Job Summary

The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) is hiring a Class IV Graduate Research Assistant to support a coastal flooding research project that integrates real-world field data with computational image analysis. This position plays a key role in validating flood event photographs by analyzing image metadata, visual water levels, and cross-referencing environmental model outputs and tidal data. The student will also occasionally support field data collection using high-precision GPS. This role offers valuable experience at the intersection of computer vision, environmental data science, and field work experience, making it ideal for students seeking to apply coding skills to applied sciences. The student applying for this position should have extensive coding skills and good image processing experience and would like to be trained for field work and improve their science communication.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct digital image analysis of crowdsourced flood photographs, identifying water levels, visible infrastructure, and environmental context. Assist with building or refining Python/Matlab scripts to support image validation workflows, data preprocessing, and automated reporting. Assist with developing or improving scripts or workflows for data validation and visualization (e.g., Python, Jupyter, Matlab or other platforms).
• Extract and interpret image metadata, perform comparisons against model-simulated water levels and NOAA tidal records and flag inconsistencies.
• Conduct at least two field deployments to selected coastal sites to collect elevation measurements at photo locations in New London, Groton and Stonington. Trained to use CIRCA-provided equipment to set up, calibrate, and operate RTK GPS units accurately and safely.
• Assist in documenting metadata, location context, and conditions observed in the field.
• Enter and organize field and digital data into structured formats suitable for GIS and data visualization.
• Assist with preparing summary materials, tables or figures for the project’s final report.
• Coordinate with CIRCA’s research team and attend check-ins to present progress and findings.

Minimum Qualifications

• Enrollment as a graduate student at the University of Connecticut (Storrs or regional campus). Exceptions can be made for extraordinary undergraduate students who satisfy all the minimum qualifications with high GPA.
• Graduated with an undergraduate or graduate degree in computer science, math, environmental sciences, or a relevant field.
• Strong skills in Python, Matlab, or other scripting languages commonly used in data processing and image handling.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, maintain data accuracy, and follow technical instructions.
• Comfort with fieldwork, including walking short distances over uneven or wet terrain.
• Ability to travel to Groton, New London, Stonington, and Avery Point Campus.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with image analysis and image processing libraries such as OpenCV, Pillow, or Scikit-Image.
• Coursework or experience in GIS, remote sensing, or environmental monitoring.
• Familiarity with hydrodynamic model outputs and/or tide gauge data.

Appointment Terms

• Part-time hourly position starting September 2025 for a year. Average work 10/15 hours/week during the academic year and 20-25 hours/week during summer.
•  The hourly wage for this position is $25-$27 per hour, commensurate with experience.
• At least 2 field deployments will be scheduled with weather and tide conditions in mind.
• Field equipment and training will be provided by CIRCA.
• Reports to: Senior Field Technician and Associate Director of Research, CIRCA.

How to Apply

Please send a brief email expressing your interest, a résumé/CV, and your availability (academic year and summer) to lauren.yaworsky@uconn.edu . Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Class IV Graduate Research Intern - Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaption
Application deadline: 08/03/2025