Coastal Dynamics & Resilience

The opportunity

HAEDES is looking for a senior coastal modeller to strengthen our team in Portugal or Belgium. We are looking for someone who can connect scientific depth with practical engineering judgment: an experienced specialist in coastal and sedimentary dynamics who understands how waves, currents, morphology and human interventions interact across time and space. We are open to receive you in Lisbon or Porto or in Wetteren (Ghent).
You will combine numerical modelling with field evidence to investigate complex coastal systems, compare intervention scenarios and shape resilient solutions. The role sits between applied research and consultancy, spanning coastlines, estuaries, ports and nearshore environments. At HAEDES, models are not an end product: they are tools for inquiry, dialogue and responsible decisions.

You’d look closely with us at river catchments, coastal areas and estuaries, to develop plans and designs fluent in the state-of-the-art guidelines and standards, and critical of them too, because a standard is a place to start thinking, not a place to stop. You’d put that rigor to engineer innovative, nature-based solutions for coastal resilience and port development.

What you will shape?

• Set up, calibrate, validate and interpret numerical models for wave propagation, hydrodynamics, wave-current interaction, sediment transport and coastal morphodynamics.
• Assess shoreline evolution, erosion, flooding and climate-change vulnerability across historic, present-day and future scenarios.
• Evaluate coastal interventions, dredging strategies, maritime works, navigation conditions and nature-based or hybrid resilience measures.
• Design modelling strategies that combine fit-for-purpose complexity, transparent assumptions, uncertainty analysis and field or monitoring data.
• Process and analyse oceanographic, sedimentological, bathymetric and geospatial datasets; identify data gaps and define proportionate acquisition needs.
• Translate technical results into clear recommendations, visualisations and reports for clients, authorities, partners and non-specialist stakeholders.
• Lead technical work packages, review modelling by others, contribute to proposals and help develop younger colleagues.
• Help expand HAEDES’ coastal resilience practice in Portugal and internationally through trusted collaboration and original thinking.

What you bring?

• A PhD in geology, oceanography, coastal processes, coastal engineering or a closely related field, supported by a master’s degree in a relevant geoscience or engineering discipline. An equivalent record of advanced applied expertise may also be considered.
• At least 10 years of relevant professional and/or applied research experience in coastal dynamics and numerical modelling.
• Deep understanding of wave-dominated systems, wave-current interaction, sediment transport, coastal morphology and shoreline response.
• Strong hands-on experience with SWAN, Delft3D and XBeach or demonstrably equivalent coastal modelling systems.
• Experience with shoreline-evolution approaches such as ShorelineS or comparable one-line models.
• Experience in model calibration and validation using field observations, monitoring datasets and geospatial information.
• A record of high-quality technical or scientific writing and the ability to explain modelling choices, limitations and uncertainty.
• Professional working proficiency in English and in Portuguese.

Additional experience we value

• Storm-impact, tsunami or ship-generated-wave modelling, including XBeach-G or related tools.
• Climate adaptation pathways, cost-benefit comparisons and long-term coastal-change assessments.
• Nature-based solutions, living breakwaters, seagrass or aquaculture interactions, and other biophysical coastal processes.
• GIS, data analytics, Python and reproducible workflows; familiarity with SPH or flexible-mesh modelling is an advantage.
• Field campaign design, sedimentological interpretation, environmental impact assessment or collaboration with universities and research institutes.

How you work?

You are rigorous without becoming trapped by the model. You challenge assumptions, recognise uncertainty and know when additional complexity adds value. You work autonomously while inviting other disciplines and viewpoints into the process. Curiosity, empathy and responsibility guide how you collaborate and how you consider the consequences of engineering decisions for people, nature and future generations.

What makes HAEDES different?

HAEDES blends engineering and soul: logic with emotion, knowledge with wisdom, and process with patterns. We address root causes rather than symptoms and co-create solutions inspired by nature. Our values – nature, trust, connection, creativity, autonomy and authenticity – guide how we choose projects, work with partners and make decisions.

• A living-system organisation that adapts through co-creation, learning and distributed responsibility.
• Freedom to think independently, paired with accountability for scientific quality and real-world outcomes.
• An organization embedded in R&D, bridging fundamental research with direct applications.
• Work at the intersection of coastal science, engineering, climate resilience, biodiversity and regenerative design.
• A multidisciplinary international network and a nurturing culture with serious expertise, personal guidance and room for humour.

What we offer

• A senior role with meaningful technical work and genuine influence on our coastal-modelling and resilience practice.
• A flexible working rhythm: remote, office-based and on project locations, with occasional travel to Belgium and international clients.
• Remuneration aligned with your experience, skills and responsibilities.
• A personal development plan covering technical growth and self-development.
• A full time position, hybrid mode, office place in Portugal (Lisbon or Porto) or Belgium (Wetteren), flexible working hours arrangements and annual leave

Interested

Send your CV and a short motivation explaining how you use modelling to understand coastal systems and shape better decisions to piet.haerens@haedes.eu. Please use the subject line ‘Senior Coastal Modeller – Portugal’. Send best before September 30^th 2026.

We look forward to discovering not only what you have modelled, but how you think.