Mesonet Director -

The University of South Alabama’s Earth Sciences Department is seeking to hire a Mesonet Director. 

Minimum Qualifications

Master’s degree in meteorology, atmospheric science or related field from an accredited institution as approved and accepted by the University of South Alabama and four years of directly related professional experience, one of which was in a supervisory capacity. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.

Essential Functions
These are the job duties required of the position.

• Leads and oversees NOAA-funded South Alabama Mesonet expansion and upgrade program.
• Oversees the hiring process and supervision of staff.
• Identifies suitable locations for twenty new weather stations and approaches landowners to host weather stations.
• Establishes site license agreements with weather station hosts and liaise with University Attorney’s office.
• Maintains grant administration to include maintaining shadow accounts, monitoring/managing grant spending, ensuring university policy and regulations are adhered to, and utilizing university systems like Banner, Concur etc. as relevant.
• Identifies and hires contractor(s) for weather station hardware builds.
• Orders station hardware and instruments using university bidding and requisition process.
• Compiles progress reports for funding agencies.
• Responds to university requests for property and other audits.
• Oversees South Alabama Mesonet website upgrade and expansion and supervises full-time or contracted IT experts.
• Maintains inventories of instrumentation, weather stations, communications equipment (modems) and other Mesonet property.
• Monitors sensor calibration deadlines and manages replacement sensor purchasing, based on detailed sensor inventory.
• Implements and oversees weather station maintenance procedures to include paperwork (trouble tickets, site visitation reports) and dispatching of technician crews.
• Ensures Mesonet maintenance vehicles are maintained and serviced.
• Monitors meteorological data flow and station outages.
• Oversees manual and automated meteorological data quality control processes.
• Responds to meteorological data requests from general public, researchers, the private sector, and the public sector.
• Supervises and trains student technicians.
• Develops additional training modules for student technicians.
• Builds relationships in the agricultural sector and the energy industry to promote the use of Mesonet data.
• Attends regional and national conventions to promote Mesonet data and interacts with potential data users.
• Plans and oversees exhibits.
• Attends Mesonet related conferences and meetings.
• Interacts with the national Mesonet community.
• Manages Mesonet social media and email to engage the general public and potential endusers in the community.
• Oversees school visits including tours and hands-on activities.
• Develops data-derived value-added tools, products, and applications for Mesonet end-users.
• Secures long-term funding for South Alabama Mesonet.
• Manages contracting and billing of Mesonet data customers in collaboration with university grants officers, including but not limited to individual station clients, the National Mesonet Program, and county and state agencies.
• Plans for upgrades and improvements to the weather station network and associated IT infrastructure and website.
• Develops and implements a long-term vision for the South Alabama Mesonet.
• Regular and prompt attendance.
• Ability to work schedule as defined and additional hours as required.
• Related duties as required.