<div class="show-more-less-html__markup show-more-less-html__markup--clamp-after-5 relative overflow-hidden"> <p><strong>About the Role</strong></p><br/><p>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.</p><br/>Tasks<br/><p><strong>What You'll Do</strong></p><br/><p>**<br/><br/>Build the first flash flood ML model**</p><br/><ul><br/><li>Define and build the first version of the flash flood ML model, using sensor data we deploy ourselves and public data sources.</li><br/><li>You implement models, manage big data sets and monitor performance.</li><br/><li>You work with software engineer(s) to embed models into a scalable piece of software.</li><br/><li>You are the architect and choose the models, the sensors, and the architecture as we go.</li><br/></ul><br/><p><strong>Translate Business and Customer Needs into a Technical Roadmap</strong></p><br/><ul><br/><li>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.</li><br/><li>You keep track of new developments in nowcasting and flood forecasting tools and techniques and own an ambitious technical vision.</li><br/><li>You find the balance between scalable and pragmatic solutions, serving customers from day 1 while working towards a long term strategy.</li><br/></ul><br/><p><strong>Represent the team on all fronts</strong></p><br/><ul><br/><li>You're comfortable doing a sensor install on a Tuesday and a customer pitch on a Wednesday.</li><br/><li>You are supportive within the team, while standing up for what you believe is best for the customer or company strategy.</li><br/><li>You are an opinionated contributor to key strategic decisions in the company.</li><br/></ul><br/><p><strong>Create Clarity and Momentum</strong></p><br/><ul><br/><li>Bring structure to ambiguous problems and drive them to execution</li><br/><li>Make decisions and move forward without waiting for perfect information</li><br/></ul><br/>Requirements<br/><p><strong>Who You Are</strong></p><br/><ul><br/><li>You're excited to solve flash flooding at the local scale</li><br/><li>You want to build a company and you're hungry to act like a founder from day one</li><br/><li>You want to have skin in the game</li><br/><li>You enjoy being a hands-on</li><br/><li>Can take messy inputs and turn them into clear technical direction</li><br/><li>Can move fast, but with enough structure to avoid future pain</li><br/><li>Care deeply about building something that actually works in the real world</li><br/><li>An excellent communicator, with strong written and verbal skills</li><br/></ul><br/><p><strong>Technical Requirements</strong></p><br/><ul><br/><li>Strong experience applying ML tools (e.g. LSTM) to hydrological problems (e.g. flooding)</li><br/><li>Experience in bias correction of weather radar</li><br/><li>MSc or PhD in hydrology, water resources management, atmospheric sciences, or equivalent</li><br/><li>Experience working with real-world data systems (gauges, GIS, satellite imagery, etc.)</li><br/></ul><br/><p><strong>Nice to Have</strong></p><br/><ul><br/><li>Previous founder or early startup experience</li><br/></ul><br/>Benefits<br/><p><strong>Role Details</strong></p><br/><ul><br/><li><strong>Commitment:</strong> 100% FTE.</li><br/><li><strong>Compensation:</strong> Commensurate with experience + equity</li><br/><li><strong>Growth:</strong> this is a key early hire with the opportunity to build and lead Riverkin’s flash-flood modelling function.</li><br/><li><strong>Location:</strong> 4 days per week in Zurich office</li><br/></ul><br/><p><strong>About Riverkin</strong></p><br/><p>We are a well-capitalized 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 Swiss startup working across hydrology, hardware, field engineering, software and market development.</p> </div>