Scientific Programmer

Position Description
ERT is seeking a full-time Scientific Programmer to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center (CPC) International Desks in College Park, MD, with system upgrades, code migration, training, operational workflow support, and implementation of model and forecasting enhancements.

The CPC's mission is to deliver real-time products and information that predict and describe climate variations on timescales from weeks to years, thereby promoting effective management of climate risk and a climate-resilient society. ERT provides scientific support services to CPC by operationally acquiring, processing, and disseminating climate data, information, and analyses, and by conducting research and development to improve prediction techniques and understanding of climate variability and extremes.

Duties of the Scientific Programmer include, but are not limited to:

CPCI v7.0 Python Upgrade / Code Migration

• Lead and/or support the migration of CPC International Desk workflows from legacy GEMPAK-based development to Python-based development (CPCI v7.0).
• Lead and/or support regionalized NCEP GFS and GEFS postprocessing and transitioning to operations in support of the WMO Severe Weather Forecast Project (SWFP).
• Refactor, validate, and document code to ensure operational readiness, maintainability, and reproducibility.
• Coordinate testing and delivery milestones supporting planned code delivery

NMME Version 3 Upgrade Support

• Support implementation and transition activities for NMME v3 for the International Desk, including updates needed for ingest, post-processing, and product generation.
• Assist with operational readiness activities

Operational Workflow Support and Reliability

• Maintain and improve operational workflows supporting International Desk production, including job scheduling, monitoring, troubleshooting, and continuity support across platforms.
• Provide hands-on support for operational cron jobs and related automation on the CPC compute farm and WCOSS platform.

Training and Knowledge Transfer

• Provide training support for International Desk visitors and staff on:
  • International Desk website tools and publishing workflows
  • Post-processing of model data and generation of operational products
  • Practical operational procedures (cron jobs, platform usage, troubleshooting patterns)
• Develop and maintain training materials and quick-reference guides to support repeatable onboarding and knowledge transfer.

Data Support for Forecasting Studies

• Provide data handling and support for climate forecasting studies, including accessing, transforming, and organizing model and observational datasets used by the International Desk.
• Support evaluation/verification workflows where needed to improve product utility and performance.

Contingent and Emerging Requirements

• Carry out other contingent tasks to support mission needs, operational continuity, and evolving CPC priorities.

Required Skills

• Demonstrated experience developing, maintaining, or modernizing scientific software and operational workflows in a Linux environment.
• Solid experience working with HPC in support of forecast operations
• Strong programming skills in Fortran, Python (including scientific Python stack) and ability to refactor or migrate legacy codebases (experience with GEMPAK-based workflows is a plus). Knowledge of GrADS also desired.
• Solid experience supporting operational production environments, including automation, cron/scheduling, monitoring, debugging, and incident/problem resolution.
• Experience handling and post-processing numerical model datasets (e.g., ensemble/model output) and building repeatable pipelines for product generation.
• Ability to write clear documentation and deliver effective training to technical users (including visitors/newcomers).
• Willingness to learn and adopt new technologies and methods (e.g., workflow modernization, performance optimization, AI/ML where appropriate).
• Must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident and able to pass a background investigation to obtain a security badge to access applicable government information and systems.

Education
Master’s degree in Atmospheric Science, Meteorology, Hydrology/Hydroclimate, Computer Science, or a related discipline (or equivalent relevant experience). PhD preferred.

Location
This position supports work at NOAA's College Park, MD facility with some telework permitted. 40% in-office presence is required.

Compensation
The salary range for this role is $46,000 - 221,000/year. This range is a good faith estimate based on similar roles across the organization. ERT considers several factors when extending an offer of employment, including the location, scope, and associated responsibilities of the specific position, as well as a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills.

Benefits
All full-time employees are eligible to participate in our flexible benefits package, which includes:

• Medical, Rx, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with company-matching
• 11 Paid Federal Government Holidays
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Basic Life & Supplemental Life
• Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Employee assistance program (EAP)
• Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development & Learning Opportunities
• Skills Development & Certifications
• Professional Membership Reimbursement
• Employee Referral Program
• Competitive compensation plan
• Discretionary variable incentive bonuses based on factors such as individual performance, business unit performance, and/or the company’s performance
• Publication and Conference Presentation Awards with bonuses

ERT is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor and Equal Opportunity Employer - All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status.

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