Senior Scientist – Air Quality Modeling

PSE Healthy Energy

Senior Scientist leading air quality modeling and research at PSE Healthy Energy. Overseeing projects and contributing to environmental health and policy initiatives with a multidisciplinary team.

Posted 6/25/2026full-timeRemote • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $116,000 - $138,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AWSCloudEC2Python

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Contribute to developing and advancing a strategic research portfolio in air quality, identifying emerging opportunities and supporting high-impact workstreams.
Lead proposal development as technical lead and coordinate competitive grant and contract proposals.
Serve as PI on funded projects, holding accountability for scientific scope, budgets, deliverables, and funder reporting.
Oversee the design, development, and maintenance of scalable scientific tools, products, and cloud-based data pipelines on AWS to support research production and reproducibility.
Lead and contribute to peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, and rapid-response analyses; communicate findings to policymakers, community organizations, agencies, and the media.
Directly supervise staff through regular check-ins, performance reviews, and active mentorship; support hiring and onboarding as the team grows.
Lead or co-lead proposals for major grants and contracts and participate in funder stewardship.
Represent PSE externally as a recognized air quality expert through publications, media engagement, conference presentations, expert testimony, and regulatory advisory processes.
Manage day-to-day project operations, including budget and timeline tracking, deliverable coordination, timesheet approval, expense tracking, and funder reporting.
Serve as primary supervisor for EM&E Branch staff, including lower-level supervisors.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Ph.D. in atmospheric science, chemistry, engineering, or a related field (or Master’s degree with substantial equivalent experience) and a recognized record in air quality science.
Senior Scientist I: Minimum 3+ years post-doctoral (or equivalent) experience.
Senior Scientist II: Minimum 5+ years post-doctoral (or equivalent) experience with demonstrated strategic leadership and independence.
Record of leading funded research as PI or co-PI, including peer-reviewed publications and/or expert testimony.
Proven experience at the science-policy interface with regulators, policymakers, and/or community stakeholders.
Deep expertise in air quality modeling (e.g., CMAQ, CAMx, WRF-Chem, GEOS-Chem, InMAP, AERMOD).
Experience with emissions inventory tools (e.g., SMOKE) and processing large environmental datasets.
Experience building and managing high-performance computing workloads on AWS (EC2, S3, ParallelCluster, AMIs).
Proficiency in Python and/or R for data analysis and workflow automation; comfort with Git/GitHub and AI-assisted coding tools.
Experience supervising staff with a demonstrated ability to support performance, development, and well-being.
Senior Scientist II candidates must have a track record of supervising staff across multiple career levels.
Excellent communication skills and the ability to thrive in a collaborative, distributed, remote-first environment.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
401(k) with employer match
Flexible spending accounts
Flexible time off and 15 Paid holidays
Opportunities for continued education and training
Flexible working hours and remote work options

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

air quality modelingCMAQCAMxWRF-ChemGEOS-ChemInMAPAERMODPythonRemissions inventory tools

Soft Skills

strategic leadershipindependencecommunication skillsmentorshipcollaborationperformance managementteam supervisionstakeholder engagementproblem-solvingproject management

Certifications

Ph.D. in atmospheric sciencePh.D. in chemistryPh.D. in engineeringMaster’s degree with equivalent experience