Data Scientist II

AccuWeather Careers • Remote (State College, Pennsylvania, United States) • $86.79k - $126.52k / year • 1w ago

About AccuWeather:

AccuWeather, recognized and documented as the most accurate and most used source of weather forecasts and warnings in the world, has saved over 12,000 lives, prevented injury to over 100,000 people, and saved companies tens of billions of dollars through better planning and decision-making.

Billions of people around the world rely on AccuWeather's proven Superior Accuracy™ across our consumer digital platforms. AccuWeather.com is the #1 weather destination and one of the top 100 most-visited websites in the world, and our award-winning AccuWeather app delivers detailed real-time forecasts to millions of smartphones.

AccuWeather forecasts also appear on digital signage, in 700 newspapers, are heard on over 400 radio stations, and viewed on 100 television stations. The AccuWeather Network and AccuWeather NOW® reach an audience of over 125 million on cable and streaming platforms including DirecTV, Charter Communications - Spectrum, Verizon, Philo, Frndly TV, Comcast's Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Stream, Roku, Xumo, Rockbot, LG, and Amazon Freevee.

AccuWeather For Business serves more than half of the Fortune 500 companies and thousands of other businesses and government agencies globally.

Dr. Joel Myers, Founder and Executive Chairman, established AccuWeather in 1962 and is considered the "father of modern commercial meteorology." Myers, a leading creative thinker and visionary, has been called "the most accurate man in weather" by The New York Times and has been recognized as one of the top entrepreneurs in American history by Entrepreneur's Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs..

Position Summary

We are seeking a Data Scientist II to join our dynamic Data Science team. This role combines atmospheric science, meteorology, and advanced analytics to power life-saving weather intelligence. You will contribute directly to enhancing the AccuWeather Lightning Network™ (ALN) and other critical weather systems, applying data science and AI to improve accuracy, reliability, and decision-making tools used by millions.

Key Responsibilities

Enhance the AccuWeather Lightning Network™ by developing workflows that improve detection rates, location accuracy, and false alarm reduction.
Integrate meteorological expertise into modeling frameworks, data pipelines, and scalable operational weather systems.
Design and implement verification methods to assess performance of lightning detection systems using observational, satellite, and reanalysis datasets.
Collaborate with Data Scientists, ML Engineers, and Applied Meteorologists to improve predictive models and decision-support tools.
Communicate findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, translating complex science into actionable insights.
Analyze and validate lightning and weather-related datasets, identifying areas for improvement and model enhancements.
Support ETL processes with data engineering teams, ensuring data quality, meteorological consistency, and standardization.
Participate in cross-functional projects applying lightning and weather insights to business use cases.
Explore new AI/ML and geospatial approaches through research and prototyping to improve detection and forecasting.
Maintain clear documentation, reproducible workflows, and contribute to team research reviews.

Qualifications

2–5 years of experience applying meteorological algorithms, models, or similar technologies (or equivalent academic/research experience).
Familiarity with meteorological datasets, data transformation, and quality control methods.
Exposure to remote sensing data (satellite, radar) and interest in expanding lightning detection expertise.
Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, SQL, or C++ for analysis, modeling, and automation.
Familiarity with big data technologies (Spark, Hadoop) to process large datasets.
Strong understanding of data science fundamentals: statistical analysis, ML concepts, geospatial analytics.
Ability to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams and contribute scientific/technical insights.
Strong communication skills for presenting findings to diverse audiences.
Demonstrated curiosity and initiative in exploring new scientific methods, technologies, or datasets

AccuWeather is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity to all applicants and existing employees and we evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity/expression), sexual orientation, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religion, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. View the EEO is the Law poster here and its supplement here. The pay transparency policy is available here.

AccuWeather is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to human.resources@accuweather.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.