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Climate Data Scientist Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Waymo

Staff Data Scientist, Weather

San Diego, CA

Develop scalable and repeatable analysis frameworks that support multiple climate types, both ... Champion data science excellence and provide constructive technical feedback within the team and ...

Waymo

Staff Data Scientist, Weather

Mountain View, CA · On-site

$251K - $310K/yr

Develop scalable and repeatable analysis frameworks that support multiple climate types, both ... Champion data science excellence and provide constructive technical feedback within the team and ...

Watershed

Software engineer, full-stack

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$130 - $190/hr

Collaborate with product, design, climate science, and data science to build and iterate on software that helps our customers understand their climate data You might be a fit if you: * Have 4+ years ...

Slalom Consulting

General Information

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$58 - $88/hr

In this role, you will apply advanced data science, modeling, and machine learning techniques to analyze climate and weather data, helping the utility better understand and prepare for climate and ...

Slalom Build

Slalom Flex - Climate Analyst

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$68.88 - $110.21/hr

The Climate Analyst supports the Climate Scientist by translating climate and hazard data into actionable insights that strengthen preparedness, response, and recovery. The role focuses on predictive ...

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Climate Data Scientist information

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$45.4K

$162.9K

$240.3K

How much do climate data scientist jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 23, 2026, the average yearly pay for climate data scientist in California is $162,857.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $131,800.00 and $167,800.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a climate data scientist?

A Climate Data Scientist analyzes large datasets related to climate and environmental changes to identify patterns, make predictions, and support decision-making. They use statistical models, machine learning, and data visualization techniques to assess climate trends, extreme weather events, and environmental risks. Their work often supports policymakers, researchers, and organizations in mitigating climate change impacts and developing sustainable solutions.

What does a climate data scientist do?

Climate Data Scientists typically work on projects such as analyzing large climate datasets, developing predictive models for weather or environmental trends, and visualizing data to support scientific or policy reports. Day-to-day tasks may include cleaning and processing data, running simulations, and collaborating with other scientists or policy experts. There’s also a strong focus on communicating findings to both technical and non-technical audiences, often as part of a multidisciplinary team. This variety ensures that each day brings new challenges and opportunities to contribute to impactful environmental solutions.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a climate data scientist?

To thrive as a Climate Data Scientist, you need a strong background in statistics, environmental science, and programming, often supported by an advanced degree in a related field. Expertise with data analysis tools like Python, R, machine learning libraries, and experience with geospatial systems such as GIS is highly valued. Strong problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills help you interpret complex climate data and convey insights to diverse stakeholders. These abilities are crucial for effectively turning vast climate datasets into actionable information that drives environmental research and policy decisions.

What are the most commonly searched types of Climate Data Scientist jobs in California?

The most popular types of Climate Data Scientist jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Climate Data Scientist jobs in California?

For Climate Data Scientist jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Climate Data Scientist jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Climate Data Scientist jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Climate Data Scientist jobs?

Cities in California with the most Climate Data Scientist job openings:

Climate Data Scientist jobs near you
Infographic showing various Climate Data Scientist job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 88% Full Time, 9% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 85% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 11% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $162,857 per year, or $78.3 per hour.

Climate Data Scientist, Sustainability

Watershed Technology, Inc

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$193K - $202K/yr

Full-time

Posted yesterday

New

Job description

About Watershed
Watershed is the enterprise sustainability platform. Companies like Airbnb, Carlyle Group, FedEx, Visa, and Dr. Martens use Watershed to manage climate and ESG data, produce audit-ready metrics for voluntary and regulatory reporting including CSRD, and drive real decarbonization. We are looking for team members who love product-building, want to work hard at a mission-oriented startup, and will collaborate with us in shaping the culture of a growing team.
We have offices in San Francisco, New York, Denver, London, Paris, Berlin, Sydney, Mexico City, and remote team members across the US and Europe. We hope that you'll be interested in joining us!
The role
Domain expertise in the science of sustainability is the foundation upon which Watershed is built. On the Methodology team, we work at the nexus of corporate sustainability, sustainability science, data, and software - developing the methods that turn raw business data into auditable sustainability data and actionable sustainability insight.
This is a technical, hands-on, and highly collaborative role. You'll work closely with software engineers, data scientists, and product managers to build and maintain Watershed's industry-leading built-in methodologies: keeping them up to date with the latest scientific developments and standards, developing pragmatic and innovative approaches to emerging challenges, and maintaining our high bar for scientific rigor and integrity.
This is an applied science role, where your knowledge and expertise will become product capabilities used by companies to understand and reduce their real-world impact. You'll need to understand not only the scientific fundamentals of sustainability, but also how they apply across business contexts, sectors, data realities, legislation, and standards. Great corporate sustainability programs that drive real change are built on credible, accessible, and actionable data - this is our North Star.
You will
  • Develop, maintain, and improve Watershed's built-in sustainability methodologies, translating sustainability science, GHG accounting standards, and emerging regulatory requirements into robust product logic.
  • Partner closely with software engineers, data scientists, and product managers to design methodology features that are scientifically rigorous, auditable, scalable, and intuitive for customers.
  • Work directly in and around the codebase: reviewing methodology implementations, writing clear technical specifications, contributing configuration or logic where appropriate, and helping build tests that give us confidence in scientific correctness.
  • Interpret evolving standards and guidance - including the GHG Protocol, sustainability reporting frameworks, and sector-specific methodologies - and determine how they should be reflected in Watershed's product.
  • Investigate complex customer and product questions where sustainability science, data quality, accounting rules, and business context intersect.
  • Build pragmatic approaches for messy real-world business data, balancing scientific rigor with usability, auditability, and customer impact.
  • Collaborate with our go-to-market and customer-facing teams to explain methodology choices clearly to customers, auditors, and other stakeholders.
  • Help set the bar for scientific quality across Watershed by documenting decisions, reviewing methodology changes, and contributing to our internal methodology standards.
You might be a fit if you
  • Have a Master's or PhD in climate science, environmental science, sustainability, industrial ecology, or another relevant quantitative field.
  • Have 5+ years of experience in corporate sustainability, sustainability consulting, carbon accounting, climate strategy, or a related field - ideally working with large, complex organizations.
  • Are a systems thinker who can zoom out to understand interconnected sustainability and business systems, then zoom in to identify high‑leverage technical solutions and anticipate unintended impacts.
  • Have deep knowledge of both the application of, and reasoning behind, prevailing GHG accounting standards and sustainability reporting frameworks - at minimum the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and Scope 3 Standard; familiarity with the GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Guidance and updated ESRS is a plus.
  • Able to work in a Python codebase. This is not a software engineering role, but you should be comfortable reading code, reasoning about implementation details, and making contributions to the codebase.
  • Can communicate complex ideas clearly to a wide range of audiences, including scientific experts, academics, verifiers, auditors, customers, internal business stakeholders, software engineers, and data scientists.
Bonus points
  • Experience building or maintaining carbon accounting methodologies, emissions factor datasets, LCA models, or sustainability software.
  • Familiarity with assurance or audit processes for GHG inventories or sustainability disclosures.
  • Comfort working with data using Python, SQL, Typescript, or similar tools.
  • Experience translating complex standards or scientific methods into operational guidance, technical specifications, or product requirements.
  • Experience working with engineers to translate scientific methods into tested, production-grade software.

Must be willing to work from an office 4 days per week (except for remote roles)
Watershed has hub offices in San Francisco, New York, London, and Mexico City and satellite offices in Denver, Sydney, Paris, and Berlin. Where we have offices, employees are expected to be in office for 4 days per week. Certain jobs are open to being remote and will be specifically noted on the jobs page and in the job description if so.
What's the interview process like?
It starts the same for every candidate: getting to know the team members through 1 to 2 conversations about Watershed, your experience, and your interests. Next steps can vary by role, but usual next steps are a skill or experience interview (e.g. a coding interview for an engineer, a portfolio review for a designer, deeper experience call for other roles) which leads to a virtual or in person interview panel. We prioritize transparency and lack of surprise throughout the process.
What if I need accommodations for my interview?
At Watershed, we are dedicated to ensuring an inclusive recruitment process. We provide reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities, long-term conditions, mental health needs, religious observances, neurodivergence, or pregnancy-related support requirements. If you need assistance during your process, please contact your recruiter.

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