---
title: 'Meteorological Scientist - Data Assimilation and NWP at WindBorne Systems'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/meteorological-scientist-data-assimilation-and-nwp-windborne-systems-redwood-a2hymqfcy4tc'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Meteorological Scientist - Data Assimilation and NWP at WindBorne Systems

- **Company:** WindBorne Systems
- **Location:** Redwood City, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-04
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/windborne-systems/3172350b-836e-43ea-adbf-17f3dd430bec

## Job description

## WINDBORNE SYSTEMS

## METEOROLOGICAL SCIENTIST - DATA ASSIMILATION AND NWP

WindBorne Systems is supercharging weather forecasts with a unique proprietary data source: the largest balloon constellation in the world. WindBorne Atlas is backed by next-generation smart weather balloons targeting the most critical atmospheric data. We design, manufacture, and operate our own balloons, using the data they collect to generate otherwise unattainable weather intelligence.

Our mission is to eliminate weather uncertainty, and in the process help humanity adapt to climate change, be that predicting hurricanes or speeding the adoption of renewables. We are building a future in which the planet is instrumented by thousands of our microballoons, eliminating gaps in our understanding of the planet and giving people and businesses the information they need to make critical decisions. The founding team of Stanford engineers was named Forbes 2019 30 under 30 and is backed by top-tier investors, including Khosla Ventures and Footwork VC.

WindBorne is seeking a Meteorological Scientist to contribute to the improvement of weather forecasting and observational analyses. As a member of the weather team, you’ll incorporate WindBorne’s unique state-of-the-art balloon constellation observations into the most advanced weather prediction systems. You’ll work with our team of scientists, engineers and flight controllers to influence the collection and use of observations from start to finish, beginning with balloon flight and ending with insights to help consumers, businesses and governments adapt to changing weather and climate.

## RESPONSIBILITIES

- Evaluate and optimize the impact of WindBorne’s balloon observations across traditional and AI-based data assimilation
- Work closely with the Machine Learning team to help advance AI-based data assimilation techniques that drive WindBorne’s WeatherMesh AI forecast system
- Design visualizations and analyses that demonstrate the impact of WindBorne's in-situ observations on forecast quality for both scientific and business audiences
- Refine and develop quality control algorithms for WindBorne's in-situ observations
- Communicate technical findings to scientific, government, and business stakeholders

## SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

- Strong background in atmospheric sciences and weather analysis
- Experience with data assimilation and numerical weather prediction, including familiarity with how observations improve forecast skill
- Demonstrated ability to work with observational data including weather radar, weather satellite, surface and upper air observations
- Experience using LLMs to implement code
- Strong understanding of statistical methods, especially those used to validate observation quality and verify weather forecasts
- Willingness to work across unfamiliar domains and learn new skills quickly
- Master’s or Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences, Meteorology, or related field preferred
- Scrappiness

Additional Beneficial Skills

- Experience developing data assimilation and NWP systems including GSI, JEDI, GFS/FV3 and MPAS.
- Scientific programming experience using Python, Fortran and/or C/C++
- Experience with instrumentation used for collecting weather observations including instrument design, calibration and quality control

## BENEFITS

- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Vision insurance
- Unlimited PTO
- Stock Option Plan
- Office food and beverages

Salary

- $110,000 - $150,000** We are considering a range of backgrounds and experience levels for this position and adjust our offers accordingly to be competitive with market rates.

## LOCATION

We are located at 1600 Bridge Pkwy, Redwood City, CA with opportunities for work in Redwood Shores and Washington, DC. In-person Preferred

## About WindBorne Systems

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: WindBorne Systems designs, builds, and operates the world’s largest constellation of autonomous, long‑duration weather balloons to capture unique in‑situ atmospheric data and deliver AI‑powered weather forecasts.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A – total funding $26M)
- **Headquarters**: Redwood City (Redwood Shores), California, United States
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: John Dean (CEO), Andrey Sushko (CPO), Kai Marshland (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Aviation & Aerospace / Weather Intelligence
- **Target customers**: B2B, B2G – governments, utilities, airlines, renewable energy operators, and commercial enterprises with weather‑sensitive operations
- **Mission**: Build a planetary nervous system that covers 100% of the Earth, providing humanity with unprecedented environmental data and predictions to mitigate the impacts of weather uncertainty and climate change [windbornesystems.com/mission](https://windbornesystems.com/mission)

## Products & Services
- **Atlas Balloon Constellation**: A global fleet of long‑duration smart weather balloons that autonomously control altitude and provide ~50 vertical profiles per balloon, reaching remote oceans and polar regions [windbornesystems.com](https://www.windbornesystems.com/)
- **WeatherMesh**: A proprietary deep‑learning forecast model that fuses Atlas balloon data with other sources to produce forecasts that surpass the accuracy of both physics‑based and other AI models [windbornesystems.com](https://www.windbornesystems.com/)
- **Data‑as‑a‑Service (DaaS)**: Access to real‑time and historical atmospheric profiles from the balloon constellation, sold to governments and commercial partners
- **SaaS (API)**: AI‑based weather forecasts delivered via API, enabling customers to build actionable insights and automations

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding – $26M across 6 rounds (including a $15M Series A, per news reports, and a $5M venture round led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in December 2024) [linkedin.com/company/windborne](https://www.linkedin.com/company/windborne)
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: Pear VC, Khosla Ventures (seed), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (venture round); partnerships with U.S. and international governments, private‑sector companies, and philanthropic organizations [windbornesystems.com](https://www.windbornesystems.com/)
- **Growth Signals**: 72 employees (+75.5% YoY); 38 active job postings (+1167% YoY); operations in 8 countries (US, Canada, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Nigeria, Sweden, Kenya); hundreds of balloons launched per month with global scaling underway [linkedin.com/company/windborne](https://www.linkedin.com/company/windborne)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary data moat**: In‑situ atmospheric data from regions (oceans, poles) where other sensors are scarce – a key input for improving forecast accuracy.
- **Vertically integrated hardware & software**: In‑house design, manufacturing, and AI model development, all based in the USA.
- **First‑mover scale**: Only company operating a long‑duration, controlled‑altitude balloon constellation at this scale (Atlas).
- **Proven model performance**: WeatherMesh consistently outperforms traditional physics‑based and other AI forecast models, validated by government and commercial partners [windbornesystems.com](https://www.windbornesystems.com/)

## Strategic Focus
- Scale the Atlas constellation to permanently close atmospheric data gaps pole‑to‑pole.
- Expand federal and commercial sales (DaaS and SaaS), especially to utilities and the U.S. government.
- Advance WeatherMesh accuracy and develop new use cases in aviation routing, renewable energy grid optimization, and disaster response [windbornesystems.com/mission](https://www.windbornesystems.com/mission)

## Why Work Here
- **Planetary impact**: Every line of code and hardware design directly improves weather prediction, saves lives, and advances climate science.
- **Engineering culture**: “The Loonie Way” – high agency, obsessive problem‑solving, building from scratch, and iterating relentlessly. The team includes alumni from Project Loon, Stanford, and top aerospace/tech companies [windbornesystems.com/careers](https://windbornesystems.com/careers).
- **Hard problems**: Autonomous systems in extreme environments, real‑time data pipelines, and cutting‑edge AI.
- **Work environment**: Based in Redwood Shores, CA; technology is invented, designed, and manufactured in the US. Roles are likely on‑site (many engineering and operations positions specify location). Offices are collaborative and mission‑focused.
- **Growth**: 38 open roles across engineering, operations, business development, and more – a fast‑scaling startup with multi‑year runway [windbornesystems.com/open-roles](https://windbornesystems.com/open-roles).

## Sources
1. [windbornesystems.com](https://www.windbornesystems.com/)
2. [windbornesystems.com/careers](https://windbornesystems.com/careers)
3. [windbornesystems.com/mission](https://windbornesystems.com/mission)
4. [linkedin.com/company/windborne](https://www.linkedin.com/company/windborne)
5. [windbornesystems.com/open-roles](https://windbornesystems.com/open-roles)

## Other roles at WindBorne Systems

- [Senior Manufacturing Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manufacturing-engineer-windborne-systems-redwood-city-5397fj657a1r) — Redwood City, CA
- [Part Time Launch Operator - Corpus Christi](https://feeny.ai/job/part-time-launch-operator-corpus-christi-windborne-systems-corpus-christi-ky630jzb75vp) — Corpus Christi, TX
- [Launch Contractor - Uruguay](https://feeny.ai/job/launch-contractor-uruguay-windborne-systems-artigas-ppsys5pjm21j) — Artigas, Uruguay
- [Electrical Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineer-intern-windborne-systems-redwood-city-yxanrb2he2m7) — Redwood City, CA
- [Launch Operator-Alabama](https://feeny.ai/job/launch-operator-alabama-windborne-systems-alabama-4gje76g48nar) — Alabama
- [Lead Software Engineer - Gov Platforms](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-software-engineer-gov-platforms-windborne-systems-redwood-city-kqax9vq276dy) — Redwood City, CA
- [GTM Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/gtm-lead-windborne-systems-redwood-city-2v2gtspff59v) — Redwood City, CA
- [Chief of Staff to the CEO](https://feeny.ai/job/chief-of-staff-to-the-ceo-windborne-systems-redwood-city-r8q66bc40411) — Redwood City, CA
- [Machine Learning Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-infrastructure-engineer-windborne-systems-redwood-city-chps5jyh06x9) — Redwood City, CA
- [Production Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/production-manager-windborne-systems-redwood-city-xd3n8mkdz1f2) — Redwood City, CA