Are you a creative software developer looking for your next challenge? Do you have a background in smartphone application development that you wish to apply to an international development challenge? Would you like to be working alongside cutting-edge weather science to deliver forecast solutions to weather services in the developing world?

The School of Earth and Environment (SEE) is seeking to appoint a Mobile Applications Developer to work within the Centre for Environmental Modelling and Computation (CEMAC) to develop products for the Global Challenges Research Fund African Science for Weather Information and Forecasting Techniques (GCRF African SWIFT) programme.

CEMAC is an established research computing centre within SEE with capabilities in computer modelling, data analysis and visualisation. The successful candidate would join a growing team of approximately 10 software developers and specialist research computing scientists already working on a broad range of scientific computing projects across the School.

The SWIFT project aims to develop sustainable African weather forecasting capability to enhance the livelihood of African populations and improve the economies of their countries. Throughout tropical Africa, the national meteorological services (NMSs) currently lack the capability and resources to deliver bespoke, world-class forecast products for commercial customers whose activities may be affected by various weather phenomena e.g. agriculture, power generation, fisheries and transportation. SWIFT has been awarded funding to develop smartphone applications to deliver timely and relevant weather information, both to the public and commercial customers. 

You will be working alongside scientists on the SWIFT project, taking leadership in the implementation of methods and processes to enhance CEMAC’s expertise. You will lead on the development of a smartphone service to display existing ‘nowcasting’ products (weather forecasts on the 0 – 6 hour timescale). You will also engage with the national meteorological services of the partner countries and end users of the application to ensure that the application is fit for purpose and that the nowcasting information is displayed in a user-friendly way. Although it is not essential to the job, the opportunity to travel to Africa to engage with users of the service is a possibility in this role.

You will have a degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent qualification) in Computer Science or a closely allied discipline and evidence of the skills and expertise to develop and maintain user-friendly mobile application products.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:

Prof Douglas Parker
Tel: +44 (0)113 343 6739, email: D.J.Parker@leeds.ac.uk

Location:  Leeds - Main Campus
Faculty/Service:  Faculty of Environment
School/Institute:  School of Earth and Environment
Category:  Research
Grade:  Grade 7
Salary:  £33,797 to £40,322 p.a.
Working Time:  50% - We will consider job share / flexible working arrangements
Post Type:  Part Time
Contract Type:  Fixed Term (for 8 months)
Closing Date:  Sunday 15 March 2020
Downloads:  Candidate Brief