Climate Data Scientist

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Climate Central is an independent group of scientists and science translators who research and report the facts about our changing climate and how it affects people’s lives. We use science and tech to generate thousands of local storylines and compelling visuals that make climate change relevant and show what can be done about it. We address climate science, sea level rise, extreme weather, energy, and related topics.

We collaborate with journalists, TV meteorologists, and other respected messengers, reaching broad audiences through local voices in the US and 150 nations. Our research and visuals appear in thousands of TV spots and well over ten thousand other news stories each year, and our impact is growing.

Climate Central is seeking a highly-skilled Climate Data Scientist to join our team. Reporting to the Vice President for Science, the scientist will be part of a new initiative in climate services to deliver actionable and interpretable probabilistic predictions of climate hazards on seasonal-to-decadal timescales. This initiative will build on Climate Central’s existing multi-method daily, high-resolution estimates of how strongly climate change is influencing conditions in the atmosphere and ocean.

The scientist will work quickly and creatively to research, develop, and deliver new statistical analyses and decision-ready products that meet cross-sector needs for climate risk and hazard planning.

The ideal candidate will have a foundational working knowledge of climate science and modeling as well as experience developing data-driven methods for prediction problems. This position is for a two-year term with the possibility of renewal.

• Carrying out literature reviews of existing methodologies and datasets
• Identifying gaps in existing 1-to-10 year prediction products
• Developing multi-method approaches that result in unique Climate Central product offerings

• Using climate models and data to develop and validate predictions of natural hazards or perils in the 1-to-10 year window
• Developing scientifically sound technical reports that clearly convey data uncertainties and methodological details to build trust in forecast products developed for end users
• Presenting results at scientific conferences

• Developing statistical models that predict local climate risks and collaborating with technical staff to turn these into operational service products
• Working with our technical, engagement, and business development teams to create forecast products that meet end-user needs
• Working with our communications team to ensure products are accurately and accessibly reflected in externally facing materials

Other duties may be assigned as needed.

• This position requires an advanced degree in a relevant field and experience applying data-driven statistical approaches to climate model outputs
• Experience with rigorous model evaluation, uncertainty, and validation techniques for probabilistic statistical modeling
• Experience analyzing and visualizing large climate and geospatial datasets in Python using packages such as Xarray, pandas, stats models, and scikit-learn
• Ability to work collaboratively within a fast-paced environment and to see perspectives across different disciplines and vocabularies
• Excellent communications skills with a track record of effectively communicating about data and scientific findings

• Experience working for a federal agency or lab that has been impacted by recent cuts
• Comfort in working in Git Hub and with parallel and distributed computing tools to turn complex big data projects into efficient analysis pipelines (e.g., Dask, Zarr, multiprocessing, joblib, and high-performance computing or cloud workflows) and end-user-ready products
• Experience working with seasonal-to-decadal forecasting models and/or large ensembles
• Familiarity with novel AI and/or supervised and unsupervised machine learning techniques, including using Python…