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 35
Published 21 days ago • 20 min read
Issued on the 28th of August, 2026
Energy Meteorology Fundamentals: Forecasting for the Energy Industry
Launch Date: September 24nd 2026
Course Length: 12 weeks
Course Teaching Style: Instructor-Led, Live based on US eastern time, UTC-4
There was a little delay in getting the course ready to go and it will not be ready until next week the 28th of August. Here are the course details,
Start: 24th of September, 2026
Live Session at 7 pm Eastern Time, UTC-4, New York City, every Thursday, except US Thanksgiving, that will be on the following Friday.
Recorded sessions if you are not able to make the live session.
2 virtual meetings with the instructor, one time at the start to discuss your goals and one time near the end to discuss your progress.
1 session taught by a Python expert who is also currently an energy trading meteorologist.
1 session attended by a current energy trading meteorologist who is a hiring manager.
4 extended live session for Q & A.
Cost: $597 for 12 weeks. If you are located outside of the United States, please contact Scott Patterson, the instructor first before paying for the course.
14 people per cohort, will add additional cohorts upon request, including a Tuesday at 7 am EDT if this works better.
5-8 Years + (they don't say years, but significant experience is expected)
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Significant experience supporting European gas and power trading or energy markets.
Strong understanding of European weather drivers, renewable generation impacts, and energy demand forecasting.
Experience interpreting deterministic, ensemble, subseasonal, and AI-based weather models.
Strong analytical and quantitative capabilities with the ability to work alongside model developers and quantitative teams.
Programming experience in Python and familiarity with modern data analytics tools.
Experience handling large meteorological datasets and developing automated forecasting workflows.
Ability to build credibility with traders and effectively communicate conviction in weather-driven market views, influencing risk deployment decisions when supported by robust meteorological analysis.
Who Should Apply?
Even though the last bullet point above is last, it is one of the most critical skills to be successful on a trading floor. If the traders don't trust you, they won't use your forecasts to buy or sell in the market, and you are essentially are dead weight. You gain their trust both by being correct with the forecast, so get some wins under your belt, and by your ability to connect with them how the forecast will affect the markets. Some traders like numbers and some like pictures, regardless, you have to be able to convey weather information to each trader in a way they will understand and know how to weight the forecast risk.
If you have US experience but not European, the two biggest differences are Europe is a bunch of countries, so it is different then how the US markets are setup. The other thing is the order of generation usage, with renewables first and then nat gas. The US is the opposite. You must understand that if their natural gas reserves are empty, then prices may be higher, especially if you make a seasonal forecast that suggests renewables will under perform.
Degree or diploma in Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, Environmental Science with a meteorology focus, or a related discipline.
Years of Experience:
10+ years in operational meteorology, applied weather forecasting, severe weather forecasting, utility meteorology, emergency management weather support, or related disciplines.
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Equivalent combinations of education and experience will be considered. (If you have a Master's but less experience)
Proficiency with meteorological analysis and forecasting tools, weather models, observational networks, radar and satellite products, and GIS or spatial analysis tools.
Demonstrated ability to communicate forecast confidence, uncertainty, and operational implications clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
Experience in wildfire weather forecasting, wildfire risk management, fire behaviour analysis, or Fire Behaviour Analyst work is considered an asset.
Experience developing or administering weather models, dashboards, scripts, GIS products, data workflows, or operational decision-support tools is an asset.
Experience managing weather stations, environmental monitoring equipment, remote sensors, cameras, telecommunications, or related field-based technology is an asset.
Experience working with external agencies, vendors, emergency management partners, municipalities, wildfire stakeholders, or weather service providers is an asset.
Knowledge of electrical utility operations, ICS, operational wildfire response, or 24/7 essential service operations is an asset.
Who Should Apply?
First off, any Canadian meteorologists who want to work in wildfire. I've talked to at least a few people that fit this description. This is a good job for a company which has assets located in the mountains and in areas that have wildfires. They have a significant focus on wildfire and a plan, linked below, regarding mitigation and what they do. This is what you should understand and read through before any interview. Understand what the thresholds are for a PSPS, and other steps in their plan. Not so you can repeat it word for word, but so you can build your background story and experience around what they are doing to prevent wildfires.
About the Location
The job is onsite in Calgary, so you are going to get a taste of the Rocky Mountains and the Prairies, the very cold winters, and the somewhat hot summers. It's like Denver, but much farther to the North. It's also very different from Denver.
Work Location: Cancun and Mexico City, Mexico, and Peru
Pay: Not Given
Benefits: See Job Listing
Language: Fluent English, native or fluent Spanish.
Permit: US Visa (the company US-based)
Degree:
Master's degree or higher in Meteorology, Atmospheric Sciences, Climatology, or a closely related field.
Years of Experience:
2-3 Years in insurance/reinsurance as a meteorologist
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Programming in Python and/or R, with demonstrable ability to manipulate and analyze meteorological data sets.
Strong statistical fundamentals: probability distributions, time series, regression, and concepts of extreme events.
GIS proficiency (essential requirement): proven experience with QGIS, ArcGIS, or equivalent, including handling raster and vector data, reference systems and projections, spatial analysis, and producing presentation-quality maps. Programmatic GIS skills (geopandas, rasterio, sf, terra) are valued.
Handling data in scientific formats (NetCDF, GRIB).
Advanced Excel: pivot tables, nested formulas, lookups and references, handling large databases, charts, and building auditable calculation models. This is the standard tool for exchange with clients and markets.
Preferred, and increases your chances of an interview
Experience with parametric insurance or risk transfer.
Prior experience with commercial catastrophe models (AIR/Verisk Touchstone, Moody's RMS RiskLink, OASIS, or others). A significant plus, but not required — training will be provided.
Knowledge of region-specific hazards: Atlantic and Eastern Pacific tropical cyclones, ENSO, drought, river and pluvial flooding.
Experience with climate data APIs (Copernicus/CDS, NOAA, commercial providers).
Version control (Git) and reproducible coding best practices.
Data visualization (Plotly, matplotlib, ggplot2) and automated report generation.
Portuguese.
Publications, talks, or participation in scientific conferences.
Who Should Apply?
If you read through the job description you will want to apply for this job. It sounds awesome. However, it states directly that you need to have a strong analytical background with Python, R, reanalysis with ERA5, IMERG, CHIRPS, and catastrophe models. The job is looking at weather events involving agriculture and soil moisture anomalies, volcanic eruptions (which there are many in Latin America and the Caribbean), renewable energy, hurricanes, floods, and drought. While you may not think of these events if you don't live in these areas, many locations see extreme weather quite often.
About the Location
There are two locations for this job, one in Cancun and one in Mexico City and the pay listed on the job advertisement in pesos, is fairly low compared to US salaries, but it is very affordable to live in Mexico. These two locations could not be more different. Cancun is a beach paradise that can see hurricanes, and Mexico City sits at very high elevation and has a volcano just south of the city.
Bachelor’s degree in Meteorology, Oceanography, Marine Engineering, Nautical Science, or related field.
Years of Experience:
0-3 years experience
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Minimum STCW II/1 Officer of the Watch (Deck) Certificate of Competency (Second Officer or equivalent).
1-3 years sailing experience on ocean going vessels with minimum rank of a third navigational watch officer
Strong understanding of marine weather forecasting and voyage planning principles.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
Experience interacting with shipmasters, technical teams, or shipping clients.
Ability to multitask and work under time-sensitive conditions.
Proficiency with routing or marine operational software (training will be provided).
Preferred, and increases your chances of an interview
Familiarity with charter party terms, commercial exposure, or vessel performance metrics.
Exposure to decarbonization initiatives or emissions-related voyage considerations.
Who Should Apply?
You have been on a large ship and enjoy the idea of being in the open ocean. While this role is land-based, the job requirements ask that you have been on the ocean and understand what large swells feel like. Large 25-30 meter swells are not something most people enjoy the idea of riding over on a ship and so this job is about routing ships around significant swells, which also slow down the ship and make the route less than efficient. Everything in routing ships is about safety and designing fuel-efficient routes. Ships sailing from India to other locations in other oceans will involve traversing through known pirate zones and you may have to arrange private contractors for security, aka guys with guns. In addition, winds, tropical systems, and ice can create situations that are not efficient or safe. In this role you will learn a lot about exports/imports for worldwide ports and learn what types of cargo are less safe for transport. I've worked as a route analyst for a brief time in my career.
Work Location: Remote (possibly Northeast US or Caribbean)
Pay: $105,000 to $125,000 per year
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
Bachelor's degree in Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, Climate Science, Environmental Science, Physics, or a related field.
Years of Experience:
2+ Years in aviation meteorology including writing a TAF.
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Experience creating TAFs - a must.
Experience creating convective, turbulence and icing forecasts/outlooks focused on aviation operations over large geographic areas - a must.
Experience participating in conference calls pertaining to aviation meteorology.
Experience giving verbal/written briefs pertaining to aviation meteorology.
Strong familiarity with how various weather conditions (wind direction, wind speed, ceilings, visibility, etc.) will affect runway configurations at a given airport.
Strong familiarity with airline operations.
Strong familiarity with air traffic management programs and airspace classifications.
Strong synoptic and mesoscale meteorology skills, with significant experience forecasting convection, winter weather, tropical weather and fog.
Familiarity with impacts of volcanic ash and large-scale dust storms on aircraft and flight patterns/routes.
Who Should Apply?
While aviation itself is not the foundation of weather forecasting, the knowledge needed to work in aviation requires skills that you use in almost every other industry. Aviation requires a knowledge of surface wind systems also important for road forecasting, energy forecasting, or marine forecasting, and severe weather forecasting. You also need to understand temperature microclimates and land/sea interactions. Other than wind, the second most important requirement is the ability to forecast low clouds and cloud ceilings and coverage. Wind determines the runways used to land and depart.
Cloud height and coverage and visibility determine how many airplanes can land per hour on different runway configurations.
To be able to forecast wind on the final approach and clouds at low altitudes requires the same skills to make a wind turbine forecast for energy and for severe forecasting, and for marine forecasting and mountain weather.
Then you have the mid to upper levels and you are looking at icing, turbulence, volcanic ash, thunderstorms and so these skills involve every other kind of weather.
If you want to be an expert in forecasting you need to understand all the levels of the atmosphere which is essentially what aviation meteorologists have to know.
You should apply if you want to be the best forecaster.
Experience using GIS, Python, R, MATLAB, or other analytical and visualization tools.
Who Should Apply?
This is for those people in Southeast Asia who are looking for an operational role without the specifics. This seems to be focused mainly on operational forecasting and extreme weather conditions. The company is global so it is possible you can apply from any location. It is listed as entry-level, however 5 years of experience is more mid-level, so you would need to come into the job with experience in a forecasting role. Because it is an engineering company, the interviews could be more rigorous regarding math, however, I have found some of these large companies often are not exactly sure what a meteorologist does and so the scope of their search can be widespread and include many different meteorology disciplines.
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Must be willing to work within the southern mountains of Colorado, which includes all mountains areas south of US50. Job duties may involve traveling to and working in other portions of Colorado based on the agency’s work needs.
Ability to travel in the backcountry
Ability to travel on very steep exposed portions of mountainous terrain
Ability to observe and evaluate avalanche conditions
Ability to perform avalanche and backcountry rescue
Have or be able to obtain possession of Wilderness First Responder and CPR certification
Have or be able to obtain possession or ability to obtain and Colorado Type I Explosives Permit with Avalanche endorsement
Have or be able to obtain a certificate of completion of A3-PRO2, similar professional avalanche training course, or equivalent experience
Have or be able to obtain a certificate of completion of Avalanche Rescue course or equivalent experience
Must be willing and able to exert up to 20 lbs. of force to move objects
Must be willing and able to possess and maintain a valid state of Colorado driver's license.Must be able to drive a state vehicle and their driving record will be examined annually starting January 1st of each year.
Must be willing and able to submit to and pass a background check for credentialing through the Department of Commerce system in order to access CAIC's office in Boulder.
Must be willing and able to respond to unplanned system outages.
Must be willing and able to travel to CAIC facilities throughout the state.
This position will work full time FTE during the winter months and reduced hours the rest of the year.
Familiarity with snow physics and avalanche dynamics
Experience with modern avalanche forecasting techniques
Who Should Apply?
Similar to last week's post about Mammoth Mountain, you should know how to forecast for avalanches and the safety required to go into the backcountry. You should know how to rescue people trapped in an avalanche and how to avoid being trapped yourself. You should probably be a skier or snowboarder or someone that loves being on the mountain everyday, even if a lot of this work is performed at home, when you are required to be onsite, it should be somewhat natural for you to be in deep snow, and if needed the ability to get down and off the mountain.
About the Location
The job is open for Denver and Colorado Springs. If you've never been on US-50 in Colorado, you should go. So many snow-capped mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and hot springs. My single, favorite place to be in the US is south of US-50 in Colorado. Although since going to Crested Butte a few years ago, if you can handle elevation, then it is really amazing as well.
Graduate degree in atmospheric science, meteorology, computer science, or a related quantitative field.
Years of Experience:
2+ years in machine learning
Key Skills or Knowledge:
Hands-on experience training, evaluating, and working with deep learning models for atmospheric science.
Strong understanding of ML development best practices specific to atmospheric science, including experimental design, model evaluation, testing, documentation, and code review.
Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to explain complex technical results to both technical and non-technical audiences. Demonstrated ability to collaborate across disciplines and deliver high-quality work.
Experience conducting independent research, demonstrated through publications, research leadership, open-source contributions, or other technical work.
Preferred, but not required
Knowledge of or experience with data assimilation, including traditional and/or machine-learning-based approaches, is a strong plus.
Knowledge of satellite remote sensing and experience working with satellite observations.
Experience developing production-quality scientific or machine learning software.
Familiarity with modern architectures used in weather and geoscience ML, including graph neural networks and transformers.
AI-first mentality towards research and development (e.g., using AI-assisted development tools)
Who Should Apply?
You don't want to forecast, but you want to work for a well known name in innovative weather technology and you want to work in machine learning and AI. If you've used weather AI models you know they have some positives and a lot of negatives and so you want to work with a company that has the tech, the investment, and the right people to make headway in developing ML/AI weather prediction models.
Denver has this weird place that makes zero sense, Meow Wolf. Kind of like the atmosphere sometimes.
Location
Golden is basically West Denver and is also the location of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The city sits in sort of a valley between some bluffs to the East and the foothills to the West leading up to the Rocky Mountains. If you like the outdoors, this puts you right there. If you don't like the outdoors, Denver is right on the other side of the bluffs and you could stay in the urban setting and never step foot in the mountains.
You hold at least a bachelor's degree (HBO level), for example in Data Science, Software Engineering, Computer Science, ICT, or a related field. HBO level, from my research, means most Bachelor Degrees will be acceptable.
Years of Experience:
Experience
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
You have experience with Python and Git, and are familiar with web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You also have experience with SQL and working with databases.
You enjoy collaborating with researchers and subject matter experts and take the initiative to proactively support them in their work.
You have a strong interest in developments in Generative AI and can identify opportunities to apply these technologies responsibly in your work.
Knowledge of one or more of the following is considered an advantage: ASP.NET, C#, FORTRAN, MQTT, networking, and serial communications. Experience with cloud solutions is also a plus; we work with Microsoft Azure.
Affinity with climate, air quality, environmental sciences, atmospheric measurements, and/or analytical laboratories is highly desirable.
You possess strong verbal and written communication skills in English. Proficiency in Dutch is considered an advantage.
Who Should Apply?
This job involves working with data analysts to make complex air quality data available to other users and your job is to essentially help translate and create more concise, but informative ways to communicate the data to your customers. If you have a data science background or air quality with the technical skills and you want to live in the EU and the Netherlands, then you should apply.
About the Location
The Netherlands, normally is wet with many days of clouds and showers. It is super flat and people do get around on water taxis on the canals, along with a robust train system and by auto. This salary will cover you on your own, but will be tight for a family if your spouse or partner isn't able to work. Finding somewhere to live would be the hardest part of moving to the Netherlands. Housing is tight and most homes do not have air conditioning, so in very hot summers, like this one, it may be less than enjoyable. Also, the stairs in the homes in the Netherlands are basically death traps as they are very steep. I discovered many situations where falling down the stairs was highly possible while performing normal tasks. Don't let this deter you, but just know, if you have small children, a pet, or bad knees, then look for a first floor apartment.
Work Location: London, Paris, Mexico City, Berlin, Sydney, Denver, New York City, San Francisco / hybrid
Pay: $193,000 - $202,000 per year
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
Master’s or PhD in climate science, environmental science, sustainability, industrial ecology, or another relevant quantitative field.
Years of Experience:
5+ years in corporate sustainability
Key Skills or Knowledge: (You should be able to do these duties)
Are a systems thinker who can zoom out to understand interconnected sustainability and business systems, then zoom in to identify high‑leverage technical solutions and anticipate unintended impacts.
Have deep knowledge of both the application of, and reasoning behind, prevailing GHG accounting standards and sustainability reporting frameworks — at minimum the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and Scope 3 Standard; familiarity with the GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Guidance and updated ESRS is a plus.
Able to work in a Python codebase. This is not a software engineering role, but you should be comfortable reading code, reasoning about implementation details, and making contributions to the codebase.
Can communicate complex ideas clearly to a wide range of audiences, including scientific experts, academics, verifiers, auditors, customers, internal business stakeholders, software engineers, and data scientists.
Preferred (will help you move to the top of the resume pile)
Experience building or maintaining carbon accounting methodologies, emissions factor datasets, LCA models, or sustainability software.
Familiarity with assurance or audit processes for GHG inventories or sustainability disclosures.
Comfort working with data using Python, SQL, Typescript, or similar tools.
Experience translating complex standards or scientific methods into operational guidance, technical specifications, or product requirements.
Experience working with engineers to translate scientific methods into tested, production-grade software.
Who Should Apply?
Not a forecasting role at all. They don't even list meteorology, but that doesn't matter, if you have a PhD or Master's degree in atmospheric science and have any sustainability background working with GHG accounting and can at least understand what Python is doing, then apply. This is way out on the edge of being connected to meteorology, but it is climate-related and if you have a climate background, even in meteorology there is always a chance. Good pay, with good locations to work from.
Graduating university is a huge success and something you should be very proud of regardless of your background. You earned the right to build a career around understanding the atmosphere. Don't let your momentum stop there. Advocate for you. Fight for what you want. Do not give up when you hit a wall.
Everyone is facing an uphill battle when you are starting out and even further along in your career. There are not enough paying jobs for the number of meteorologists. Never has been. Again, if you can diversify, do it in programming, business/finance, GIS, drones, risk management. If you want to expand your options the best thing you can do is create knowledge in more than just meteorology. There are many jobs available, but not just straight meteorology.
My Met Job is about helping you find the opportunities, learn the skills to get the job you want, and make sure when you get an interview, that you ace it.
As always, Best of luck on your job search!
Scott Patterson
21 years as a meteorologist. Former hiring manager. Founder of My Met Job.
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