About the role#
The Rainmaker Atmospheric Science Fellowship is a paid, full-time research appointment. Fellows join the atmospheric-science team to work on scoped quantitative projects drawn from current scientific and operational priorities. You will work alongside a named mentor to translate atmospheric or operational questions into rigorous analyses. This role is designed for those who want to contribute to research that influences company operations, program design, and evaluation methods.
What you'll do#
- Work with your research lead to translate an atmospheric, operational, or program-design question into measurable quantitative criteria.
- Build and document the quality-controlled dataset required for the assigned project.
- Apply appropriate statistical, climatological, geospatial, verification, or decision-analysis methods.
- Compare results across relevant reanalysis, numerical weather prediction, satellite, radar, terrain, and operational data sources.
- Quantify uncertainty, missingness, bias, and sensitivity to assumptions.
- Create maps, summaries, and decision-oriented outputs for scientists, operators, and program designers.
- Build a documented and reusable workflow that the team can extend to future questions.
- Deliver a final artifact such as a dataset, analysis, evaluation framework, operational tool, technical report, or presentation.
What you'll need#
- Current status as an undergraduate, master's, or PhD student, a postdoctoral researcher, or a recent graduate.
- Background in meteorology, atmospheric science, applied mathematics, statistics, physics, hydrology, geospatial science, or a related field.
- Strong Python and quantitative-analysis ability.
- Experience with meteorological, climate, geospatial, radar, satellite, or model data.
- Ability to make ambiguous definitions explicit and test the sensitivity of results to assumptions.
- Strong scientific judgment regarding uncertainty and the difference between analytical proxies and operational ground truth.
- Clear written and verbal communication skills.
Location & details#
- Location: El Segundo, California (On-site).
- Commitment: Full-time.
- Duration: Three to six months, with four months as the standard duration.
- Application process: Rolling applications with project-specific start dates.
- Compensation: $8,000 per month.
- Benefits: Full health coverage (medical, dental, and vision), daily in-office lunch, and free EV charging at headquarters.
