Machine Learning Wildfire Scientist

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 Zillow, 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 and see what Climate Risk Financial Modeling is all about here.

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

Team & Role Overview: 

We are looking for a Scientist with expertise in data analysis and modeling of wildfires and the fire environment, strong machine learning and data science skills, and demonstrable experience working with remotely sensed data sources to join our team. This person will need to have a Ph.D. in wildfire science or a related field and ideally will have postdoctoral professional experience. In addition to technical skills and subject matter expertise, they will also have the ability to lead projects and collaborate closely with other scientists. 

What you’ll do: 

• Collaborate with our wildfire, climate science, and data science teams to build global wildfire risk models.

• Estimate wildfire fuels using a combination of in situ and remotely sensed data.

• Introduce innovative methods to improve the wildfire risk model performance and assess fire risk at a 30m spatial resolution.

• Expertise in the formulation and use of FM40 fuel classification for Rothermel-based wildfire behavior models.

• Work with the team to manage fire model production, quality control and ongoing evaluation/validation efforts.

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

What you’ll need: 

• Ph.D. in wildfire science or a related subject, with experience in fire behavior modeling and quantitative analysis of the fire environment.

• Strong foundation in understanding of modeling fire behavior and wildfire processes; experience modeling fuels layers and vegetation would be particularly desirable.

• Strong understanding of statistics and Machine Learning and how they can be applied to vegetation, fuels, wildfire and climate models.

• Expertise with remotely sensed data, big data analysis, large-capacity processing workflows, and cloud computing.

• Expertise in various fire behavior modeling methods, especially Rothermel-based models (e.g., ELMFIRE or FSIM) or similar modeling frameworks.

• Experience with wildfire behavior and risk modeling in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).

• Expertise in probability and statistics related to fire ignition analysis.

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

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

What will make you stand out:

• Experience authoring peer-reviewed scientific publications in areas related to wildfires and fire risk.

• Skill/Experience developing a variety of satellite-based wildfire fuel maps for use in Rothermel-based fire behavior models.

• Skill/Experience in creating/evaluating/validating fire behavior models and their inputs, and quantitatively evaluating model performance.

• Prior experience in a fast-paced startup environment

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 change to 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.