Hydrometeorologist - UK

Recent years have seen a revolution in technology and availability of weather data for improved flood risk assessment and forecasting. We are now looking for an expert hydrometeorologist to lead our weather team in improving our use of different weather models for flood forecasting. Successful candidates will work at the forefront of forecasting science. 

The role will focus on sourcing, evaluating and utilising weather data globally in our flood forecasting system. The role will also work in a team developing best practice in flood risk communication based on our forecast products. There will be opportunities to work on various parts of our technology stack, working with flood modellers, software engineers and DevOps team. 

• Source, evaluate and process global and national weather datasets to identify the best models to be used in our flood forecasting technology. 
• Develop and maintain a good understanding of the latest developments in hydrometeorology, best practices and the development of new technologies. 
• Develop innovative approaches for utilising types of ensemble weather datasets to support flood forecasting approaches.
• Research and test different deterministic and ensemble weather data to optimise our process for simulating live flood events. 
• Test the accuracy and performance of different weather APIs.  
• Leading on developing automated approach for validating weather data performance using Python and GIS tools.  
• Working in a team using observed flood data and our flood forecasts to test and calibrate the performance of the flood forecasting system.
• Working in a team to monitor and report on performance against agreed customer satisfaction targets. 
• Contribute to Previsico’s flood forecasting product development. 
• Support other software development and operational activities. 
• Write and support innovation grants. 
• Ensure proper documentation. 

You should have expertise in hydrology, meteorology and flood forecasting. You’ll need a degree in meteorology, a physical science or mathematics. Alternatively, you can have the equivalent technical experience. 

• Postgraduate degree. 
• At least 3 years’ experience in analysing large weather datasets. 
• Proven experience in using ensemble and deterministic data to predict flood occurrence. 
• At least 3 years’ programming experience with Python. 
• Experience with common geospatial processing Python libraries. 
• Excellent GIS skills and a proven record in delivering data products. 
• Experience working in an agile commercial environment. 

Previsico is an equal opportunities employer. We value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be. 

•  Salary will be competitive, reflecting the candidate’s skills and experience. 
• 5% of salary in share options. 
• 33 days holiday including statutory Bank Holidays. 
• The position is based in our Loughborough office although we will consider flexible working arrangements including remote working. 
• The applicant will need to have the right to work in the UK. 
• We encourage a healthy work-life balance and support ongoing professional development opportunities for all team members.