Hydrologist (Coastal Modeler)

Who we are: First Street is the standard for Climate Risk Financial Modeling. We use transparent and peer-reviewed methodologies to calculate the past, present, and future climate risk for every property in the world. We started working with the world’s leading climate scientists to create groundbreaking, climate-adjusted, property specific models over 8 years ago and haven’t stopped. 

Our mission: We exist to connect climate and financial risk. 

Our data: We create physics-based, deterministic models of flooding, wildfire and hurricanes, and advanced statistical models of extreme heat, air quality, drought, hail, severe convective storms, winter storms, and more. All of this data is used to create property-level financial risk metrics and macroeconomic variables to quantify the impacts of climate, property by property

Our customers: We empower governments at the highest levels to make smart regulations, businesses to avoid bad investments, and everyday Americans to understand their personal risk from climate change. We are relied on every day by:

• Agencies ranging from the U.S. Department of Treasury to Fannie Mae

• The world's biggest banks such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo 

• Institutional investors like Nuveen and Blackstone 

• Millions of everyday users on Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, Homes.com, and more 

We believe:  With the right data, we can identify the problems, avoid bad investments, and implement solutions. This is why we have invested tens of millions of dollars into our science, data, people, and products and have raised tens of millions more to move even faster. Read more about our culture here and see what Climate Risk Financial Modeling is all about here. 

Come join us and use your talents to change the world.

Team & Role Overview:

We are looking for a Climate Scientist with a specialization in flood modeling to join our team. This person will need to have several years of postdoctoral professional experience and the ability to lead projects and potentially people.

What you’ll do:

• Develop and operate the First Street Flood Model to create high resolution coastal flood hazard estimates at national scales.

• Introduce innovative methods to assess and improve the flood model performance and quantify  flood risk at a high spatial resolution.

• Manage model production, quality control, and ongoing evaluation/validation efforts.

• Identify and develop new data inputs and methodological improvements for inclusion into the First Street Flood Model.

• Manage model and data processing workflows both on commercial cloud and on local cluster compute resources.

What you’ll need:

• Advanced degree (e.g., M.S. or Ph.D.) in oceanography, coastal engineering, hydraulics, or  hydrology with equivalent experience in coastal flood modeling

• Strong foundation in understanding and modeling the dynamics of storm surge, sea-level rise, and tides.

• Expertise in coastal modeling using numerical models (e.g., ADCIRC, SWAN, or Delft3D) or similar modeling frameworks.

• Expertise in developing coastal inundation maps.

• Expertise in big data analysis, large-capacity processing workflows, machine learning, and cloud computing.

• Expertise in probability and statistics, especially as related to frequency analysis and extreme values.

• Expertise using both compiled and scripted languages (e.g., Python, Matlab, UNIX shell, C++, Fortran, and/or SQL) and GIS software (e.g., QGIS or ArcGIS) to efficiently analyze outputs.

• Ability to work in a fast-paced team environment.

What will make you stand out:

• Skill/Experience modeling and analyzing compound flooding from storm surge, rainfall, and stream flow.

• Skill/Experience calibrating hydrodynamic models and quantitatively evaluating their performance.

• Skill/Experience developing a variety of satellite-based flood inundation maps for validation and calibration.

• Experience authoring peer-reviewed scientific publications in areas related to flood modeling or coastal dynamics.

How we work: 

• Impact: We only focus on things that move the needle 

• Drive: We are driven by the role we play in connecting climate and financial risk 

• Ownership: This is our company and we act accordingly

• Urgency: We move quickly because the world depends on it 

• Resilience: We have a growth mindset in all that we do

What we offer: 

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience 

• Ownership interest in the company via Employee Stock Option Plan 

• Hybrid Schedule with in-office work days on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 

• 15 vacation days along with 13 company holidays and 10 sick days 

• Health benefits covered at 100% for employee or a significant contribution for family plans 

• Vision and dental benefits with partial employee contribution

• 12 weeks of paid parental leave 

• Access to One Medical, Teledoc, HealthAdvocate, Kindbody, and Talkspace

• Company 401k program 

• Commuter benefits 

• Life Insurance

• Tech startup environment 

• Weekly team meals and an office stocked with coffee and snacks 

• Working on the world’s biggest issue with other passionate professionals 

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.