Deb received his bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering from Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh. His master's degree in irrigation engineering and management is from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. His doctorate degree in biological and environmental engineering is from The University of Tokyo, Japan. 

Prior to joining the Tech faculty, Deb worked as a post-doctoral fellow in environmental soil physics at New Mexico State University's Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences. He also served as an assistant researcher in the Watershed Hydrology Lab at the University of Hawaii-Manoa's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management. Deb worked as a project researcher with the Soil Physics and Soil Hydrology Lab at The University of Tokyo's Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Earlier he served as a research associate and research engineer in the Water Engineering and Management Program of Asian Institute of Technology's School of Civil Engineering.