Meteorologist.

Portland, OR – a bike-friendly city with extensive public transit, vibrant festivals, music, food, and easy access to nature and professional sports.

About the role

As a Meteorologist at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), you will provide critical intelligence that powers the Pacific Northwest’s clean-energy grid. Your forecasts will directly guide the operation of one of the nation’s largest carbon-free energy systems, ensuring reliability, affordability, and grid stability while shaping the future of renewable power.

Responsibilities

• Develop and issue daily, weekly, and seasonal weather forecasts that influence hydroelectric operations and energy-demand planning across the Columbia River Basin.
• Invent and adapt new forecasting techniques to address complex challenges, especially during extreme weather such as droughts and floods.
• Develop, manage, and enhance a Linux-based weather-forecasting platform and its custom software.
• Advance forecast accuracy and operational efficiency by researching and applying cutting-edge meteorological science, models, and principles to hydroelectric-system decisions.
• Analyze large-scale climate drivers—including El Niño cycles and ocean-atmosphere interactions—using modern data analytics to improve long-range renewable-energy predictions.
• Issue timely severe-weather warnings to protect field personnel and critical infrastructure.
• Lead and publish authoritative research on meteorological forecasting and climate assessments, representing BPA at professional conferences and workshops.
• Serve as a subject-matter expert by providing technical oversight for contracts and partnerships focused on advanced climate-science and renewable-energy forecasting research.

Requirements

• United States citizenship.
• Compliance with Selective Service registration requirements (males).
• Ability to report in person to the official duty location in Portland, OR.

Qualifications

Basic requirement: Degree in meteorology, atmospheric science, or other natural-science major that included:

• At least 24 semester (36 quarter) hours of credit in meteorology/atmospheric science, including:
  • Six semester hours of atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics.
  • Six semester hours of analysis and prediction of weather systems (synoptic/mesoscale).
  • Three semester hours of physical meteorology.
  • Two semester hours of remote sensing of the atmosphere and/or instrumentation.
• Six semester hours of physics, with at least one course that includes laboratory sessions.
• Three semester hours of ordinary differential equations.
• At least nine semester hours of course work appropriate for a physical-science major in any combination of three or more of the following: physical hydrology, statistics, chemistry, physical oceanography, physical climatology, radiative transfer, aeronomy, advanced thermodynamics, advanced electricity and magnetism, light and optics, and computer science.
• Calculus prerequisite or co-requisite for course work in atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics, physics, and differential equations; calculus courses must be appropriate for a physical-science major.

OR a combination of education and experience—course work as shown above plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Specialized experience: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service, defined as:

• Developing and preparing operational weather forecasts by applying advanced meteorological concepts and statistical methods to improve forecast accuracy.
• Developing, implementing, or maintaining a weather-forecasting software system (e.g., Python or other data-analysis platforms).
• Knowledge of wildfires and the atmospheric variables used to assess, predict, and mitigate wildfire risks and behavior in support of public safety or land management.
• Creating forecast products for specific operational needs such as hydrologic planning or energy demand, and providing briefings to stakeholders.

Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Benefits

As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a comprehensive benefits package designed to support career, community, financial, physical, and social well-being. BPA also offers programs that promote work/life balance, including telework options, wellness initiatives, and flexible work environments.