Senior Research Fellow in Snow Hydrology Modeling

The University of Oulu is a multidisciplinary, international research university, with about 4000 employees who produce new knowledge based on high-standards research and provide research based education to build a more sustainable, smarter, and more humane world. The University of Oulu community has about 19,000 people in total. Our northern scientific community operates globally and creates conditions for the emergence of innovations. The University of Oulu is ranked in the top 3% of the world’s universities.

We are now looking for

Senior Research Fellow in Snow Hydrology Modeling

We are hiring a motivated scientist to advance snow hydrology and cryosphere modeling for cold-region water security and climate adaptation. You will work in the “Snow Hydrology and Modeling” research group to strengthen the research track on process-based and data driven snow modeling, with an opportunity to develop an independent research agenda. You will have a leading role in student and early career researcher supervision and external funding acquisition.  

Job description

You will work across several international and national research projects related to modelling of northern hydrological systems focusing on snow processes. Your work will be tied closely with the Digital Waters (DIWA) flagship project in developing a digital system integrating snow modeling and observations in boreal and sub-arctic conditions. You will:

• Develop novel concepts in process-based and data driven snow modeling, and integrate different data streams into snow hydrology model development and validation.
• Initiate the development of snow observation and modeling system in Finland under the umbrella of DIWA project.
• Build collaborative proposals for external funding calls using your networks, and those of the WE3 unit. Continuously develop collaborative networks in Finland and abroad.
• Utilize and build research on the snow and ice monitoring infrastructure developed in the CRYO-RI project at our research sites.
• Supervise early career researchers on all levels from undergraduate to postdoctoral researchers in the theme of snow hydrology in collaboration with our senior staff and professors.
• Participate in teaching in cold climate hydrology.

What we offer

• We offer you an opportunity to build our research agenda as a senior member of experienced, enthusiastic and international team.
• Furthermore, we offer the development opportunities of a big organization with flexible working hours, excellent work-life balance.Read more about working with us.
• Sports- and culture benefits and occupational healthcare services. Read more about other staff benefits. 
• Our Buddy Programme and Spouse Network support you and your close ones in settling into Oulu.
• If you are moving from abroad, we offer comprehensive relocation packages to support your smooth relocation to Oulu.
• We have an HR Excellence in Research -quality label, which is a recognition awarded by the European Commission for the development of researchers’ working conditions and careers. 
• Finland is one of the most livable countries in the world, with a high quality of life, safety, an excellent education system, and a competitive economy. Read more about living in Oulu.

What we expect from you

Required qualifications:

• Doctoral degree in hydrology, water resources engineering, geophysics, mathematical or environmental sciences or equivalent experience.
• Excellent experience in numerical process-based or data-driven modelling in snow hydrology
• Proof of scientific research 
• Teaching competence required for the position
• Ability to lead a research group
• Very good programming and scripting skills and experience with developing and maintaining large scientific codes and dataset
• Fundraising experience from competitive funding bodies
• Strong experience in scientific writing and communication

We also appreciate the following:

• Experience with different applications in hydrology and water resources management where advanced modelling tools are used
• Experience in designing field experiments or monitoring programs to support snow research and model development
• Experience in supervision of early career researchers including doctoral researchers
• Expertise in satellite and UAV-based remote sensing technologies in snow research
• Project leadership experience
• International experience and networking

When assessing the candidate’s merits for the position of Senior Research Fellow, attention will be paid to scientific excellence, such as research outputs, acquisition of competitive research funds, international scientific activities and collaboration, teaching, supervision of undergraduate students and doctoral researchers, mentoring activities and pedagogical studies, societal relevance, impact and potential of scientific activities, services for the academic community and leadership skills.

Salary

The duration of the fixed-term position is 5 years, beginning on 1st of October 2026 (or as soon as possible thereafter). A trial period of 6 months is applied in the position.

We are looking for highly qualified applicants to fill the position as a Senior Research Fellow. The salary level is at 6-7 demand level chart for teaching and research staff of Finnish universities, where the typical starting monthly salary for a Senior Research Fellow is 4500 - 5200 € (before taxes), depending on the qualifications of the applicant. Regular salary is paid 12 months per year, including paid leave and an additional holiday bonus in the summer.  

Applications and selection process

Apply online latest on August 16th, 2026 (23:59 Finnish time). The application should be written in English and include the following documents:

• 1) A letter of motivation with contact information (max one page),
• 2) Curriculum vitae following the guidelines of the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
• 3) List of publications following the guidelines of the Academy of Finland
• 4) Brief account of research merits and outlook for future research agenda linked to this position (max 2 pages)
• 6) Contact details of 2–4 persons available for recommendation.

The eligible applicants fitting best in the expected research profile are invited to an online interview. All applicants will be notified when the selection process is completed.

Further details are available from

Associate Professor Pertti Ala-Aho, pertti.ala-aho(at)oulu.fi

Professor Bjørn Kløve, bjorn.klove(at)oulu.fi

Please note that due to summer holiday season in Finland, there might be delays in responses.

We are looking forward to your application!

Water, Energy and Environmental Engineering research unit, at the Faculty of Technology, carries out research on land, water and energy systems and their interaction. Climate change, environmental degradation and energy transition are societal challenges that motivate the research to find sustainable solutions. Our unit leads the Digital Water flagship project  enabling a transition towards the digital representation of real-world water systems (Digital Twin) to reproduce hydrological storages, their states, fluxes and processes, as well as ecosystem responses with novel options for improved scenario analysis, planning and governance. 

The research group Snow hydrology and modeling strives to produce science that helps in adapting to increasingly unpredictable snow conditions in the North. Special focus is in understanding snow hydrology processes through the lense of isotope hydrology, novel digital solutions for snow modeling and monitoring. We leverage long-term datasets and experimental testbeds from long-term research infrastructure at Oulanka and Pallas. Our work aims for scientific renewal in methods for managing snow-influenced water resources. 

1. Pertti Ala-aho, [email protected]