Operational Surge/Wave Modeling Development and Support
About The Position
Lynker is seeking a Support Scientist to support development of operational wave and storm surge modeling capabilities within the National Weather Service (NWS). The role contributes to guidance for coastal hazards, including coastal flooding, storm surge, and rip currents, and supports Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS). Working with a team, the specialist will help develop, test, and implement physics-based, probabilistic, and machine-learning surge and wave frameworks; integrate atmospheric forcing; and transition new capabilities into NWS operations. The role also supports web interfaces for visualizing pre-operational model output and delivering accessible data to stakeholders. The position involves operational modeling and system integration, coastal hazard prediction, atmospheric forcing and diagnostics, interagency collaboration, model experimentation and validation, and support for web-based visualization and dissemination. The scientist will work independently and collaboratively, applying initiative and innovative methods.
Requirements
- M.S. or equivalent experience in meteorology, physical oceanography, coastal engineering, or a related field.
- At least 7 years of experience in weather forecasting, physical oceanography, or coastal ocean science.
- Knowledge of spectral wave models such as WAVEWATCH III, particularly for real-time applications.
- Demonstrated experience with operational storm surge models such as SLOSH, P-ETSS, P-Surge, SCHISM, and/or ADCIRC.
- Strong background in ensemble modeling, probabilistic output analysis, and real-time model merging and weighting techniques.
- Understanding of meteorological inputs and atmospheric forcing such as NBM, and experience generating secondary fields such as synthetic pressure fields from wind fields using published formulations.
- Experience running numerical models on high-performance computing platforms; using PBS and Slurm for job submission; and using MPI or OpenMP for multiprocessing.
- Advanced skills and knowledge in modern and object-oriented programming languages, such as Fortran 90, C/C++, and Python.
- Experience in a UNIX environment, advanced shell scripting, and running complex jobs.
- Demonstrated proficiency using GitHub to manage software repositories, code versions, and projects.
- Ability to maintain, visualize, and disseminate marine modeling output and web-based products.
Nice To Haves
- Demonstrated experience in real-time operational system integration, model blending, and software development within regional and nearshore domains.
- Direct experience in NOAA/NWS operational environments, specifically WCOSS and NCO standards, including directory structures, production job controls, and script standards.
- Familiarity with applying AI/ML techniques to enhance wave parameterizations, model efficiency, or forecast accuracy.
- Strong team-player mindset and demonstrated ability to collaborate across interagency and private sectors.
Responsibilities
- Support development, optimization, maintenance, and integration of wave and storm surge modeling capabilities within NWS operational architectures, aligning work with operational standards.
- Contribute to numerical, statistical, and probabilistic methods for coastal phenomena, including total water level guidance based on storm surge and wave runup, rip current guidance, and real-time model merging and weighting.
- Work with meteorological input datasets such as the National Blend of Models (NBM) and derive secondary diagnostics, including synthetic pressure fields from wind fields using established formulations.
- Collaborate with federal and private-sector partners, including USGS, NOS, academic institutions, and private industry, to evaluate external models and transition research into operations.
- Assist with designing and executing numerical model experiments; apply Python-based verification, performance metrics, and observational data-fusion techniques across regional and nearshore domains.
- Maintain, visualize, and disseminate marine modeling output using front-end web technologies for pre-operational and operational model guidance for internal and public use.
Benefits
- Comprehensive healthcare for the employee at no monthly cost, covering medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision.
- Personal Time Off (PTO) and paid holidays.
- Competitive compensation plan regularly calibrated against industry and location benchmarks.
- 401(k) retirement plan with company matching.
- Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
- Flexible spending accounts.
- Employee assistance program (EAP).
- Short- and long-term disability insurance.
- Life and accident insurance.
- Tuition assistance, training, and workforce improvement reimbursement per year.
- Spot bonuses for exceptional performance.
- Annual Employee Recognition Awards with bonuses.
- Employee Referral Program.
- Free centralized, self-directed Learning Management System.
- Personalized career growth plans for every employee.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
