Every Friday, I break down real meteorology job postings and cover what the role actually involves, what employers are really looking for, and how to position yourself to get hired. Experience in energy, aviation, agricultural commodities, transportation, outdoor recreation, and event forecasting. Free, every Friday
The Friday Job Report - Week 28
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Issued on the 10th of July, 2026 If you are looking to break into energy, and after using AI to figure out what it is and what meteorologists do, you still can't figure out exactly how to get the skills to land a job, I will be offering two courses in the fall of 2026 about landing a role in energy meteorology. One will be a short, asynchronous, 4-week course at your own pace, and the other a 12-week, live instructor (mostly me, but also guest speakers and at least one Python-skilled meteorologist). The course will be available across all time zones, worldwide, in English. If you are interested in getting more details or think you might be interested in the course, click this link, fill out the information, and I will send you the latest information. If you decide you are not interested, unsubscribe at any time. https://mymetjob.kit.com/15440591dd The JobsUSA JobsIndustry: Tech Title: Staff Data Scientist Company: Waymo Work Location: San Francisco, CA Pay: $251,000 - $310,000 per year Benefits: See Job Listing Degree:
Years of Experience:
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Who Should Apply? Waymo is a self-driving vehicle company with autonomous cars operating throughout the Phoenix, Arizona region, along with nine other US cities. While in no-weather cities like San Francisco, self-driving vehicles are less likely to encounter weather hazards that may endanger the occupants of the vehicle or the vehicle itself. However, in other cities with snow, ice, heavy rain, flooding, mudslides, dust storms, strong cross winds, and wildfires, these threats may pose too much of a burden on the coding required to create a vehicle that always makes the best decisions to ensure safe operations. This is why they are likely hiring a meteorologist. If you have some software engineering or coding background, a PhD, and are curious about this type of work, then you should definitely apply. I think this could be a very interesting job for the right person. About the Location The role is most likely in San Francisco, but it is always possible you might work in any of the cities where they operate. If it is in San Francisco, then it is most likely in Mountain View, which is south of downtown San Francisco and near Palo Alto, which is where Stanford University is located. You can get to Mountain View either on the BART train combined with Caltrain or just Caltrain, and if you want to live to the south in San Jose, you can take the VTA light rail, which stops in Mountain View (I've used the VTA many times while living in this area). There are also buses and Ubers, or you can drive. While living in this area, I spent many weekdays, when not working, exploring the area, which included hiking above Cupertino (where Apple is located) and above Los Gatos (near Roku and Netflix), and above Palo Alto, and I have been to Mountain View a few times, although if I remember correctly the Google campus is on the East side of the 101 Expressway. I really like the area, if you make enough to afford living there. Industry: Energy Title: Applied Meteorology Data Scientist Company: Southern Company Work Location: Birmingham, Alabama (hybrid possible; you have to work in the office 4 days a week) Pay: None given Benefits: See Job Listing Degree:
Years of Experience:
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Who Should Apply? If you have some experience with data science principles as a meteorologist and this is something that you enjoy and would like to pursue further, then you should apply. Southern Company is an energy utility in the South of the US, and they do hire meteorologists who are more forecasters as well. While you may have an interest in energy, you should really want to work with data. Industry: Weather Modification / Aviation Meteorology Title: Field Operations Specialist Company: Rainmaker Technology Corp Work Location: Western US Pay: $65,000 + overtime Contract: Ends 30 April 2027 Benefits: See Job Listing Degree:
Years of Experience:
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Who Should Apply? On its face, this is not technically a meteorology role, as you do not need a meteorology background, but it could both help you be successful with this company and it may offer you a chance to be hired for a full-time role after the contract ends. Your job is essentially to interact with meteorologists who will alert you to a window when launching a drone into a thunderstorm is optimal. Your job is to get to the launch zone and fly the drone into the storm. It's like the movie Twister, you are trying to get Dorothy to the best location where the sensors will be lifted into the clouds by the updraft. If you like the outdoors and don't mind being alone in the wilderness, don't mind driving in the dark in the mountains, possibly up fire roads and in the snow, this could be your gig. Personally, I think it sounds like a really cool opportunity. About the Location They are hiring for multiple locations across the Western US. International Jobs (Outside the US)Industry: Energy Title: Energy Decision Support Meteorologist Company: AG2 Work Location: Remote in Europe - Occasional work in Manchester, New Hampshire (US) Pay: None Given Benefits: See Job Listing Requirements: Must have Australian Citizenship Degree:
Years of Experience:
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Who Should Apply? You should be an early bird, someone who can be up and working at 4-5 am local time to the energy markets, so that by the time the traders come in to work, you are ready to go with a briefing. AG2 is formerly WSI, which is one of the leading energy information vendors in the energy trading industry. Essentially, what they do is provide both a comparable power generation forecast for wind, solar, and load demand in cities, and they provide briefings to customers, many of whom are energy trading firms without a meteorologist. You essentially are an energy trading meteorologist, but instead of providing just your company with market opportunities, you may provide dozens of companies with this information. They would then take it and make trades based on what you say. They may use the power generation curves to compare other vendors to develop a risk profile for different markets and types of risks. If this sounds like something you might like, then you should apply. This job is one of two they are filling, one in Europe and one in the US, and both may have to travel at times to their headquarters in southeast New Hampshire, which is close to Boston, MA. The job itself is likely about 90-95% remote. Industry: Energy Title: Weather Data Scientist Company: RWE Work Location: London, England Pay: None Given Benefits: See Job Listing Degree:
Years of Experience:
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Preferred Skills (bonus points if you have these)
Who Should Apply? If you read through the job listing, while there is a lot written about the modeling and coding skills plus a desire for you to have machine learning knowledge, they are at least reasonable and understand that not everyone will have all these skills, especially a meteorologist. So if you have some but not others and you are a curious person, interested in learning and growing with a company that will dedicate time to you improving your knowledge in data science in energy trading, then you should apply. Also, they are willing to consider a part-time or work arrangement, which is great if you need flexibility to take this role. About the Location This role is in the City of London, which is the core of downtown London, England. The company is a German company, and while I am not certain about the visa or work permit requirements, anytime there is a company in two locations, especially two countries, there may be some flexibility where you are based. However, it is worth noting that because this role is in the UK and they are not in the EU, that may restrict you to having a UK work permit. Final Thoughts The trend in jobs I see, especially for early-career meteorologists, is heavy on energy and wildfire in the US, energy in Europe, and aviation in India and Australia. Many of these jobs require some sort of coding skills, such as Python, R, or MATLAB. While it seems many new graduates learn these skills in university, you should take it upon yourself to take what you learn and apply it to real-life customer problems. One of the main things you are going to be asked to do with Python is grab model data, clean it up, and then either put it into a database or at least somewhere in your company where other data analysts, data scientists, or engineers can access it. However, in some roles, you may need to take the data from various models and create plots and graphs to showcase more insight into specific case studies or scenarios. The best way you can help yourself is to dig down deep to whatever motivation and initiative you possess and develop mock projects that are just for you to learn and showcase what you know how to do, with Python, GIS, and just regular old forecasting. You can share these on social media. In a world where you are competing against hundreds of people for every position, you need to create your own brand that showcases who you are and what you know. It's easy to make a profile on LinkedIn and call it a day, but then you are just like every other meteorologist. You need to go beyond this step and advocate for yourself. Instead, make the profile, but also repost other people's posts with your thoughts. Comment on people's posts. Create your own posts and show something you learned, something you know, or something you created. Sure, sometimes you are going to get a negative comment, but most meteorologists are going to be supportive of what you posted, and they may ask for more information or ask additional questions. And if you post something that is not exactly correct and someone calls you out, you learn. It will just get you ready for when a customer screams at you for missing a forecast. It happens. You stop, collect yourself, figure out what went wrong, and then you try again. One of the meteorologists I've been working with as a mentor has been creating his own opportunities by being super vocal on LinkedIn, utilizing AI as needed, building a brand, not just connecting with people and then never messaging them, but instead asking questions. He's been doing all of this on his own. I didn't recommend anything he has been able to accomplish in terms of social media. While it is not easy to replicate the experience of working with customers, making good and bad forecasts, and learning from them, you can build your brand around what you do know and what you want to learn. The experience of working with customers will come. Worse case, if you can't find a job, start your own company. There will always be someone who can't find the information they need to know about the weather or climate. Hope this helps. Good luck on the job search! Unsubscribe | Update your profile | 939 LaClair St, Pittsburgh, PA 15218-1024
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Scott Patterson
Every Friday, I break down real meteorology job postings and cover what the role actually involves, what employers are really looking for, and how to position yourself to get hired. Experience in energy, aviation, agricultural commodities, transportation, outdoor recreation, and event forecasting. Free, every Friday