Senior Scientist, Observing Systems & Data Assimilation
We are currently searching for an experienced Senior Scientist with a demonstrated background in observing system experimentation and data assimilation techniques for earth systems modeling, and especially numerical weather prediction. This scientist position can be located either in our Boulder, Colorado office in Louisville or at our Helsinki, Finland headquarters in Vantaa. This person will be key part of our Applied Meteorology science team and will work closely with several product teams across Vaisala's Weather business unit. The primary role will be to assess the impact of observations on the end-to-end value of nowcasts and very short-term forecasts in many different weather sensitive application areas, including urban air quality, road weather for winter maintenance and autonomous vehicles, renewable energy operations, and airport safety. You would serve as the go-to technology expert for assessments of observation impact, treatment of new observation types for assimilation, and optimal sensor network design as well as lead data assimilation and numerical weather prediction studies. Your drive to innovate and ability to work in a team environment are essential characteristics for success.
Your key responsibilities include:
- Plan and manage applied research projects
- Generate project proposals based on business needs
- Identify technology development needs; develop, evaluate, and verify technological solutions
- Document research-related outcomes through project reports, white papers, and articles
- Provide mentorship for peers and colleagues on a regular basis
- Provide consultation for demanding engineering tasks that require deep scientific or technology understanding
- Substantially contribute to product development and engineering tasks in support of new product launches and ensure that such products are effectively maintained and improved
- Possibility to grow into a domain expert with insights into how our nowcasting and forecasting solutions work as well as the sensors and systems that provide input data to them
- M.S. or equivalent degree and 6 years of experience in industrial or academic research environments;
- Ph.D. or equivalent degree and 3 years of experience in industrial or academic research environments;
- Or, equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Demonstrated experience with formal Observation System Experiment (OSE), Observation System Simulation Experiment (OSSE), and Forecast Sensitivity Observation Impact (FSOI) techniques.
- Proficiency with state-of-the-art data assimilation methods and community software, including at least one of the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI), Data Assimilation Research Testbed (DART), or the Joint Effort for Data assimilation Integration (JEDI) systems.
- Familiarity with community atmospheric models beyond just the namelist level, including at least one of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF), Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS), or the Finite-Volume cubed-sphere (FV3) models.
- Additional experience with large-eddy-scale modeling or computational fluid dynamics is a bonus.
- Machine learning know-how, especially as applied to data assimilation and nowcasting problems, is a potential differentiator.
- Extensive experience in Linux-based high performance computing environments required. Cloud computing experience in Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, or Microsoft Azure desired.
- Previous hands-on experience with environmental sensors, either in the design lab or from field service is a bonus. Being able to utilize sensor data effectively and knowing its limitations is an important skill.
- Proven project management skills.
- Excellent international communication skills with ability to present research results to non-expert audiences.
- Ability to travel occasionally, sometimes internationally.
Please send your application including CV and salary request soon. We will close the application process when we have a suitable number of qualified candidates.