Assess and predict weather conditions that contribute to the ignition, spread, and behavior of wildfires.
Date posted
Oct. 27, 2023 1:30 pm
Application deadline
Nov. 27, 2023 5:00 pm
Organization
Xcel Energy
Location
Job description
Position Summary
Assess and predict weather conditions that contribute to the ignition, spread, and behavior of wildfires. Utilize weather expertise to develop and implement strategies to support Xcel Energy??s Wildfire Mitigation plans. Provide essential meteorological insights that guide wildfire prevention, response, and management efforts. Effectively communicate high impact weather events that may increase wildfire risks.
Essential Responsibilities
- Gather, analyze, and interpret various meteorological data to assess wildfire risk. Develop accurate and timely fire weather forecasts to inform decision-making on wildfire risks and grid reliability planning. Provide meteorological insight and forecasting to support wildfire mitigation plans. Identify and alert management of meteorological events capable of increasing wildfire risks.
- Provide modeling and associated commentary for wildfire risks. Utilize advanced fire behavior models and simulations to predict the spread and intensity of wildfires under different weather conditions. Communicate these predications to assist in strategic planning on wildfire mitigation plans. Provide commentary on long range weather models and weather updates.
- Serve as a weather data source for the Wildfire Mitigation team. Communicate complex meteorological information to non-expert audiences to promote wildfire mitigation strategies. Provide briefing support to Electric Transmission, Electric Distribution, Gas Transmission, and Gas Distribution. Provide fire weather outlooks to improve operational awareness.
- Stay updated on the latest advancements in meteorological technology and research to continuously improve wildfire prediction and mitigation techniques.
- Organize, analyze, and maintain historical meteorological data to support long-term wildfire trend analysis and the refinement of predictive models.
Minimum Requirements
- BS in Meteorology. MS preferred.
- Previous experience in wildfire meteorology or fire management.
- Minimum of 6 years’ experience forecasting weather required.
- Profound understanding of meteorological principles, fire behavior, and their interplay.
- Experience with meteorological modeling tools, GIS software, remote sensing tools, and data analysis techniques.
- Familiarity with fire behavior models such as Technosylva or similar.
- Strong communication skills are required to convey technical information to diverse audiences.
- Experience with one or more of the following programming languages such as VBA, Python, R, SQL, etc. is preferred.
- Familiarity with weather-related file formats such as grib, shp, netCDF, JSON, etc. is desired.
As a leading combination electricity and natural gas energy company, Xcel Energy offers a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.4 million electricity and 1.9 million natural gas customers across eight Western and Midwestern states. At Xcel Energy, we strive to be the preferred and trusted provider of the energy our customers need. If you’re ready to be a part of something big, we invite you to join our team.
PSU students/graduates may use Andrew Markowitz as a point of contact andrewmarkowitzpsu@gmail.com
For more details
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3737075771
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