Position Description

This is a career-track PhD-level research scientist position in the Forecast Applications and Social Science Team at the Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations (CIWRO) at the University of Oklahoma (OU) in collaboration with NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL).

Overview

The incumbent will provide scientific and technical expertise to develop and enhance activities that: accelerate new tools from research to operations, inspire new initiatives for operationally relevant research, and identify and document sensitivities and performance of state-of-the art convection-allowing models. These activities will be in support of the annual NOAA/Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) Spring Forecasting Experiments (SFEs) and real-time, year-round experimental prediction systems. The ideal candidate will be excited about presenting and publishing their research. The position will be based at the National Weather Center in Norman, OK, a highly collaborative forecasting, research, and academic environment containing a number of NOAA and OU organizations. The incumbent will work directly with research scientists at NSSL and operational forecasters at SPC, and will be co-supervised by CIWRO scientist at both organizations (SPC and NSSL).

Job Responsibilities

• Lead efforts to enhance and develop web-based visualizations for the following: real-time ensemble data for NOAA/HWT SFEs, operational systems (e.g., High-Resolution Ensemble Forecast System), and real-time experimental systems that operate year-round (e.g., NSSL-WRF, NSSL-FV3, NSSL-MPAS, and Warn-on-Forecast).
• Lead post-experiment analyses of convection-allowing ensembles from Community Leveraged Unified Ensemble (CLUE) experiments, subjective model evaluations, and other experimental and operational systems used in the SFE.
• Engage in the broader research community through public dissemination of research via conferences, workshops, peer-reviewed journal articles, and hazardous-weather-related outreach events.
• Work normal hours except for occasional irregular hours during data collection, warning/forecast experiments or workshops conducted at remote sites.

Qualifications

• United States citizenship.
• A PhD in Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, Computer Science, or related field.
• Knowledge and experience in web development and graphic design/visualization of models, as well as knowledge in severe storms meteorology, numerical weather prediction models/ensemble systems including convection-allowing models, and application of statistical techniques for forecast verification.
• Proficiency in Linux (Unix) environments and python, and a strong understanding of JavaScript (including JQuery), PHP, CSS stylesheets, and how to implement dynamic web-based data visualizations through libraries such as D3.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Salary/Benefits

• Reduced cost membership at OU’s 80,000 sq. ft. fitness and aquatic center (https://www.ou.edu/far).

• Flexible work hours.
• Generous paid leave.
• Beginning salary is commensurate with degree and experience. Information on OU benefits can be found at https://jobs.ou.edu/Discover-OU/Benefits-of-Working-at-OU.

Work/Life Balance at CIWRO

• CIWRO supports a diverse, non-discriminatory workforce that respects the culture, beliefs, and practices of all employees.
• Flexible work hours and easy area commutes enable employees to address personal needs without sacrificing paid leave.
• CIWRO’s structured career-track program allows for advancement and professional prestige while maintaining a healthy work/life balance.

Living in Norman, OK

• Norman is a beautiful small city with a burgeoning arts movement, lively concert series, and numerous athletic events.
• Norman’s cost of living is very low (bit.ly/livenorman), allowing CIWRO employees to live within about a 10-minute drive of the National Weather Center.
• Big-city amenities are only a 20-30-minute drive away. Several nearby lakes and nature preserves offer additional recreation and entertainment.

How to Apply

Send a statement of interest highlighting how you meet the position qualifications, your resume/CV, and a list of three professional references to: ciwro-careers@ou.edu. Enter in the subject line: ATTN: Model Analysis and Web Development Position. For more information about this position, please contact Dr. Katie Wilson (katie.a.wilson@ou.edu).

The University of Oklahoma is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.