Director, AI Weather

大学カリフォルニア大学ディレクター・AI・フーリ

University of Chicago staff support the University’s community of scholars, their shared ideals, and the core values that make the University a singular intellectual destination. We are part of the Physical Sciences Division which includes several interdisciplinary research institutes and centers. The AI for Climate (AICE) Research Initiative, a joint initiative with the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth, aims to accelerate and transform climate research with a focus on both scientific advances and societal impacts.

The Director of AI for Weather will report to Professor Pedram Hassanzadeh with dotted line reporting to the DSI Senior Director of Research Programs and Strategy and will collaborate with AICE and Climate Extremes Theory and Data group. This role is integral to the smooth operation of the Human Centered Weather Forecasts (HCF) Initiative and related AI weather work, and requires a combination of skills in forecast operations, research, public engagement, and technical communication.

The director will work with low- and middle-income countries to disseminate forecasts, test their effectiveness, refine based on user feedback, and scale them up through training national meteorological services members and co-developing tools to use and evaluate AI weather forecasts.

• Delineates new directions of research, and executes research and operational milestones in collaboration with principal researchers, research professionals, and other partners. Includes developing long‑range plans for research projects and coordinating with principal researchers.
• Manages a team of research professionals and support staff involved with planning, monitoring, and compliance aspects of weather and climate applications. Advises other researchers on long‑range plans for research projects.
• Works with Prof. Hassanzadeh to advance AI weather forecasting across scales, from short‑ and medium‑range to sub‑seasonal‑to‑seasonal (S2S) predictions.
• Leads forecast projects of interest to the HCF Initiative at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth, closely collaborating with a growing multidisciplinary team, including Prof. Michael Kremer (Economics) and Amir Jina (Public Policy), and in conjunction with international efforts at the Development Innovation Lab (DIL).
• Actively participates in ongoing research projects, including co‑authoring scholarly publications and speaking at public lectures and presentations.
• Designs and conducts experimental work in collaboration with researchers.
• Assists in data analysis and interpretation.
• Supervises operational deployments of forecasting weather events across scales.
• Manages hiring in support of the operational forecasting pipelines.
• Leads conversations and negotiations with stakeholders to plan, design, and execute collaborations. Establishes strong working relationships and represents the HCF Initiative in meetings with high‑level policymakers, funders, nonprofit leaders, and business executives on the global stage.
• Identifies fundraising opportunities and leads grant‑writing efforts to support core Initiative activities.
• Manages media relations, engages with the public and media to promote and disseminate research, and serves as a spokesperson for the research initiative.
• Ensures smooth administration of the Initiative, including financial and administrative oversight, project management, grant reporting, budget oversight, and implements corrective action when appropriate.
• Represents the HCF Initiative and affiliated programs to both internal and external constituencies, including working groups and committees to advance the planning and successful execution of key projects and representing the Faculty Director in a variety of external settings.
• Provides high‑level project management and strategic support for the Faculty Director; tracks high‑priority projects and activities in which the Faculty Director is the lead.
• Proactively disseminates project information to internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintains evaluation metrics of the program.
• Manages program operations and administrative functions which may include…