Senior Environmental Data Scientist/Hydrologist

Focus Resourcing; Oxford; Hybrid; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading environmental consultancy in Oxford is looking for an Environmental Data Scientist or Hydrologist to join their team. In this role, you will develop hydrological methods, contribute to established tools, and enhance models using machine learning. Strong programming skills in Python and experience in hydrology or related fields are necessary. The company offers over 40 days of holiday, profit-sharing, flexible working arrangements, and professional development support, creating an excellent environment for innovation and growth.

Benefits

40+ days holiday

Profit-share and tax-free bonuses

Matched pension contributions

Health plan

Flexible working arrangements

Qualifications

• Strong programming skills in Python and/or R.
• Confidence working with spatial/temporal datasets.
• Demonstrable experience in hydrology or water-related environmental science.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage hydrological methods for Qube.
• Contribute to ReFH2 and WINFAP5 development.
• Explore and implement machine learning enhancements to hydrological models.
• Support scientific research and integrate findings into commercial software.

Skills

Programming skills in Python

Machine learning model development

Experience with spatial/temporal datasets

Excellent communication skills

Experience in hydrology or environmental science

Education

Good degree (2:1+) in Hydrology, Environmental Science, Civil Engineering

Job description

Location: Wallingford, UK (Remote considered)
Hours: Full-time (part-time considered)
Closing Date: 9 January 2026

Shape the future of hydrology and climate resilience. Our client is offering an exciting opportunity for an ambitious, collaborative Environmental Data Scientist or Hydrologist to join our clients growing software development team in Wallingford. If you want to innovate, solve real-world water challenges, and influence national environmental tools, we'd love to hear from you. In this role you will play a key role in developing our hydrological methods, modelling tools, and national design-standard software. Working at the intersection of hydrology, data science, and software development, you'll contribute to new methodologies, develop machine learning approaches, and support the scientific foundations of our products.

You’ll help advance the science powering products such as:

• Qube - our clients online water resources modelling platform, incorporating the CERF rainfall-runoff model.
• FEH Flood Modelling Suite - ReFH2 and WINFAP5, the UK's trusted flood estimation tools.

Your role:

• Develop and manage hydrological methods for Qube.
• Contribute to ReFH2 and WINFAP5 development.
• Explore and implement machine learning enhancements to hydrological models.
• Support scientific research and integrate findings into commercial software.
• Work closely with regulators and users to ensure compliance, quality, and usability.

Required Skills & Experience

• A good degree (2:1+) in a numerate discipline (Hydrology, Environmental Science, Civil Engineering, etc.).
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or R.
• Experience developing machine learning models for environmental or complex datasets.
• Confidence working with spatial/temporal datasets (NetCDF, ASCII, etc.).
• Excellent communication skills for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrable experience in hydrology or water-related environmental science.
• A relevant postgraduate qualification is welcome but not essential.

What you can expect in year one:

• Build deep expertise in Qube, CERF, and the FEH flood modelling suite.
• Develop Python modules and apply ML methods to hydrological problems.
• Become familiar with UK water environment regulatory frameworks.
• Collaborate with leading UKCEH scientists and liaise with UK regulators.
• Produce high-quality technical reports.
• Begin your journey toward professional chartership (e.g., CIWEM).

Following your first year, opportunities include:

• Influencing the strategic development of our software products.
• Leading R&D projects as a Project Manager.
• Helping develop client proposals.
• Contributing to our strategic marketing and product development plans.

Benefits & Culture

Our client is an employee-owned trust, who invests in their people and their wellbeing.

• 40+ days holiday (with buy/sell options).
• Profit-share and tax-free bonuses through employee ownership.
• Matched pension contributions (5-10%).
• Health plan, Cycle to Work, Environment Day.
• 5 days training per year, plus support towards chartership.
• Flexible working arrangements.
• Financial support for professional memberships
• Formal appraisal and personal development planning
• Flexible working hours
• High-quality IT infrastructure & personal computing budget
• Fun annual staff events (axe throwing, escape rooms, and more)