop behaviorally realistic representations of water management decisions, to improve simulation of water demand and allocation under dynamic conditions.
- Contribute to the estimation of water-related energy generation potential (hydropower and thermoelectric) and the development of sustainability indicators, including withdrawal limits and scarcity risk metrics.
- Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and integrate behavioral components into large-scale simulation models.
- Publish research in high-impact journals and contribute to dissemination through conferences and stakeholder engagement.

Contribute to the objectives of the EIEE Institute

**REQUIREMENTS**

**Required qualifications**:

- PhD in **Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science** or related fields.
- Proven experience in **machine learning** and **data-driven modeling**, including time-series and geospatial data analysis.
- Proficiency in Python, with familiarity with libraries for data processing (e.g. xarray, pandas), machine learning (e.g. scikit-learn, tensorflow) and geospatial analysis (e.g. geopandas, pyproj, cartopy).
- Knowledge of water systems and human-environment interactions, particularly in water infrastructure management.
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Fluency in English (spoken and written).

** Preferred qualifications**:

- Experience with hydrological or Earth system modeling frameworks.
- Strong communication skills and ability to work in multidisciplinary teams.
- Experience in international research proposal writing.

**DURATION, COMPENSATION & BENEFITS**
- The positions will be based in Milan CMCC office.
- The appointment period will be initially 24 months, renewable pending a positive evaluation.
- Contract and gross annual salary will be based on qualifications and working experience competitive with major research centers in Europe.
- W