About the Role
Riverkin is a VC-backed Swiss startup looking for a star hydrologist to join the team. Flash floods threaten thousands of people and cause millions in damage each year but trustworthy alerts are not possible to come by. This is a real, under-served problem where today's forecasts break down, leaving first responders and municipalities exposed.
What You'll Do
Build the first flash flood ML model
- Define and build the first version of the flash flood ML model, using sensor data we deploy ourselves and public data sources.
- You implement models, manage big data sets and monitor performance.
- You work with software engineer(s) to embed models into a scalable piece of software.
- You are the architect and choose the models, the sensors, and the architecture as we go.
Translate Business and Customer Needs into a Technical Roadmap
- You'll partner directly with the founders to pull detailed needs out of clients and find the sweet spot between those needs and technical feasibility.
- You keep track of new developments in nowcasting and flood forecasting tools and techniques and own an ambitious technical vision.
- You find the balance between scalable and pragmatic solutions, serving customers from day 1 while working towards a long term strategy.
Represent the team on all fronts
- You're comfortable doing a sensor install on a Tuesday and a customer pitch on a Wednesday.
- You are supportive within the team, while standing up for what you believe is best for the customer or company strategy.
- You are an opinionated contributor to key strategic decisions in the company.
Create Clarity and Momentum
- Bring structure to ambiguous problems and drive them to execution.
- Make decisions and move forward without waiting for perfect information.
Who You Are
- You're excited to solve flash flooding at the local scale
- You want to build a company and you're hungry to act like a founder from day one
- You want to have skin in the game
- You enjoy being a hands-on
- Can take messy inputs and turn them into clear technical direction
- Can move fast, but with enough structure to avoid future pain
- Care deeply about building something that actually works in the real world
- An excellent communicator, with strong written and verbal skills
Technical Requirements
- Strong experience applying ML tools (e.g. LSTM) to hydrological problems (e.g. flooding)
- Experience in bias correction of weather radar
- MSc or PhD in hydrology, water resources management, atmospheric sciences, or equivalent
- Experience working with real-world data systems (gauges, GIS, satellite imagery, etc.)
Nice to Have
- Previous founder or early startup experience
Role Details
- Commitment: 100% FTE.
- Compensation: Commensurate with experience + equity
- Growth: this is a key early hire with the opportunity to build and lead Riverkin’s flash-flood modelling function.
- Location: 4 days per week in Zurich office
About Riverkin
We are a well-capitalized Swiss startup building real-time sensing and data infrastructure for rivers. Our own field-deployed sensors collect live water-level and sediment data, while our platform turns that data into decision-ready insights for customers. We work across two core use cases: hydropower, where better sediment data can support flushing, asset protection and compliance; and flash-flood risk, where local river data can help first responders and municipalities understand what is happening before conditions become critical. We are a small, hands-on team working across hydrology, hardware, field engineering, software and market development.
Benefits:
- Long-term profit-sharing plan
- Parental leave
- Professional development assistance
- Work from home
Work Location: Hybrid remote in 8049 Zürich, ZH
