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 32
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Issued on the 7th of August, 2026 One thing to mention is that there are many jobs this week, way more than I could post in The Friday Job Report. Many of the jobs outside of the US seem to be research based or require an advanced degree. Also there are a few positions that scream red flag. I just saw one last night that was posted by a US university on the West Coast and the job was based in the western US, but the location said Kentucky in the eastern US and the description was even more wild. There is no reason these types of roles can't be posted with more clarity, so if it is something you find interesting, try contacting them first. As I have mentioned on several earlier Friday Job Reports, I will be leading a course on Energy Meteorology, based on my own experience as a hiring manager and energy meteorologist and from my 20+ year career in meteorology. Energy Meteorology Fundamentals: Forecasting for the Energy Industry - Taught as if you were onboarding at a company, you will learn how to find and land a job energy and once you start the job, what to expect. This will include how to forecast for wind, solar, hydro, and daily load demand and then communicate this forecast to your coworkers and clients. Unlike many online courses, this course will focus on practical lessons where you need to make and verify forecasts, use Python to create charts, and present your forecast to a current energy trading hiring manager. Start Date: September 2026 Course Length: 12 weeks Course Teaching Style: Instructor-Led, Live based on US eastern time, UTC-4
The JobsIndustry: Observations Company-Type: Startup Title: Lead Meteorologist Company: Windborne Systems Work Location: San Francisco Bay Area - Remote Possible Pay: $130,000 - $150,000 Benefits: See Job Listing Degree:
Years of Experience:
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Who Should Apply? This is a startup which means everyone is working as hard as they can to make the company turn a profit. The way startups function, in most cases, is investors prop up a company and an idea, often with millions upon millions of dollars, and the company tries to reach a point where they make enough to continue without further investments. I worked for a startup that had been operating for five or so years, and then went belly up because the product didn't turn enough of a profit to pay for the staff. I currently work for a startup, but one that operates differently, has been around longer, has fewer staff, and seems to be doing ok. If you have a stable job already, make sure you do your homework before you leave it for a startup. If you don't have a job, startups are really good because they are usually remote, offer top pay and good benefits. I had to say that because there are currently a lot of startups hiring meteorologists especially with AI taking off. That being said, this company looks like a really amazing opportunity. One of the biggest problems in meteorology is the lack of data. So much of the current data structure of the industry has always been based on legacy government systems and that is great unless the government doesn't want to invest money into upgrades. Now you have companies building out satellite and radar data systems, and Windborne is addressing another big problem and that is upper level observations. The US has a lot of data compared to the rest of the world and if you've ever tried to make a critical micro scale forecast outside of the US, you most likely will need to utilize a combination of interpolation and extrapolation to fill in the gaps. Windborne is working to fix this problem. You could be a part of the solution. About the Location The job can be remote which is ideal because the job location is in an expensive part of California. However, if you are already out there, I love the area just west of Redwood City. The city is one of many small towns around the San Francisco Bay, and Redwood City is near, you guessed it, redwood trees. On the other side of the mountains and the redwoods is the Pacific Ocean and the view below is one of the many sunsets I have watched from the shore.
Industry: Recreation Title: Manager of Avalanche Forecasting Company: Mammoth Mountain Work Location: Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, California - Onsite Pay: $85,498 - $90,916 Benefits: See Job Listing Degree:
Years of Experience:
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Who Should Apply? You like to ski. You are experienced in avalanche mitigation and safety, certified in providing first aid and know how avoid avalanche prone areas, how to save yourself if caught in an avalanche, and how to search for people buried in the avalanche. I worked directly with the avalanche team in the Cottonwood canyons outside of Salt Lake City and provided forecasts for those canyons and a location in remote British Columbia. One of my coworkers, who I spent hours with doing RWIS maintenance during the Summer, who was an expert when it came to avalanches, still died in an avalanche. Sometimes luck is not on your side. So I know the dangers and I know that this opening is for the person that truly understands how temperature, wind, slope face direction and angle affect the risk of avalanches. The people that work with avalanches, some of whom are meteorologists, launch explosives at risk-prone slopes to prevent bigger, unexpected avalanches when people are on the mountain. The Sierra, like most mountains have a specific micro climate when it comes to snow and often the snow levels start low with a drier snow that quickly turns very wet and heavy, but can accumulate up to 5 to 10 feet / 152 to 305 cm and has been called Sierra Cement due to the heavy consistency of the snow. Mammoth is a little bit strange that it sits on the East side of the peaks and that on its own provides a different sort of localized weather. You should know your snow. About the Location In the Summer of 2017 I was on an epic road trip with my mom. The road trip started and ended in Las Vegas and along the way we hit 6 national parks, Lake Tahoe, and Sedona. The trip took place during an intense heat wave which in Death Valley sent the temperature over 120 F / 49 C, the hottest I've ever experienced. However, after Death Valley the next stop was Mammoth Mountain. Upon arriving in Mammoth Lakes at the base, there was so much snow, many of the roads were closed. This was in June. So I didn't actually get to see much of Mammoth Mountain. It is a beautiful area on the backside of Yosemite National Park. Side story. One of my jobs, Weathernet (mentioned in week 30), required me to work onsite in the Nevada DOT Region 3 headquarters in Reno, Nevada (near Lake Tahoe) and while there I drove down to Boundary Peak (highest point in Nevada) as it was an area where road snow occurred, but it was very remote and I needed to see it in person. After that I decided to loop back north through California, which took me very close to Mammoth Mountain, to Mono Lake and then back toward Lake Tahoe from the South. There is a road, Hwy 120 near Mono Lake and it is one of those roads where if you go too fast, you might just get air. But anyway, Mono Lake is a terminal lake (water flows in but not out) and in the lake are these strange formations known as Tufa. In this video, I'm driving very unsafe while holding my phone and recording. You should never do this. The video is me driving west on Highway 6 in Nevada towards Mammoth Mountain. This is my road weather research. I did this type of research on all state routes in Nevada, Lake Tahoe/Kirkwood, California, and Utah.
Industry: Energy (US Government, exception to my rule) Title: Meteorologist Company: Bonneville Power Authority, BPA. Work Location: Portland, Oregon Pay: $96,443 - $125,378 per year Citizenship: US citizenship required. Benefits: See Job Listing Degree:
Years of Experience:
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties based on the job listing)
Who Should Apply? Why did I provide an exception to the rule I just announced last week? Bonneville Power Authority, while a US government job, is a big player in the energy industry and a location that I've had to forecast for while working in energy trading. You could move on to energy trading from this role. You should apply if you have experience as a meteorologist, not necessarily in energy, but you should have a strong understanding of hydrology, snow pack buildup and melt processes in the mountains, and how to forecast for mountains near the ocean. Scandinavia would be a similar setup to the Pac NW along with eastern Canada in Nova Scotia or Newfoundland could work. Northern Japan, Hokkaido, would be a similar cold ocean and mountains. Unbelievable snow if you ski or snowboard. As long as you understand the relationship between the ocean and the mountains and the weather can change based on wind direction, moisture levels and thermal profiles. This is a government job, and they hire differently than the private industry, so I can't really go into how they will assess your skills. Job Location If you've read previous issues of the Friday Job Report then you know that I love Oregon and the Portland area. The Columbia River Gorge is great for hiking or just admiring the many waterfalls flowing off Mount Hood. Across the river is the state of Washington, and if you want to hike a unique trail, Beacon Rock is that. There are walkways build around the edge of the rock face. All in all, there is so much to do in this area that it would be a great place to work. And yeah there are wildfires, possibly tsunamis, earthquakes, and if you are really unlucky, one of the many volcanoes along this stretch will blow its top. But otherwise, it's a pretty great spot.
Industry: Energy Title: Data Scientist / Energy Trading Company: Engie Work Location: Brussels, Belgium Pay: None Given Benefits: See Job Listing Right to Work: Not listed. Degree:
Years of Experience:
Key Skills or Knowledge:
Who Should Apply? This is an energy trading role for a company that is heavily involved in not only the trading, but developing the infrastructure that creates the energy. Engie is associated with wind farms, onshore and off, solar farms, hydroelectric facilities, and battery storage. This makes this a more unique position relative to most trading companies in that Engie builds the things you are forecasting for, and so they have the inside knowledge about wind power ramps, turbine efficiency factors, and how the weather affects the turbine down to the amount of power that can be produced. These are things I had to do tons of research to figure out and are not just common knowledge amongst trading firms. If you want to work for a top-level company in energy trading, and you have an advanced degree, then this could be that opportunity.
Industry: Agriculture Title: Climate Risk and Agrometeorologist Specialist Company: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Work Location: Rome, Italy Pay: None Given Benefits: See Job Listing Closing Date: 19 August 2026 Duration: 11 months, possible extension Degree:
Years of Experience:
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties) •Extent and relevance of experience in assessing climate impacts on agriculture, analyzing climate risks in agricultural sectors, or related technical assessments, with a variety of approaches including impact models (e.g. crops, hydrology, ecosystem), and economic/econometric approaches. Who Should Apply? If you want to work in agriculture and get experience with an organization working to end global hunger, then this is a good opportunity. If you have an advanced degree or experience and you want to learn more or grow in a job understanding not just how the weather impacts crops but what can be done to grow crops to resist or adapt to climate changes, then this is where you should apply.
Final Thoughts
Until then, good luck on the job search, and if you are interested in a career in energy with a utility, in wildfire, as a data scientist or analyst, as a program or product manager, go to market, business development, or even starting your own company, I will be offer two energy courses starting in September. One will be a self-paced, 4-hour primer on energy meteorology careers. Cost $29 USD. The other, a 12-week (I can't cover it all in less than 12 weeks), 1-hour live/recorded weekly session covering everything you need to know to get a job as an energy meteorologist in the US or Europe (I've worked in the US and 3 energy trading job offers in Europe). I will cover APAC as well. Guaranteed 1-on-1 sessions with me, extended Q & A sessions and email if you can't make the meeting, applied learning - meaning you will take what you learn and make forecasts, and if they are good forecasts, maybe get money back on what you paid for the course.
Hope this helps. Good luck on the job search! |
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