---
title: 'Principal Research Scientist - Risk at Neara'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-research-scientist-risk-neara-new-york-8r3qsja0y6rj'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-04'
---

# Principal Research Scientist - Risk at Neara

- **Company:** Neara
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Compensation:** $180k–$220k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-08-25
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-04
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/neara/0bd72521-970d-4b03-9727-80f440dbe35f

## Job description

Imagine having the power to stress-test an entire power grid against a hurricane or thunderstorm before the clouds even gather. That is the reality we are creating at Neara.

We use advanced machine learning to create engineering-grade, physics enabled digital twins of electricity grids across four continents, this helps asset owners understand their biggest challenges and bring the most viable solutions to life across millions of kilometres of infrastructure.

By simulating extreme weather and structural stress at a network-wide scale, we empower the world’s largest utilities to pinpoint risks, optimise investments and build a more resilient global energy future.

Our team is a collection of brilliant minds who are fanatical about making a tangible difference in the real world, utilising AI and machine learning to accelerate everything from data classification to complex scenario analysis. We have built a special culture where innovation thrives because everyone owns the mission and we need smart, creative people to help us scale this impact to every corner of the globe.

Principal Research Scientist - Risk

We are seeking an experienced research scientist to lead Neara’s internal research group in topics of system resilience, reliability, and policy. In this role, you will define a research agenda, develop rigorous statistical and decision models, and translate findings into tools and recommendations for utilities managing billions of dollars in capital expenditure.

Neara provides network-scale structural, loading, and contextual data across complete overhead electrical systems. As the Principal Research Scientist - Risk, you will use this information to build generalizable models of asset failure and determine the value of additional data, inspections, and interventions.

What You Will Do:

- Build and lead Neara’s applied research function for infrastructure risk and resilience.
- Direct a team of researchers and establish rigorous standards for risk modeling, uncertainty quantification, and decision-making.
- Develop predictive models for equipment damage, vegetation failure, outage likelihood and duration, and wildfire-related risk.
- Design decision models that quantify the operational and economic consequences of resilience and reliability investments, including asset replacement, vegetation management, and network redesign.
- Quantify the value of data including pole loading analysis, visual inspections, and the installation of new devices and remote sensing capabilities, both empirically and by analytical methods.

Who You Are:

- A PhD in statistics, applied mathematics, physics, computer science, operations research, engineering, or a comparable record of original research and applied technical work.
- Evidence of having independently defined and led a substantial research program as a group leader or industry principal, demonstrated through influential publications, patents, or production systems.
- Experienced in building technical teams and setting research direction.
- Extensive experience in probabilistic modeling, uncertainty quantification, model validation, scientific computing capabilities and decision-making under incomplete information.
- Substantial experience modeling operational systems. Particularly relevant topics include insurance or catastrophe modeling; weather prediction and climate hazard; outages in power systems; and reliability engineering.

What We Offer:

- A highly competitive compensation package including a significant equity component to ensure you directly benefit from Neara’s sustained success and impact on critical infrastructure.
- The opportunity to work on a cutting-edge, 3D physics-enabled platform used to anticipate the impact of extreme events, reduce infrastructure failure, and direct investment. Access to unique network-scale utility data unavailable in other industrial research settings.
- Freedom to define and build Neara’s research modeling function, establishing the agenda, identifying preferred methods and working on novel under-specified problems.
- A central role in shaping Neara’s long-term product roadmap, analytical standards and customer advisory services.
- Flexible hours and working arrangements designed to help you do your best work from where you work best.

## #LI-NT1 #LI-DNP

## About Neara

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Neara builds the first physics-enabled digital twin platform that models critical infrastructure networks (power grids, utilities) to simulate real-world conditions, optimize resilience, and accelerate the energy transition.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series D, raised ~AUD 90M in February 2026)
- **Headquarters**: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- **Founded**: 2016
- **Founders**: Jack Curtis (Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer) and others (exact list not fully public; co-founder team includes engineering and domain experts)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Software Development for Energy & Infrastructure (power transmission, distribution, renewables, grid resilience)
- **Target customers**: B2B – utilities (electric, gas, water), network operators, renewable energy developers, and infrastructure owners. Works with ~90% of Australian network utilities and international partners like Southern California Edison, CenterPoint Energy, ESB Networks, Scottish Power.
- **Mission statement**: Provide utilities and infrastructure owners with a physics-accurate digital twin that moves them from seeing “what is” to understanding “what if,” enabling safer, more resilient systems and better-informed investment decisions.

## Products & Services
- **Neara Platform (Physics-Enabled Digital Twin)**: SaaS platform that creates a geometrically precise, behaviourally accurate 3D model of entire infrastructure networks (poles, lines, vegetation, terrain). It runs network-wide simulations for severe weather, wildfire, flooding, load growth, and asset failure. Modules include:
  - **Resiliency & Reliability**: Assess and harden networks against storms, heat, and fire.
  - **Wildfire Mitigation**: Identify high-risk assets and prioritise intervention.
  - **Vegetation Management**: Automate clearance compliance.
  - **Design & Construction**: Simulate new feeder builds, pole replacements, and reconfigurations.
  - **Risk & Value Optimization**: Quantify investment trade-offs and regulator-ready reports.
  - **Renewable Energy & Decarbonization**: Analyse capacity for new generation connections and grid interconnection.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (private company).
- **Key Metrics**:
  - **Total Funding**: ~AUD 180M (~USD 150.8M) as of Feb 2026, including Series D led by TCV.
  - **Annual Revenue**: ~USD 5.2M (estimated from LinkedIn; likely conservative given headcount and funding stage).
  - **Global Reach**: Modeled over 15 million assets covering more than 3 million km across four continents.
  - **Customers**: Partnerships with global utilities including Southern California Edison, CenterPoint Energy, ESB Networks, Scottish Power, Essential Energy, Ausgrid, Powercor, SA Power Networks.
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: TCV (lead, Series D), Partners Group, EQT, Square Peg Capital, Skip Capital, Prosus Ventures, OIF Ventures.
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew 73.4% YoY (176 employees from 85).
  - Active job postings: 44 (up 83.3% YoY).
  - Series D raised AUD 90M in Feb 2026 to accelerate AI/ML talent and global expansion.
  - Claims customers bring new infrastructure online 85% faster and achieve 8-9 figure cost savings.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Physics-first approach**: Unlike typical AI/ML pattern-matching, Neara’s digital twin is built on real-world physics (structural, thermal, loading, clearance) – grounding every simulation in engineering reality.
- **Single unified model**: One platform replaces fragmented point solutions (vegetation, inspection, storm, load) – all workflows feed from the same geometrically and behaviourally accurate twin.
- **Deep domain expertise**: Years working with large utilities; understands regulatory, safety, and operational constraints.
- **High switching costs**: Once a utility builds its entire operations on Neara’s model, replacing it is extremely difficult.
- **Global references**: Partnerships with marquee utilities in the US, Europe, and Australia provide credibility.

## Strategic Focus
- **Talent pipeline**: Accelerating hiring of ML and AI engineers to further develop the physics-enabled technology.
- **International expansion**: Growing commercial teams in the US, UK, Europe (Lithuania), India, and Philippines.
- **Addressing infrastructure crisis**: Focusing on data centre load growth, renewable interconnection, and grid hardening under climate stress.
- **Product depth**: Adding more solutions on the same platform (e.g., wildfire, flood, capacity, design).

## Why Work Here
- **High-stakes impact**: Work directly affects how utilities keep the lights on, prevent wildfires, and prepare for storms – real-world consequences for every line of code.
- **Engineering culture**: Deep spatial ML, computational geometry, and physics simulation – not another CRUD app. “We don’t do hypothetical,” says the careers page.
- **Global team**: 176 people across 10+ countries (Australia, US, UK, Lithuania, India, Philippines, etc.). Hybrid/remote-friendly roles observed in open postings.
- **Growth trajectory**: 73% headcount growth in the last year, 44 open roles – opportunity to shape the company as it scales.
- **Values**: “Mission-critical impact,” “engineering-grade reality,” and “high stakes, high support.” They invest in people with talent communities and a structured hiring process.
- **Notable perks**: Not explicitly listed, but emphasis on autonomy, solving ambiguous problems, and collaborative deep-dive interviews. Roles include Senior ML Engineer, Forward Deployed Engineer, Customer Success, Product Manager.

## Sources
1. [neara.com – Homepage](https://neara.com/)
2. [neara.com – Careers](https://neara.com/company/careers/)
3. [linkedin.com – Neara Company Page](https://au.linkedin.com/company/neara)
4. [neara.com – Press Release: $90M Series D](https://neara.com/resources/press/neara-raises-90-million-to-solve-the-global-infrastructure-crisis-with-ai/)
5. [neara.com – Talent Community](https://neara.com/company/talent-community/)

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