Issued 6th of March, 2026
As we begin to shift into the Spring, a big part of my job in agricultural commodities is understanding and sharing the risk of frost and wet or dry weather, the two things that can affect plants right at the start of the season.
A normal Spring for most types of crops would include moisture and near normal temperatures. However, as you may be aware, spring is also a time of change from cold to warm, and this change creates volatility in the weather patterns. While the result in some cases can be severe weather, in other cases it can be risks of sub-freezing temperatures or long, dry periods.
Then there are the outlier risks you may not think of at first, such as whether or not there is enough snowpack in the mountains, which, when melted, flows into streams and rivers and can be used for irrigation during the hot parts of the year. Also, river levels can affect barge traffic, which impacts the price of shipping goods on a river, and this can ultimately cost the farmers more.
To make these types of forecasts, you can't just wait for the weather models to present the solution for you. Much of the time, you must rely on longer-range signals such as teleconnections, Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies, the MJO, and analog years based on other criteria you set. You then take all of this information and create a set of possibilities that may occur in the pattern, and depending on who you work for, either present a series of possible scenarios or pick one outcome and run with it.
This is one part of my day in agriculture. While not all industries in meteorology use this type of long-range forecasting, the other ones that do are energy and wildfire meteorology.
The Jobs
US-Based Jobs
Industry: Energy
Title: Head of Meteorology
Company: Citigroup
Work Location: Houston, TX
Pay: $200,000 to $300,000 USD / year
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
- Degree in Meteorology or Atmospheric Science
Years of Experience: 15 years of experience, including implementing data science programs, and knowledge of statistical techniques and concepts.
Skills:
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Proficiency in ensemble modeling.
- Strong ability to communicate and translate complex weather scenarios into actionable trading insights.
- Able to build and maintain a budget, develop policies, and conduct strategic planning.
- Experience developing forecasts for power and natural gas and help guide trading decisions.
- Working knowledge of developing short to long-range for ERCOT, PJM, ISO-NE, and for natural gas Henry Hub and basis locations.
If you want to apply for this job, but you don't have all the experience, we should talk. As a former energy trading meteorologist and a current leader in natural gas trading insights, I am very familiar with the skillset you need to be successful in roles like this one.
Who Should Apply?
This is for some well into the middle to the second half of their career. You should have either had a job on a trading floor or be very knowledgeable about natural gas or power gen trading and the type of information and style of forecasting needed. You should understand and be able to manage a data science team, manage a budget, and basically run an entire department at a huge company such as Citigroup. Basically, if you have the background and even over 10 years, I would give it a go. You don't have to have everything they are asking for, but you should understand the position.
About the Location
As a former resident of Houston, I can tell you it is extremely flat, covered in pine trees in the North, and very humid in the summer. You will sweat in a cold shower in your home with the AC running in the summer. However, Houston has a lot to offer, with a vibrant museum network thanks to Rice University right down by the medical center, and the zoo. There is NASA just southeast of downtown, and the beach is about 1 hour drive from downtown. There is a lot of good food, as Houston is a very international city due to the large presence of oil and gas. Nearby, you can easily drive to Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, or even New Orleans. If you don't like snow, it doesn't snow very often.
Industry: Commodities
Title: Weather Analyst
Company: Jane Street
Work Location: New York City, NY
Pay: Base: $300,000 USD per year
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
- Master's Degree in Meteorology or Atmospheric Science
Years of Experience: None given.
Skills:
- Must be a strong programmer with excellent Python skills for data analysis
- Expertise in relevant topics such as: sub-seasonal predictability, data assimilation and numerical weather prediction, tropical variability, synoptic meteorology, and renewable energy forecasting
- Experience using gridded data, observational data, and satellite data to drive quantitative research in academia or industry
- Experience with AI models preferred
- Have good taste in research. The problems you will work on will aim to challenge the limits of atmospheric predictability. You should be comfortable pushing in new and unknown directions while maintaining clarity of purpose
Who Should Apply?
If you are proficient in programming and can use Python. While the job is a forecasting role, to some degree, and on a trading floor, you should enjoy diving into data to determine why say a certain weather pattern causes a type of weather to occur and then you can use your Python or AI to create a model that will give you the probability of specific patterns and outcomes occurring and this gives the traders and edge. Imagine knowing the benchmark for a Northeast Pacific Ocean trough, which causes an unexpectedly faster upward wind ramp at the Arbuckle Mountain wind farm than the models expect. If you knew the probability of this event based on the location of the epac trough, then you could with certainty inform the traders, and they could make millions of dollars.
International (outside the US) Jobs
Industry: Agriculture
Title: Specialist in Agrometeorology, Early Warning, and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
Company: FAO
Work Location: Bangkok, but possibly remote.
Pay: Not given.
Benefits: See listing.
Duration: 11 months
Closing Date: 19 March, 2026
Degree: Advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in agrometeorology, climatology, meteorology, hydrology, data science, or artificial intelligence. Read the job listing for additional requirements.
Years of Experience: At least 1 to 10. Again, read the job listing; it's complex.
Skills:
- Experience in designing and implementing agrometeorological and early warning systems for agriculture and food security.
- Experience in applying AI/ML techniques to climate and agricultural datasets, including model development, testing, and validation.
- Experience in conducting climate risk and vulnerability assessments and translating forecasts into actionable agro-advisories for farmers, governments, and development partners.
- Demonstrated ability to work with government agencies, national meteorological and hydrological services, agricultural institutions, and private sector partners to co-develop and apply forecasting and early warning solutions.
- Relevance of experience in developing countries and/or in Asia and the Pacific, particularly in applying agrometeorology and AI/ML to support climate resilience in agriculture.
- Working knowledge of Chinese, French, Spanish, Arabic, or Russian is seen as an asset, but not mandatory.
Who Should Apply?
Make sure you understand that the job is only 11 months long and is based in Bangkok, although it could be remote. The job relies heavily on the idea that you understand agriculture, meteorology, climatology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Fluent English is required, but having one of the other 5 languages would really help your chances.
Industry: Energy
Title: Energy Meteorologist
Company: EDF Trading
Work Location: London, England - Hybrid within the area
Pay: Not given.
Benefits:
Pension plan, EV lease, childcare vouchers, gym membership, cycle to work plan, season ticket loan, volunteer opportunities, medical, dental
Degree:
- Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Public Policy, Data Science, Development Economics, Project Management, or related fields.
- Master’s degree in Environmental Science, Public Policy, Data Science, Development Economics, Project Management, or related field.
Years of Experience: 3 years as an operational meteorologist providing forecasts to clients, preferably in the energy industry, but not required.
Skills:
-
Robust coding skills in Python and/or other languages, preferably with exposure to atmospheric modelling codes, would be highly beneficial
-
Experience working with databases and building web-scraping tools
- Ability to analyze weather data and identify teleconnection patterns. This can help you get ahead of the models and find trading opportunities for power generation and LNG markets in Europe, the US, and Asia.
If you want to apply for this job, but you don't have all the experience, we should talk. As a former power generation trading meteorologist and a current leader in natural gas trading insights, I am very familiar with the skillset you need to be successful in roles like this one.
Who Should Apply?
This is a really great position as EDF is a huge company in the energy industry, and joining them would be a great learning experience and a good place to start your energy path. You will need experience using Python, and if you've listened to anything I've said in the Friday Job Reports, hopefully, it is that when there are no jobs, you are learning new skills, one of which could be Python.
The person who should apply would be someone who is interested in how the power grid works and how the weather affects the demand for electricity. Basically, if you want to know how people can trade electricity, then you should apply. Because the preparation in making the resume or cover letter, or even prepping for a possible interview, will open your mind to ideas that you didn't know existed.
Industry: Agriculture (Non-Forecasting)
Title: Programme Manager
Company: AfriClimate AI
Work Location: Johannesburg, South Africa - Possibly Remote
Pay: Not given.
Benefits: See listing.
Degree:
- Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Public Policy, Data Science, Development Economics, Project Management, or related fields.
- Master’s degree in Environmental Science, Public Policy, Data Science, Development Economics, Project Management, or related field.
Years of Experience: 3–5 years in programme or project management within donor-funded environments (e.g., IDRC, EU).
Skills:
- French or Portuguese language proficiency is desired; English is a must.
- Experience in Climate-Tech, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Agri-Tech, or development programmes in Africa.
- Comfort engaging with AI researchers and knowledge of technical workflows (e.g Github).
- MEL Competence: Experience supporting or maintaining Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning frameworks and KPI tracking.
- Strategic Writing: Strong ability to synthesise complex technical content into clear, high-impact reports.
- Financial Literacy: Ability to interpret programme budgets and align spending with outputs.
- Digital Fluency: Proficiency in modern project management platforms (e.g., GitHub Projects, Notion).
Who Should Apply?
I realize this opportunity is not forecasting or barely even meteorology. However, it does involve meteorology, and someone with the right background may not only be interested but also have the skillset to land this role. Overall, the position is a fascinating and, in my opinion, a good way to use AI.
Worth a Mention
Meteorologist - AquSag Technologies - India - This appears to be a hiring service for this role and not the actual company. The job is remote, in India, 3+ years of experience as an operational meteorologist. Link to Job Post
Applied Meteorological Scientist - The Weather Company - Atlanta, USA - Making forecasts for the military. You need a Master's or Ph.D and 8+ years of coding experience with Python or R, but The Weather Company is well known and hires a lot of meteorologists. Link to Job Post
Communications Manager of Innovation - Global Fishing Watch - Global Location - Non-Forecasting, but the skills you have as a meteorologist would help you in this role, which requires translating scientific and analytical information into a story and digital media that regular people can understand. Closes March 18th. Link to Job Post
Final Thoughts
There are many types of jobs being posted and depending on what you are looking for, you may need to be patient and wait for the right job for you. One thing that I've been guilty of doing is becoming to attached to the perfect job for me, and then spending forever on the resume and the cover letter, while thinking I'm definitely the best candidate for the job. Most of these times I did not even get a call back. You can overdo the resume and cover letter or there could be a lot of people also perfect for the role.
I applied for over 100 NOAA jobs early in my career and of those 100+ I received 0 interviews. I changed tactics and stopped applying for NOAA jobs and instead explored the private industry of meteorology where I've had a 20+ year career.
It took me 2 years from graduation to my first weather job, which paid less than 30K per year. I didn't even make over 50K until my 11th year as a meteorologist. This was the lowest point in my career where I almost changed careers. Then that next job ended up being the best of my career. So don't give up, you never know what's just over the hill.
Good Luck on the Job Search!
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