Hydrology & Agricultural Automation Researcher

The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture(ICBA) is an international, non-profit agricultural research center established in 1999 through the visionary leadership of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), and the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). ICBA is a unique applied agricultural research center in the world that is focused on marginal areas where an estimated 1.7 billion people live. It identifies, tests and introduces resource-efficient, climate-smart crops and technologies that are best suited to different regions affected by salinity, water scarcity and drought. Through its work, ICBA helps to improve food security and livelihoods for some of the poorest rural communities around the world. ICBA is an equal opportunity employer and appoints qualified staff regardless of race, creed, color, age, gender, religion or national origin. We demonstrate our commitment to each member of our team through a competitive benefits package designed to assist our employees to cover their needs and the needs of their immediate family members.

Job Summary

Apply innovative irrigation technologies and automation to save water and to collect data from the monitoring stations in the field. Data will be automatically collected from dataloggers at existing drainage wells and canal systems. Data will be stored in geodatabase connected to central database. The researcher will develop / apply new methods and algorithms for automating collecting data from existing monitoring sites and optimize the release of canal flow according to the irrigation water demand. Develop groundwater modeling and canal / hydrology/ hydraulic models to plan the allocation of groundwater and surface water in the study area in Southern Kazakhstan. Any other similar research assignments identified by the section head or division director.

Job Responsibilities
  • Conduct research on the best low-cost methods for remote collection of data / information from monitoring station in the field.
  • Write relevant coding using well-known programming languages
  • Develop local geodatabases and connect them with regional and central databases
  • Develop in collaboration with the team groundwater models to simulate the control of groundwater level
  • Develop in collaboration with the team water allocation models to optimize the release of water according to water demand
  • Prepare technical reports as specified by the project documents
  • Prepare research papers to submit to peer-reviewed journals
  • Prepare project proposals for external funding
  • Additional activities to support ICBA’s mission
Qualifications and Experience

Essential

  • Master’s degree in water resources and hydrology, or agricultural automation
  • At least 5 years’ working knowledge in agricultural automation applications, good knowledge on Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems
  • Excellent skills in programming
  • Excellent skills in hydrology and hydraulic models
  • Excellent skills in GIS
  • Fluency in written and spoken English and Russian
  • Ready to travel/relocate to Kazakhstan

Desirable

  • Working knowledge of statistics and database management
  • Supervisory experience
Post Date
17 March 2020
Status
Closed
Vacancy Type
Full-time
Location
Kazakhstan
Report To
Principle Scientist Hydrology
Job Number
ICBADP-DXB-2020-013