OverviewLynker is seeking a sharp and motivated Meteorologist Developer to support a long term contract with the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) and will have direct interaction with scientists within NOAA as well as partners outside of NOAA. This includes; NCEP centers, NWS weather forecast offices, NOAA research facilities, academia, and the NWS Science and Operations Officer community. In this capacity the incumbent will work with the above partners to develop and implement verification methods to gauge the effectiveness of new forecaster tools applied to operational and experimental forecasts. The work will also strive to build the capacity to enhance impact decision support services (IDSS), effectively building a Weather Ready Nation.
In addition, the Meteorologist Developer will work to provide enhancements that build upon current forecaster tools as well as work to develop new services and forecaster tools. Promising work will be transitioned to operations. The incumbent will provide training materials on the enhanced forecaster products and tools.
Areas of particular need and interest to be addressed include developing forecaster and verification tools for heavy precipitation associated with land-falling tropical cyclones, warm-season convection, winter storms, and atmospheric rivers. Additional areas of focus include the use of ensemble model output to aid forecaster generation of probabilistic products, as well as exploring future roles of weather forecasters. The Ideal Meteorologist Developer will be local to the College Park, MD area, and will be able to work a HYBRID schedule, working on site 2-3 days per work, and working from home the remainder of the week.
Responsibilities
The ideal Meteorologist Developer will be able to develop tools featuring map data. Assignments are typically received in terms of expected outcomes and incumbents are expected to act independently to develop required information, including selecting approach, and to provide sound analyses and recommendations. Assigned projects may include analysis, application development, or other areas specific to the assignment.
Duties of the Meteorologist Developer may include but are not limited to:
- Collaborate with meteorologists at NCEP, NWS field offices, academia, and outside partners to develop forecast tools from short to medium range time frames.
- Use scientific and technical meteorological expertise to develop tools for determination of hazard information (rainfall, snowfall, temperatures).
- Develop web applications using modern industry languages and tools.
- Coordinate with NWS staff and external researchers to develop improved forecast tools.
- As appropriate, contribute to formal scientific publications, and/or attending off-site conferences, symposia and hazardous-weather-related outreach events.
- Perform related duties as assigned.
- Collaborate to transition forecaster tools and web services developed at WPC and elsewhere within NOAA into operations at WPC and other NOAA offices.
- Develop training materials to transition new tools and techniques into operations.
Qualifications
The Ideal Meteorologist Developer will have the following:
- A Bachelor's degree in meteorology, hydrology or related earth science fields. (MS or above is a BIG PLUS)
- 2+ years of related experience is preferred.
- Experience with deterministic and ensemble prediction system data sets and their application to hazardous weather diagnosis and prediction.
- Knowledge of weather forecasting - short to medium range
- Experience with software development support in a team environment
- Experience with Python and shell scripting within a UNIX/Linux Environment.
- Some knowledge of GIS, JavaScript, Cloud Services, and Version Control Systems
- Ability to organize, plan, and complete projects
- Excellent written and oral communication skills for documentation and presentations
