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 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.