Job Description

General Information

Position Number

POST40

Working Title

Post Doctoral Fellow

Division

Academic Affairs

Department

College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences (Col)

Work Unit

Earth, Environ, Geography Science

Work Location

McEniry Building

Vacancy Open To

All Candidates

Position Designation

Post Doc

Employment Type

Temporary - Part-time

Hours per week

40

Work Schedule

Varied based on research needs

Pay Rate

$52000-$58000 depending on experience

Minimum Experience/Education

The Postdoctoral appointee must have recently (within the last eight years) been awarded a Ph.D. or equivalent doctorate (e.g., Sc.D., M.D.)

Departmental Preferred Experience, Skills, Training/Education:

PhD in Geography, Data Science, Computer Science, or a closely related field (completed or expected before start date). Strong skills in programming (e.g., Python, R) and reproducible research workflows. Strong written and oral communication skills, including evidence of peer-reviewed publications or manuscripts in preparation. Demonstrated experience applying deep learning techniques in geospatial or spatial data analysis (required). Experience with generative AI models (e.g., diffusion models, VAEs, GANs) is highly desirable. Experience working with large language models (LLMs) for text, spatial, or multimodal analysis is an asset.

Duties and Responsibilities

A Postdoctoral Fellow (""postdoc"") is a professional apprenticeship designed to provide recent Ph.D. recipients with an opportunity to develop further the research skills acquired in their doctoral programs or to learn new research techniques, in preparation for an academic or research career. In the process of further developing their own research skills, it is expected that Postdoctoral Fellows will also play a significant role in the performance of research at the University and augment the role of graduate faculty in providing research instruction to graduate students. A Postdoctoral Fellow works under the supervision of a regular faculty member, who serves as a mentor to the Fellow, and it is expected that the faculty mentor will impart the realities, and variety, of scientific careers, and will encourage experiences outside the laboratory to broaden postdocs' aspirations. Within the confines of the particular research focus assigned by that faculty member, the Postdoctoral Fellow functions with a considerable degree of independence and has the freedom (and is expected) to publish the results of his or her research or scholarship during the period of appointment. Thus, the role of Postdoctoral Fellows is clearly differentiated from full-time technical employees.



Postdoc appointments are characterized by all of the following conditions:



the appointee was recently (within the last eight years) awarded a Ph.D. or equivalent doctorate (e.g., Sc.D., M.D.); the appointment is temporary; the appointment involves substantially full-time research or scholarship; the appointment is viewed as preparatory for a full-time academic and/or research career; the appointee works under the supervision of a faculty member; and the appointee has the freedom and is expected to publish the results of his or her research or scholarship during the period of appointment.


As an EOE/AA employer and an ADVANCE Institution that strives to create an academic climate in which the dignity of all individuals is respected and maintained, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte encourages applications from all underrepresented groups. Applicants subject to criminal background check.

Other Work/Responsibilities

Work closely with the PI on an NSF-funded project involving geospatial modeling, AI/GeoAI methods, and spatial data integration. Design, implement, and evaluate deep learning and/or generative AI models using large-scale geospatial and related datasets. Contribute to data management, documentation, and preparation of materials for NSF annual reports. Lead and co-author manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals. Present research findings at national and international conferences.
Collaborate with graduate and undergraduate students in the research group as appropriate.

Necessary Licenses or Certifications

Proposed Hire Date

01/15/2026

Contact Information

Dr. Yao Li

Email - yao.li@charlotte.edu

Phone - 443-603-8963

Expected Length of Assignment

1 year, and can be extended based on performance and funding conditions

Posting Open Date

11/17/2025

Posting Close Date

12/31/2025

Special Notes to Applicants

If you are interested, please contact Yao Li - yao.li@charlotte.edu - with a copy of your CV along with contact