Research / Senior Research Manager, Weather Data Systems (Weather Initiative)

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Research / Senior Research Manager, Weather Data Systems (Weather Initiative) based in India. This role offers the opportunity to build and scale evidence-based weather data systems designed to support smallholder farmers. You will help transform real-time scientific forecasts into timely, location-specific guidance that can reach farmers through multiple channels. Working across research, technology, program, and dissemination teams, you will connect technical systems with practical field needs. The role combines research management, data engineering, system design, quality assurance, and stakeholder engagement. You will focus on creating reliable, adaptable infrastructure that can be replicated across geographies and use cases. This is a high-impact opportunity for someone who enjoys solving complex problems, building scalable systems, and turning technical insights into actionable outcomes. The position may be offered at either Research Manager or Senior Research Manager level, depending on experience, seniority, and scope of previous responsibilities. Accountabilities: - Work with forecast science, technology, and dissemination teams to design and oversee pipelines that automatically transform real-time scientific forecast data into location-specific farmer messages. - Develop adaptable systems that can integrate with different dissemination vendors and channels, including voice, SMS, WhatsApp, applications, LLM-powered advisory systems, or combinations of these. - Ensure time-sensitive forecast information reaches farmers quickly and accurately by reducing processing delays, data transformation latency, and other potential points of failure. - Own the technical and operational requirements needed to make weather data pipelines replicable across geographies rather than tailored to a single location or use case.

- Bridge technical and non-technical teams by translating forecast science and system constraints into practical requirements for research and program teams, and communicating program needs back to technical stakeholders. - Oversee data management, quality assurance, testing, and technical rigor as the system expands into new applications and geographies. - Document system architecture, decision logic, processes, and design rationale so that the infrastructure remains maintainable, auditable, and extensible. - Coordinate with dissemination teams to ensure automated farmer messages align with standards established through field research. - Provide technical and data-quality guidance to Associate- and Manager-level colleagues supporting the weather data pipeline. - Contribute to funding proposals, technical reports, organizational knowledge management, and broader learning related to weather data systems. Requirements: - Bachelor’s or advanced degree in a technical, quantitative, or data-focused discipline such as computer science, data science, engineering, statistics, economics, agricultural economics, or a related field. - Experience building, managing, or overseeing data pipelines, ideally involving real-time, automated, or continuously processed data. - Working knowledge of technical tools and programming languages used to build and maintain data systems, such as Python, SQL, or comparable technologies. - Experience designing systems intended to be replicated, scaled, or adapted across multiple contexts rather than developed as one-off solutions. - Ability to work effectively across technical and non-technical functions, translating between forecast science, engineering considerations, research requirements, and program priorities. - Strong research management, problem-solving, and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to take ownership and operate proactively in a fast-growing environment.