Senior Statistician, Human-Centered Weather Forecasts

About the Trust

The University of Chicago Trust (the Trust) is a charitable trust in India, established in 2008 by an alumnus of The University of Chicago. The Trust’s objectives are to provide opportunities for grants to support educational programs, research programs, and activities for the betterment of India.

The Development Innovation Lab – India (DIL-India)

DIL-India, based at the Trust in India, is dedicated to using the tools of economics to develop innovations with the potential to benefit millions of people. We have work in health, education, agriculture, climate change, road safety, and others. We do so by collaborating with government agencies, firms, and non-profits in India to identify, test, and scale evidence-based solutions. 

DIL-India has a fast-growing portfolio of policy relevant research. DIL is partnering with the Jal Jeevan Mission, the Government of Odisha, and Evidence Action to develop and test scalable systems to integrate drinking water treatment into rural drinking water systems in India. We estimate that universal delivery of treated water in rural India would avert more than 1 lakh child deaths per year. DIL conducted pilots of in-line chlorination with the government of Odisha. We are now focused on contracting, management, and monitoring systems to allow delivery at scale

Human-Centered Weather Forecast Initiative 

Collaborating with HCWF, DIL-India brings together climate scientists, artificial intelligence (AI) experts and economists to build and evaluate weather forecasts that can target what citizens need to know, leveraging novel technologies, including AI, and scientific understanding. This interdisciplinary team then works to test forecast dissemination strategies, refine those strategies based on user response, and scale forecast dissemination to inform data-driven decision-making. 
For example: The Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare distributed AI forecasts to 38 million farmers accurately predicting the start of the monsoon in 2025, becoming a model for using advanced in AI and atmospheric science to help vulnerable populations adapt to climate change. Hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers across the tropics depend on information about when the rainy season, known as the monsoon, will come each year. This advanced knowledge allows farmers to make more informed decisions about when to plant seeds, irrigate, and hire labor. However, accurate forecasting of when the monsoon will begin, especially at long lead teams and local scales, has remained a century-old challenge. AI has revolutionized global weather forecasting, promising new tools for predicting phenomena as complex as the monsoon. DIL-India researchers lead local HCWF research that supports an international, multidisciplinary collaboration to harness advances in AI to better predict the beginning of the monsoon in India.
This job opening is part of the launch of a new DIL-India initiative.

Position Description

The Senior Statistician, HCWF will manage research activities at the Development Innovation Lab in collaboration with the Human-Centered Weather Forecasts initiative. The role involves leading statistical design, analysis, and modeling to both support the development of blended weather models and evaluate the accuracy and impact of AI-based weather forecasting systems. This may include the design of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental evaluations of forecast dissemination programs across India.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and apply statistical models to assess forecast accuracy, calibration, and skill across a range of meteorological variables and geographic settings, and evaluate the tradeoffs between competing modeling approaches.
  • Work on the statistical development of one or more forecasts end-to-end, from model design through operational deployment and ongoing verification
  • Provide high-level guidance on statistical analysis plans for field evaluations and A/B tests of weather forecast dissemination programs, including power calculations, sampling design, and pre-registration for experimental and quasi-experimental studies.
  • Clean, process, and analyze large datasets from weather stations, remote sensing, and household surveys, establish standards for data quality and reproducibility.
  • Serve as a key liaison with atmospheric scientists, data scientists, and policy teams to interpret and translate statistical findings into actional insights for diverse audiences.
  • Manage the preparation of research reports, policy briefs, and academic publications in close collaboration with other researchers and PIs.
  • Establish and maintain reproducible code (e.g., in R, Python, or Stata) and support data infrastructure for research workflows.
  • Manage junior team members on statistical methods, coding practices, and research design. 
  • Performs other related work as assigned.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

  • Ph.D. degree in statistics, biostatistics, econometrics, or a related field

Experience:

  • Minimum of 5+ years of relevant work experience 
  • Demonstrated experience in applied statistics in one or more relevant areas (predictive modelling, forecast verification, or the design and analysis of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies.) 
  • Demonstrated experience working with climate, agricultural, meteorological, or remote sensing data. 
  • Familiarity with reproducible research practices and version control (e.g., Git).

Competencies

  • Proficiency in R, Stata, or Python for statistical analysis.
  • Experience with one or more of: forecast verification and evaluation, spatial or geostatistical methods, evidence aggregation, or causal-inference methods for program evaluation. 
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present technical findings to non-specialist audiences.
  • Ability to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams across different time zones.
  • Prior experience in weather forecasting, development economics, agricultural development, or related field.

Working Conditions

  • Based in Delhi with regular travel throughout India to project locations
  • Applicant must be legally authorized to work in India.
  • This is a one-year position subject to renewal.

Application Documents

  • Resume/CV (required)
  • Cover Letter (required)
  • References’ Contact Information (3 required)

Apply Online