Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Awards
Publications
Timeline
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Helin Wei

CLARKSVILLE,Maryland

Summary

Experienced data scientist and atmospheric modeling expert with over 30 years supporting NOAA, NASA, and DOE missions. Adept at solving complex problems using large-scale structured and unstructured datasets and statistical methods. Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, apply scientific computing and programming to operational systems, and communicate insights to diverse stakeholders. Passionate about leveraging data science, experimentation, and machine learning to drive business value and inform decision-making in high-impact environments. Skilled in defining robust metrics, designing and evaluating experiments, and translating analytical findings into actionable product strategies. Demonstrated experience in project delivery, consulting, and engaging diverse audiences across technical and non-technical domains.

Overview

30
30
years of professional experience

Work History

Land Surface Team Lead (Federal)

NOAA/NWS Environmental Modeling Center (EMC)
07.2024 - 01.2025
  • - Led model diagnostics and performance tracking for land surface schemes; optimized processes to reduce forecast biases.
  • - Developed scalable tools to support structured metric monitoring, surface flux diagnostics, and model evaluation.
  • - Defined success metrics and led iterative experimentation to assess and improve model performance.
  • - Partnered with engineers, program managers, and scientific teams to ensure actionable outcomes from data-driven insights.
  • - Provided customer-facing technical briefings, internal consulting, and cross-agency coordination.

Contracting Support Scientist

SAIC, IMSG, Lynker
01.2002 - 07.2024
  • - Built and maintained data pipelines for the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) used in real-time operations.
  • - Collaborated with engineering, science, and product teams to define metrics and analyze experiment results across coupled models.
  • - Designed and evaluated experiments to monitor uncertainty and support decision-making across forecasting systems.
  • - Applied statistical methods and machine learning concepts to land-atmosphere process modeling, bias analysis, and model verification.
  • - Developed and communicated clear, compelling insights that informed model improvements and product strategy.
  • - Delivered scientific consulting support to NOAA and interagency partners.

Research Associate

The Ohio State University & Iowa State University
01.1995 - 01.2002
  • - Designed and ran environmental model experiments to analyze Arctic climate systems and snow dynamics.
  • - Partnered with NASA and DOE on applied data analysis and satellite-based predictive modeling.

Education

Ph.D. - Atmospheric Sciences

Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
01.1997

B.Sc. - Synoptic Meteorology

Nanjing University
01.1989

Skills

  • - Programming: Python, SQL, Fortran, C, C, MATLAB, Shell scripting
  • - Data Science: Experimental design, A/B testing, regression, time series, data wrangling, metrics analysis
  • - Tools & Platforms: Jupyter, GitHub, GrADS, Matplotlib, Excel, Linux, Git
  • - Data Handling: Expert in processing large-scale structured and unstructured datasets in GRIB and NetCDF formats
  • - Cloud & HPC Computing: Scientific workflows in distributed and high-performance computing environments
  • - Applied Modeling: Earth system modeling (UFS, GFS, CFS, Noah-MP), operational forecasting, and predictive analytics

Awards

- NCEP/EMC Outstanding Performance Award, 2005, - START Young Scientist Award, 1999

Publications

  • - Zheng et al., 2017: Improving the Stable Surface Layer in the NCEP Global Forecast System, MWR
  • - Xia et al., 2016: Basin-scale assessment of the land surface energy budget in NLDAS-2, JGR Atmospheres
  • - Wei et al., 2012: Improvement of the Noah LSM for Warm Season Processes, Hydrological Processes

Timeline

Land Surface Team Lead (Federal)

NOAA/NWS Environmental Modeling Center (EMC)
07.2024 - 01.2025

Contracting Support Scientist

SAIC, IMSG, Lynker
01.2002 - 07.2024

Research Associate

The Ohio State University & Iowa State University
01.1995 - 01.2002

B.Sc. - Synoptic Meteorology

Nanjing University

Ph.D. - Atmospheric Sciences

Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Helin Wei