Research and Operations Hydrologist (UC San Diego / CW3E)
A hybrid blend of research and operational forecasting is up for grabs. Here’s what stands out:
Job Title: Research and Operations Hydrologist – #136365 Company: UC San Diego (Scripps Institution of Oceanography), in partnership with DWR & National Weather Service Location: Remote (based in Sacramento, CA) Appointment: 100% contract for 2 years (possible extension or conversion) Salary Range: $85,400 – $100,000 per year Deadline: Filing through Monday, September 1, 2025
Job Description:
Serve within the CA Nevada River Forecast Center’s Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) initiative, collaborating with DWR, NWS, and UC San Diego’s CW3E team.
Participate in generating hydrologic ensemble forecasts and hindcasts to aid emergency response and water management across the state.
Enhance hydrologic prediction systems and act as a conduit between research and operational teams
This role is perfect if you enjoy blending cutting-edge research with practical, high-impact hydrologic forecasting—especially in a federal-state-university collaborative framework.
Consider:
Pros: Remote-first setup, direct impact on water resource decision-making, engagement with cutting-edge modeling and forecasting tools.
Cons: Contract position with a set duration; pressure of timely, accurate forecasts; needs quick hiring before September 1.
Tempting if you want to straddle AR research and real-time ops — CW3E’s tools are solid and UC benefits usually are too. The rub is ops shifts and San Diego rent; if the pay’s at least ~$95–110k with comp time, I’d be in. Do they rotate nights/weekends or is it mostly M–F with on-call?
Tempting if the split truly lets you publish while doing real-time AR forecasting — CW3E’s tools are legit. My hang-up is San Diego COL and whether there’s night/weekend shiftwork baked in. Anyone know the salary range and schedule expectations?
I did a split ops/research role and the only way it worked was having written “protected time” each week plus comp time after big storm shifts. In the interview, pin down the exact rotation (nights/weekends), pager/on-call rules, and what % is truly protected for papers.
Ask them to show you last January’s ops calendar and the on-call/pager rotation - seeing how many AR IOP nights happened told me whether I could keep a paper pipeline going. I also negotiated a written “protected research block” (8 hours/week that ops can’t book over), which made a split role sustainable.