Director of Meteorology
Required skills
- Meteorology
- Atmospheric Science
- forecasting strategy
- scientific accuracy
- On-Camera Meteorologists
- Immersive Mixed Reality
- editorial meetings
- breaking news
- severe weather events
- weather enterprise
Nice to have
- AI
- IMR
- content gathering
Role summary
The Director of Meteorology is a leadership role at The Weather Channel, responsible for guiding forecasting strategy, ensuring scientific accuracy across all platforms, and communicating complex atmospheric science to a national audience. This individual will act as a strategic advisor to senior leadership and a chief ambassador to external scientific and government entities. The role requires an advanced degree in Meteorology or a related field, 10+ years of meteorological experience with 5 years in public forecasting, and proven leadership skills. Key responsibilities include scientific leadership, quality assurance, editorial integration, and external partnership engagement, operating within a 24/7 news environment.
Position Summary
The Director of Meteorology serves as the authoritative scientific compass for The Weather Channel. In this pivotal leadership role, you will leverage expert-level meteorological knowledge to guide company-wide forecasting strategy, drive scientifically sound storytelling, and uphold the highest standards of accuracy across all platforms.
As a master communicator, you will translate complex atmospheric science into engaging, clear, and relatable narratives for a nation-wide audience. You will serve as a strategic advisor to senior leadership—informing critical operational decisions such as field crew deployments and breaking news preemptions—and act as our chief ambassador to the broader weather enterprise, government entities, and academic partners.
Note: This is not a 9-to-5 role. It is a dynamic leadership position driving the meteorological direction of a 24/7 news and intelligence organization.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Scientific Leadership & Quality Assurance
Network Authority: Serve as a principle decision-maker for high-stakes, network-imperative meteorological calls.
Accuracy & Standards: Review scripts, broadcast graphics, and published media across all digital and broadcast platforms to ensure flawless scientific accuracy and adherence to TWC standards.
Performance Coaching: Monitor airtime, review broadcasts, and provide constructive feedback to On-Camera Meteorologists (OCMs) on science communication, narrative clarity, and forecast accuracy.
Innovative Experiences: Serve as the guiding scientific voice for Immersive Mixed Reality (IMR) experiences
Editorial & Newsroom Integration
Daily Intelligence Briefings: Lead meteorological briefings during editorial meetings to guide daily story selection and production focus.
Breaking News Liaison: Act as the critical bridge between the meteorological team and editorial production teams—especially during fast-moving breaking news and extreme severe weather events.
Message Alignment: Collaborate closely with the Principal Weather Producer to align internal analysis with clear, consistent external messaging.
External Partnerships & Enterprise Relations
Chief Scientific Ambassador: Represent The Weather Group to local, state, and federal agencies, scientific institutions, and government officials.
Industry Engagement: Stay engaged with the broader weather enterprise to keep the network ahead of scientific advancements, technological shifts, and policy/political movements affecting the industry.
Education, Experience, Certification Requirements
Advanced Degree: Master’s or Ph.D. in Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, or a closely related physical science discipline.
10+ Years Experience: Demonstrated track record of professional meteorological experience, including a minimum of 5 years actively communicating complex forecasts to the public.
Proven Leadership: Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams, driving decision-making under high pressure, and mentoring technical talent
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Expert level understanding meteorological phenomena for all seasons
Thorough comprehension of numerical models
Monitors and comprehends the latest peer-reviewed weather and climate studies
Strong ability to communicate orally and verbally. Ability to disseminate complex meteorological information in a useable and understandable manner
Ability to write scripts
Possesses exceptional interpersonal and teamwork skills
Proficient in leveraging AI toolsets to develop and create
Knowledge of social media and its role in the information and content gathering process
Ability to manage multiple projects, involving cross-functional teams, in an efficient manner
Exhibits creative problem solving skills and unique resourcefulness in order to complete tasks
Quickly learns and applies new technologies
Customer focused, innovative, and self-motivated
Receives feedback constructively and incorporates that feedback into work products and performance
Good multitasking and trouble-shooting skills
Displays strong collaborative skills and works effectively through conflict
Maintains high standards for product, performance, and ethics
Effectively contributes to team goals within a highly interactive, and at times, stressful environment
Dependable and flexible in a 24x7 operational environment
