Computational Engineer (Wildfire and Meteorology)

We are seeking a Computational Scientist with a strong background in wildfire and environmental modelling to join our Digital & Synthetic Capability Unit. This role focuses on developing, improving, and operationalising wildfire prediction models to support our firefighting training simulator and enterprise-level decision tools.

You will design and implement numerical and statistical modelling approaches for wildfire spread and coupled atmospheric processes, run simulations in an automated and scalable HPC environment, and apply downscaling or bias-correction techniques to improve local prediction fidelity. The role requires translating scientific models into robust, production-quality tools that can be integrated into training systems and operational workflows.

In addition, you will contribute to the development of high-fidelity scientific visualisation pipelines within Unreal Engine, ensuring that wildfire and meteorological simulation outputs are transformed into accurate, real-time representations for immersive training and scenario analysis.

The successful candidate will combine scientific depth with practical software engineering capability, enabling models to be executed reliably at scale and integrated into decision-making processes across the organisation., * Create and improve custom solvers for wildfire modelling and weather simulations

• Explore hybrid physics-statistical modelling approaches to enhance wildfire spread prediction
• Develop scripts, tools, and frameworks to automate end-to-end simulation workflows
• Run HPC simulations, including job submission, monitoring, and resource optimization on cluster environments
• Profile, benchmark, and optimize simulation performance across CPU and GPU architectures
• Apply statistical downscaling methods to improve local area weather modelling capabilities
• Contribute to scientific visualisation pipelines, including preparation of wildfire and meteorological datasets for real-time rendering in Unreal Engine, This is a full-time non-exempt position with typical working hours of Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Hours and work shifts may change in accordance with department and business needs. Exempt Employees must have the ability to be on-call and available, as business needs require. Non-Exempt employees may be required to work over 40 hours per week with approval from the department manager.

Do you have experience in Unreal Engine?, Do you have a Master's degree?, * Strong background in scientific computing, with experience in C/C++ and Python preferred

• Proficiency in scripting languages for workflow automation
• Hands-on experience with HPC environments (job schedulers, cluster management, parallelisation)
• A strong background in fire modelling
• Experience implementing downscaling, upscaling, or bias-correction methodologies for environmental datasets
• Understanding of numerical methods, optimisation and simulation techniques
• Ability to translate research prototypes into maintainable, production-quality scientific software
• Experience working with cloud platforms, preferably Microsoft Azure for compute, data or workflow deployment
• Ability to design experiments, evaluate model performance, and communicate technical findings clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Familiarity with version control systems (Git preferred) and collaborative development workflows

In addition to the above, any of the following would be beneficial:

• Postgraduate degree (Master's or PhD) in Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, or related disciplines
• Pass Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS)

Pulled from the full job description

• Company pension
• Private medical insurance
• Cycle to work scheme
• Car scheme, * Private Medical Insurance
• Subsided gym membership / plans through Wellhub
• Electric Car scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Salary sacrificed pension scheme
• Free lunch on office days
• Enhanced Parental Leave
• 30 days annual PTO plus b/h
• Bonus Scheme
• Personal development opportunities

Metrea delivers effects-as-a-service to national security partners across five domains and more than a dozen mission areas. These include airborne ISR, electronic warfare, secure communications, aerial refuelling, special air missions, aerial firefighting, and advanced simulation. We own the whole stack: designing, building, and operating turnkey capabilities that give our partners decisive, asymmetric advantage against rapidly evolving threats. Our operating model is built around three interlocking pillars. The Support Groups provide a global shared-service - spanning people, finance, platform, operations, legal, and engagement. This frees up our Core Groups, who develop and own mission capabilities end-to-end, to focus entirely on delivery. The Market Groups apply a regional lens, ensuring that our agile and adaptable capabilities remain aligned to the wicked problems that matter most to our partners across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific. At the heart of our model is a simple but powerful idea: be a true partner with skin in the game. Our partners need effects, not just equipment. By owning the full stack - from the lab to the field - we are able to drive a continuous cycle of innovation that keeps our partners ahead. It's a fast-moving, intellectually demanding environment where talented people are given real responsibility, work on problems that matter, and contribute to an enterprise that is growing quickly and deliberately. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with facilities across the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as Continental Europe and Asia-Pacific.