Junior Advisor/Researcher Hydrodynamics

About the Role

Water shapes our world – coasts, rivers, and estuaries are constantly in motion, driven by complex hydrodynamic processes that affect safety, sustainability, and daily life. Understanding and predicting these dynamics is essential to managing floods, protecting coastal regions, and designing resilient delta systems for the future.

As a Junior Advisor / Researcher Hydrodynamics, you will contribute directly to this mission. Working at the interface of science, modelling, and real-world application, you help translate data and physics-based insights into practical solutions for national and international water challenges.

The Job

The Hydrodynamic team develops and applies advanced numerical models to simulate and analyse water movement in rivers, estuaries, coastal zones, and offshore environments. By combining scientific expertise with state-of-the-art modelling techniques, the team provides reliable insights that support the design, assessment, and optimisation of coastal protection measures, coastal flooding and climate adaptation strategies. These solutions enable clients to better understand complex water systems and make informed decisions that enhance safety, sustainability, and resilience.

As a Junior Consultant Hydrodynamic Modelling, you contribute to the setup, calibration, validation, and application of hydrodynamic models for a wide range of water-related projects. Working closely with senior consultants and multidisciplinary teams, you analyse model results, interpret hydrodynamic processes, and translate technical findings into practical engineering advice. You also support the continuous improvement of modelling workflows and tools, helping to deliver high-quality, innovative solutions that address real-world challenges in water management and infrastructure development.

Your Role

As a junior team member, you will work closely with experienced colleagues on research and consultancy projects. Your responsibilities will include:

• Developing, validating, and applying numerical hydrodynamic models (e.g. Delft3D-FM) for coastal and marine systems.
• Processing, analysing, and visualising hydrodynamic and environmental datasets using scripting languages (primarily Python).
• Contributing to the improvement of modelling methodologies and workflows, including topics such as cloud computing, high-performance computing (HPC), containers, and machine learning.
• Supporting project delivery through report writing, presentations, and (occasionally) client interactions.
• Contributing to proposal writing and project acquisition.
• Building internal and external collaborations and expanding your professional network.

Job Qualifications

You are curious, analytical, and motivated to understand how physical processes shape coastal and estuarine systems. You enjoy working in teams and are eager to further develop your modelling and programming skills.

• An MSc degree in Civil Engineering, Coastal Engineering, Oceanography, Numerical Fluid Dynamics, Earth Sciences, or a related field.
• Experience with numerical modelling of physical systems.
• Understanding of (or strong interest in) coastal and oceanographic processes such as tides, storm surges, turbulence, stratification, and air-sea interaction.
• Experience with programming or scripting (e.g. Python).
• Good communication skills in English (Dutch is an advantage).

Additional Experience That May Be Useful (But Not Required)

• Experience with hydrodynamic or morphodynamic models such as Delft3D, D-HYDRO, SOBEK, or similar tools.
• Interest in or experience with data-driven methods such as machine learning.
• Familiarity with HPC environments, cloud computing, software development practices (e.g. version control, CI/CD).

We Offer

• A challenging position in an internationally recognised research institute.
• Every new employee is paired with a mentor, who helps them settle into the organization in the first year.
• Deltares offers a contract (32 hours minimum) for 12 months with the intention of a contract for an indefinite period of time. The starting salary is gross €3,968 per month based on 40 hours per week.
• Excellent opportunities for professional and personal development, including participation in a 1.5-year Young Professional Program for junior staff.
• 34 vacation days, plus a vitality and mobility budget.
• A diverse and inclusive working culture, and much more.

Curious About the Work?

The team develops state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models used internationally for flood risk, water quality, offshore engineering, and more. This includes the development of the Dutch Continental Shelf Model and the Global modelling of tides and storm surges (GTSM). The team works at the intersection of science, software and coastal management, helping organisations around the world make better decisions before, during and after extreme events. The department consists of around 30 professionals from a diverse range of international and cultural backgrounds – a highly interdisciplinary group.

Application Procedure

Apply by submitting a CV and motivation letter. For questions about the vacancy, please contact Brian de Bruin (HR Recruitment Officer) at sollicitatie@deltares.nl or +31 6 15267686.

Deadline: September 4th. Interviews will be held on September 16th and 18th.

This vacancy is based in Delft, Netherlands. Working remotely from another country is not possible. All candidates with a relevant profile are welcome to apply. However, as it appears to be difficult to find suitable housing in the Netherlands, graduates and young professionals who already have permanent housing available in the Netherlands are particularly encouraged to apply.

More information and application: https://careers.deltares.nl/nl/ad/junior-advisor-researcher-hydrodynamics/gwgyhd/en