Research Associate – Cloud Data Archive Specialist

21 April 2022 - 21 May 2022

The Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations (CIWRO) at the University of Oklahoma seeks to fill a Research Associate position to support the Warning Decision Training Division (WDTD) of the National Weather Service (NWS) in Norman, OK. This position focuses on helping NWS offices in utilizing a centralized cloud data archive for simulation-based training and other related purposes. In particular, this position will assist offices in populating and managing a national case repository for use with the cloud-based Weather Event Simulator.

Primary Duties:
● Development of technical expertise with cloud-based AWIPS-2 (Advanced Weather Information Processing System) and the cloud-based Weather Event Simulator (WES)
● Developing technical expertise in meteorological data formats and associated archives
● Collaboration with NWS field office staff in using the archived data and cloud-based WES to build cloud simulations along with providing technical assistance
● Acquiring skills in Linux and Windows workstations, cloud-based computing environments, and training authoring software, including helping to develop warning-related case studies and simulations
● Participate in WDTD training workshops

Additional Duties:
● Attend meetings and conferences to gain knowledge of new meteorological applications and methodologies and interact with the operations and applied research communities
● Review publications to stay abreast of warning-related developments
● Additional related duties as assigned

Required Qualifications:
● A Master’s degree or higher in Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, Computer Science, or related area
● Excellent oral and written communication skills
● Ability to work and communicate effectively in diverse team environments
● Ability to pass a federal background check. U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Residency is required to access computer networks

Desired Skills:
● Experience in teaching/training and/or developing training or technical documentation
● Experience with Python and/or Bash shell scripting
● Experience with Linux (or Unix) operating system
● Knowledge of warning-related inputs such as radar, satellite, lighting, storm-scale or convective-allowing models
● Experience in providing technical support to customers

Impact:
The employee in this position interacts directly with training officers from over 100 NWS forecast offices across the United States. The work performed by this position helps each office fulfill their annual training requirements and ultimately assists the forecasters in building and
maintaining warning and forecast expertise.

Additional Information:
● Normal working hours will be routinely observed with some occasional irregular hours around workshops and other potential activities. Incumbents will receive training and gain expertise in the latest training technology and warning decision-making methodologies.
● Supervision will be provided by CIWRO staff. Technical oversight will be provided by CIWRO staff, NWS meteorologists, and WDTD management. The incumbent will work under general supervision but is expected to determine action to be taken in handling all but unusual situations. Incumbents in this position are not expected to supervise other employees but may serve as leaders of technical teams.
● The beginning salary will be based on qualifications and experience with a generous University benefits package. Information on insurance and retirement benefits may be found at https://hr.ou.edu. The position will be located at the National Weather Center (https://www.ou.edu/nwc) in Norman, OK (see https://visitnorman.com and https://www.normanok.gov/about-norman) with a negotiable start date and will remain open until filled.

To apply for the position, please forward your resume, cover letter and list of three references to:
CIWRO Careers
University of Oklahoma CIWRO
120 David L. Boren Blvd., Suite 2100 Norman, OK 73072-7304
ciwro-careers@ou.edu
JOB REFERENCE: WDTD – Archive Specialist