Research Associate -AfriClimate AI

Hybrid . Full time

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Description

The Research Associate will support AfriClimate AI’s applied research portfolio by contributing to the development, fine-tuning, and validation of AI-driven climate and weather modelling tools. Working closely with the research team, the successful candidate will play a hands-on role in data preparation, model development and evaluation, ensuring that research outputs are robust, open and relevant for African contexts.

Research & Development

• Assist in designing, implementing, and testing AI-based climate and weather forecasting methodologies.
• Preprocess and manage large geospatial datasets (e.g., observational data, satellite products, reanalysis datasets).
• Support the development of benchmarking frameworks for model evaluation, including skill scores, bias correction and uncertainty quantification.
• Contribute to the setup and maintenance of MLOps pipelines for training, deployment and monitoring of AI models.
• Collaborate with team members on documentation, and reproducibility of workflows.

Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing

• Work with meteorological agencies, universities and international partners on joint research tasks.
• Contribute to open-source datasets, code repositories and technical documentation.
• Support the preparation of research outputs, including peer-reviewed articles, technical reports, and policy briefs.
• Present results in internal and external meetings (workshops and conferences).

Requirements

Essential Qualifications & Experience

• Master’s degree in Climate Science, Meteorology, Machine Learning or a related field.
• Proficiency in Python.
• Experience working with geospatial and gridded datasets (e.g., ERA5, CHIRPS, CMIP, satellite-based products).
• Knowledge of machine learning methods applied to climate or weather problems.
• Familiarity with standard model evaluation metrics and statistical analysis.
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in distributed teams.
• Ability to communication technical work clearly.
  

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Previous research experience on African climate datasets  and/or data-sparse contexts.
• Hands-on experience with deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow).
• Exposure to MLOps tools (e.g., MLflow, Docker, Kubernetes, Airflow).
• Familiarity with cloud computing (AWS, GCP, Azure) or HPC workflows.
• Knowledge of numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems, downscaling, or data assimilation.
• Experience contributing to open-source projects or collaborative codebases.

Benefits

AfriClimate AI is a grassroots research organisation advancing climate resilience in Africa through open, community-driven AI research. We focus on developing region-specific datasets, tools, and methodologies to bridge the gap between global models and local needs, supporting equitable and actionable climate solutions across the continent.

• Mission-driven impact: Contribute to climate resilience and equity across Africa through open, locally grounded research.
• Flexible, remote-first work: Collaborate with an international network while working from anywhere in Africa.
• Open science ethos: Work in a fully open-source, community-driven environment that values transparency, reproducibility, and shared ownership.
• Professional growth: Access mentorship, attend leading conferences, and shape the future of climate AI research in the Global South.
• Collaborative culture: Join a multidisciplinary, values-aligned team working at the intersection of science, technology, and social impact.
• Travel opportunities: Participate in key events, workshops, and field collaborations across Africa and beyond.
• Competitive compensation: Receive a salary package that reflects your expertise, with flexibility for different levels of experience and location.