Job Opportunity: Research Scientist (Extreme Weather Events)
Salary: £36,636 – £46,049 per annum
Closing date: 04/01/2026 at 23:59
Department: School of Mathematical Physical & Computational Sciences
Location: Whiteknights Reading UK
Employment type: AR-Research
Division: Meteorology
Hours Per Week: 1.0FTE
Job live date: 21/11/2025
Employment Basis/Type: Full time, fixed term (up to 24 months)
Interviews will be held: January 2026
We seek a motivated researcher to analyse attribution storylines of extreme weather events.
Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity, leading to more severe impacts. Understanding how these types of extreme event have already changed, and will change in the near-future, is of critical importance to inform decisions on adaptation.
This project will compare at least two existing storyline approaches to event attribution which are translating recent extreme weather events into different climates to quantitatively describe how those weather events and their impacts would be different in warmer or cooler ‘counter-factual’ worlds.
The post-holder will:
- Analyse existing storyline simulations of recent extreme events produced with the 20th Century Reanalysis (20CRv3) and the DESTIN-E systems
- Examine whether these storyline approaches are producing consistent estimates for how different types of extreme events have changed
- Produce recommendations for which approaches should be adopted for future operational attribution of different extreme event types
- Collaborate with project partners (Met Office, KNMI, ECMWF/C3S) and related projects within the scientific community
You will have:
- or shortly expect to receive, a PhD or equivalent experience in physical or mathematical sciences
- knowledge of climate reanalyses and the dynamics of extreme weather events
- experience of analysing climate reanalyses or similar datasets
- the ability to communicate effectively and to develop and maintain productive collaborations
- excellent analytical, problem solving and programming skills
Apply Now
To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:
Contact Name Prof. Ed Hawkins
Contact Job Title Professor of Climate Science
Contact Email address e.hawkins@reading.ac.uk
Alternative Contact Name Prof. Ted Shepherd
Alternative Contact Job Title Professor
Alternative Contact Email address theodore.shepherd@reading.ac.uk