Sr. Data Scientist Sr. Data Scientist First Street Hybrid NY, US about ago

Team & Role Overview

We are looking for a Senior Data Scientist with experience working in Earth Science to join our Data Science/Data Engineering team. It’s never been more important that finance professionals, homeowners, and home buyers understand the monetary impact of climate hazards on their real estate and investments — and you will help make that possible. The successful candidate deeply cares about the environment, loves information technology, and appreciates the importance of data for the First Street mission.

They will develop new peril models and enhance existing ones, lead data operations that span Climate Science, Data Science, and Data Engineering, and enable the broader team to succeed through your expertise and technical leadership.

• Lead acquisition, processing, and analysis of climate-related and geospatial data for First Street modelers and data partners.
• Develop and maintain scalable data pipelines on local and cloud-based systems (AWS preferred).
• Perform statistical analysis to validate hazard model predictions and assess model uncertainties.
• Develop and enhance machine learning models supporting First Street’s peril product suite.
• Plan, execute, and direct Unix‑based workflows using Python, Bash, GDAL, and related technologies.
• Analyze raster and vector data at scale to improve model accuracy, identify quality control issues, and develop remedies.
• Design and implement quality assurance checks on climate model data and derived statistics.
• Contribute to the broader Data Science and Data Engineering team’s success through technical leadership and mentorship.

• Master’s Degree + 4 years of experience, or Ph.D. + 2 years of experience (field: Data Science, Earth Science, or related)
• Python — required
• Cloud computing — required (AWS strongly preferred)
• Geospatial data and formats:
  GeoTIFF, NetCDF, GRIB, HDF5, Zarr
• Strong understanding of probability and statistics as applied to spatial data
• Experience with big data analysis, parallel processing, and batch/spot workflows
• Machine learning model development — ideally a model you built yourself, not just contributed to as part of a team

• High‑performance computing experience (SLURM is a plus)
• Agentic AI applications, with an understanding of the practical benefits and limitations of AI agents
• Experience mentoring junior scientists or engineers
• Background in the physical sciences

• 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 8 statutory company holidays, 5 days for winter break office closure, and 10 sick days
• Healthcare monthly premium 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, Health Advocate, Kindbody, and Talkspace
• Company 401(k) program
• 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.