Director of Climate Implications

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

Our mission: We exist to connect climate change to 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 change. 

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 users on Redfin, Realtor.com, Homes.com, and more 

We believe:  Our work needs to match the pace and scope of the climate problem. 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.

Come join us and use your talents to create solutions to address humanity's biggest problem.

Team & Role Overview: 

Reporting directly to the Head of Climate Implications, this position will take on a leadership role within the Climate Implications Team, with a focus on the development of scientific findings associated with the economic implications of climate risk. A key focus of this role will be on the translation of risk from climate hazard data to meaningful financial implications, with a focus on the ability to tie those implications to the property level. The successful candidate will do this through the application of statistical quantitative models (including but not limited to implications for property values, tax revenue, commercial real estate, and larger community downstream economic effects).  Additionally, this role will participate in the production of research in the form of white papers, reports, and peer-reviewed scientific articles in support of the company's identified data requirements and communication needs.

What you’ll do: 

• Provide leadership on the team with specific responsibilities geared towards the development of products and scientific findings in alignment with organizational needs.

• Apply statistical and causal modeling techniques to solve various climate implications research questions, using programmatic statistical software packages such as R, Python, and SQL, Postgres, PostGIS, and others.

• Run data analytics in collaboration with the larger Data Team at First Street. 

• Conduct background research and use insights from the current state of academic literature to inform approaches in quantitative modeling for various implications projects, such as the association between climate hazard risk/exposure and climate migration, property value changes, rent demand, supply chain disruptions, insurance risk, and other publicly relevant topics domestically and globally related to climate risk. 

• Write content in a scientific and technical tone that is accessible to both expert and non-expert readers, for the support of internal and external stakeholders.

• Assist in the development of research papers and reports for publication.

• Assist in the documentation and presentation of data, variables, and methods for the development of materials for the clear communication of content and process as it relates to the data and models being produced by First Street and its partners.

• Develop implications focused models and products that deliver the results outlined by the business and product requirements.

What you’ll need: 

• Exceptional organizational skills, the ability to collaborate upwards and downwards, and the ability to create and manage data products with an understanding of larger organizational dependencies and stated business requirements.

• The ideal candidate will have exceptional attention to detail, be able to work independently on multiple projects at once, and be very organized in their day-to-day work.

• Evidence of background (or training) in research and communication of scientific findings for internal and external audiences.  Relevant fields include Economics, Sociology, Geography, Demography, or any others with an applied focus on research and the communication of findings.

• Experience in the application of statistical models in the understanding of economic and social impacts associated with climate change.

• 7+ years of working with probability and statistics in spatial processes using scripted languages to efficiently and reproducibly create outputs.

• Expertise using scripted languages to efficiently and reproducibly create quantitative modeling outputs (R, Python, etc.).

• Experience with database querying and aggregation, particularly with SQL.

• Experience with big data analysis and parallel processing workflows.

• Capability of executing with a high degree of concern for accuracy and reproducibility.

• Experience in the development of research papers/reports.

What will make you stand out: 

• Experience managing projects in a fast-paced environment with an understanding of organizational dependencies and touch points.

• Experience in economic, socio-economic, and financial analyses.

• Experience in machine learning or artificial intelligence applications.

• Previous experience as a people manager.

• Skill/Experience developing data quality assessments for model validation and calibration.

• Experience authoring peer-reviewed scientific publications in areas related to climate science and/or natural disaster risk.

How we work: 

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

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

• 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.