Quick Facts:
More than
Full-time employees
Rated among the top
High-tech companies in Hawai‘i
Over
%
PDC staff recruited through internships
Careers and Culture
Fuel your passion for innovation and public service by working with a leading tech organization that routinely pushes the limits of lifesaving possibility. For 30 years, Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) has been a pioneer in the innovation of early warning technologies, exercise scenario design, advanced analytics, and risk reduction science and research. Headquartered in Hawai‘i, PDC is regarded as a global leader in risk reduction and resilience-enhancing tools—a reputation built on the dedication and expertise of our team from across disaster management, technology, academic, and scientific disciplines. The Center’s products and services support the most demanding government customers, international, regional, and nongovernmental organizations worldwide in reducing risk and building safer, more resilient communities. As an applied science and research center managed by the University of Hawai‘i, we are always experimenting with new technologies, including applications for artificial intelligence in hazard alerting, monitoring, and predictive risk analytics. Our products benefit public users, government, humanitarian, and private sector decision makers. To learn about job opportunities with PDC, visit the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai‘i site at www.rcuh.com or through our LinkedIn postings.
Internships
PDC provides mentored internship opportunities to self-motivated students who take pride in their work, have a passion for learning, and a commitment to problem-solving. Our internships allow individuals to apply learned skills and theory to real-world problems.
If you are interested in applying for an internship with PDC, please review the programs below to see if there is a good match. You should also examine the criteria for a direct internship before submitting your resume with the link below.
Programs Available
Akamai Workforce Initiative
Offered to college students in Hawaii. Applications accepted in November. Please check the site for details.
https://akamaihawaii.org/interning/
University of Hawai‘i Student Employment & Cooperative Education (SECE)
Available only to college students within the UH system. PDC posts internship position descriptions to this site.
https://sece.its.hawaii.edu/sece/login
CareerLink – UH Maui College Cooperative (Co-Op) Education program
Available only to UH-MC students. Please check the site for details.
http://maui.hawaii.edu/careerlink/
Ke Alahele Program
Offered through Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) internship program
http://www.medb.org/programs/education-to-workforce/ke-alahele-education-fund/
Direct Internships
Direct internships with PDC are also available on an as-needed basis. Please inquire per the guidelines below.
Internship Criteria
- All internships are based on the island of Maui in Hawaii. PDC does not support internships outside of Maui.
- All internship programs are paid internships. However, we do not offer relocation or housing support.
- Technical internships are for summer undergraduate and graduate students. Communications internships are offered year-round.
- U.S. Citizenship is not required, however:
- Candidates MUST have permission to work in the U.S. for the duration of internship; and
- PDC does NOT sponsor visas for international students.
- Long-term internships (for graduate students) may be as long as 6 months. Candidates must submit a resume as part of the submission. Areas of interest for internship may also be submitted.
- For PDC’s direct internship program, the applicant must submit a resume. Area(s) of interest for internship may also be submitted. Internship is contingent upon need and availability.
Skills We Need
Over the years, interns have made valuable contributions to PDC projects and activities with such skills as:
Computer or GIS skills and literacy
- Computer programming (C++, Java, Jscript, …)
- Scripting (PHP, Python, Shell, …)
- Web/App development (HTML, CSS, JSON, …)
- AI experience and/or interest
- GIS (data processing, visualization, …)
- Imagery and/or Image analysis
- Physical sciences and/or modeling
- Data analysis and/or statistics
Communications or design skills and literacy
- Public relations, communications, content development experience
- Web UX / UI design principles
- Graphic design using latest Adobe products
- Video editing
- Marketing copy development
- Social media content management
Follow Us
Continuing Promise 2025: PDC supports U.S. Navy USNS Comfort mission stop in Ecuador
Mission to Ecuador encompasses various activities, from direct medical and dental care provided aboard the USNS Comfort and at community clinics, veterinary engagements, to community relations and engineering projects, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercises, subject matter expert exchanges (SMEE), and more.
Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) joined the mission from 14-17 July, 2025, at the request of U.S. SOUTHCOM and the United States Embassy in Quito, providing subject-matter expertise and training on the Center’s advanced situational awareness technologies and risk analytics developed through an ongoing partnership with Ecuador’s national disaster management organization, the National Secretariat for Risk Management (SNGR).
Learn more at www.pdc.org/news
#SaferWorld #EarlyWarningforAll #NDPBA #Ecuador #LatinAmerica #Caribbean #CP25 #ContinuingPromise #usnavy #usnavysouth4thflt
U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)
U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command & U.S. 4th Fleet
Riesgos Ecuador
www.pdc.org
Mission to Ecuador encompasses various activities, from direct medical and dental care provided aboard the USNS Comfort and at community clinics, veterinary engagements, to community relations and eng...
A tropical disturbance is anticipated to move westward along the U.S. Gulf Coast. While chances for tropical cyclone development remain low (10%), locally heavy rainfall is possible along portions of the coast through the weekend.
Stay alert for localized flooding and monitor DisasterAWARE for Flood Warnings, as well as other hazards threatening your area!
- Download the free Disaster Alert app, available on Google Play and the iOS App Store (Search "Disaster Alert" in the app stores)
- Are you a Disaster Manager? Access DisasterAWARE Pro!
Learn more at pdc.org/DisasterAWARE
#EarlyWarningForAll #SaferWorld #cyclone #hurricane #storm #flood #warning #hazard #alert #DisasterAlert #DisasterAWARE #Lousiana #Texas #Mississippi #Alabama #Florida #gulfcoast #weather
The Philippines has been hit by a series of tropical weather systems this month, intensifying the Southwest Monsoon and bringing widespread flooding. Now, Tropical Storm Eleven (known locally as “Emong”) is expected to make landfall over Northern Luzon within the next 24-48 hours, bringing damaging winds and heavy rains that could trigger additional floods and landslides.
The first screenshot highlights PDC’s latest Event Brief, which estimates that approximately 1.64 Million people (397,000 households) may be exposed to damaging winds along the forecast path. Event Briefs are automatically updated with each new advisory, providing actionable information to support rapid response and informed decision-making.
The second screenshot displays the Precipitation Forecast layer in DisasterAWARE, highlighting the potential accumulated rainfall amounts across the area for the next 10 days.
Monitor DisasterAWARE for updates and alerts!
- Download the free Disaster Alert app, available on Google Play and the iOS App Store (Search "Disaster Alert" in the app stores)
- Are you a Disaster Manager? Access DisasterAWARE Pro!
Learn more at pdc.org/DisasterAWARE
#SaferWorld #EarlyWarningforALl #Philippines #Luzon #Emong #Cyclone #Weather #Flood #Storm #DisasterAWARE #DisasterAlert
Civil Defense PH
NDRRMC
DOST-PAGASA
AHA CENTRE
A dangerous heat wave is intensifying across the eastern two-thirds of the U.S., with temperatures soaring into the upper 90s and low 100s, and heat indices potentially reaching as high as 115°F in some areas.
The Temperature layer in DisasterAWARE can be animated to display the latest temperature forecast for the coming days. Keep in mind: heat index values—how hot it really feels—often feel significantly hotter than the recorded temperatures.
- Download the free Disaster Alert app, available on Google Play and the iOS App Store (Search "Disaster Alert" in the app stores)
- Are you a Disaster Manager? Access DisasterAWARE Pro!
Learn more at pdc.org/DisasterAWARE
#SaferWorld #EarlyWarningforAll #ExtremeHeat #DisasterAWARE #disasteralert
Evacuation orders remain in effect for the Orleans Complex — which includes the Butler and Red Fires — burning in Northern California’s Del Norte and Siskiyou counties. To date, the fires have scorched over 17,200 acres and are only 6% contained.
The DisasterAWARE screenshot shows current evacuation zones, as well as satellite-detected fire hotspots observed within the past 24 hours. Access additional, critical layers such as wind speed and direction, fire perimeters, terrain, air quality, and more!
>>> Download the free Disaster Alert app, available on Google Play and the iOS App Store (Search "Disaster Alert" in the app stores)
>>> Are you a Disaster Manager? Access DisasterAWARE Pro at DisasterAWARE.pdc.org
PDC’s innovative and proprietary wildfire hazard model leverages NASA satellite observational data to detect large-scale, intense fires as they unfold across the U.S. and worldwide. Through DisasterAWARE, wildfire alerts (Smart Alerts) are issued upon detection and include additional insights through PDC's automated Event Brief, which provides advanced analytics on population and infrastructure exposure as well as estimated humanitarian needs.
>>> Learn more about PDC’s global wildfire detection and alerting capabilities here: pdc.org/wildfires
#EarlyWarningforAll #SaferWorld #DisaterAWARE #DisasterAlert #Wildfires #Fire #Fires #California #OrleansComplex
CAL FIRE
Sending a big mahalo (thank you) to our colleagues at the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Antananarivo, Madagascar! We valued the opportunity to highlight our ongoing efforts and collaboration to support maritime safety and security across the western Indian Ocean and look forward to strengthening this relationship alongside our established work with the Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC) in the Seychelles. Well done, RMIFC!
#SaferWorld #EarlyWarningforAll #RMIFC #RCOC #MaritimeSecurity #IndianOcean
Regional Maritime Information Fusion Center
Rcoc Seychelles
Commission de l'océan Indien - Indian Ocean Commission
A tropical disturbance (Invest 93L) is moving along the Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rain and flash flood risks across parts of the north-central Gulf Coast through Saturday - Rainfall totals of up to 15 inches will be possible in some spots. Chance of cyclone formation is low (30 percent).
Stay alert for localized flooding and monitor DisasterAWARE for Flood Warnings, as well as other hazards threatening your area!
- Download the free Disaster Alert app, available on Google Play and the iOS App Store (Search "Disaster Alert" in the app stores)
- Are you a Disaster Manager? Access DisasterAWARE Pro!
Learn more at pdc.org/DisasterAWARE
#EarlyWarningForAll #SaferWorld #Hurricane #Storm #Flood #Warning #Hazard #alert #DisasterAlert #DisasterAWARE #Lousiana #Texas #Mississippi #Alabama #Florida #gulfcoast #weather
We are proud to have supported Madagascar in the completion of its National Disaster Preparedness Baseline Assessment—a significant risk reduction milestone! Learn more about the project and how it will be put into action to save lives, reduce losses, and build long-term resilience: www.pdc.org/madagascar
#EarlyWarningForAll #ndpba #SaferWorld #Madagascar
BNGRC
U.S. Embassy Madagascar
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)
www.pdc.org
Multi-sectoral stakeholders from across Madagascar gather for the final workshop of the country's National Disaster Preparedness Baseline Assessment.
We congratulate Madagascar for a significant achievement in its disaster risk reduction efforts with its completion of the National Disaster Preparedness Baseline Assessment!
Our aloha extends to the entire team of dedicated professionals in Malagasy's disaster management and humanitarian assistance community, especially the Bureau National de Gestion des Risques et des Catastrophes (BNGRC) with whom we worked for over a year on this collaborative project.
Learn more about the assessment and how it will be put into action to save lives and build disaster resilience here:
www.pdc.org/news.
#EarlyWarningForAll #ndpba #SaferWorld #Madagascar
BNGRC
U.S. Embassy Madagascar
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)
A major, M7.3 earthquake has occurred at 87 km S of Sand Point, Alaska, with potential tsunami impacts to the Alaskan Peninsula.
A tsunami Warning is in effect for South Alaska and the Alaskan Peninsula.
PDC's estimated tsunami travel time and impacts are provided below.
#Alaska #earthquake #Tsunami #disasteraware #EarlyWarningForAll
Sending aloha to our longtime partners at the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre)! PDC recently conducted two days of technical training, working sessions, and strategic planning at the ASEAN AHA Centre headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The sessions focused on how advanced risk information and projected hazard impacts, especially those related to extreme events and cascading risks, are reshaping disaster patterns across ASEAN Member States. These risks pose increasing challenges to regional security, livelihoods, food and water systems, and critical infrastructure. PDC demonstrated how new AI capabilities, enhanced data holdings, and customized analysis can improve multi-hazard early warning, hazard monitoring, and risk assessments to support national planning and regional operations.
During the training exchange, the AHA Centre highlighted how risk information from PDC’s custom version of DisasterAWARE—Disaster Monitoring and Response System (DMRS)—is supporting informed decision-making, operational planning, and exercise planning.
>>> Learn more about DisasterAWARE and our custom versions at pdc.org/DisasterAWARE
#SaferWorld #EarlyWarningforAll #ASEAN #AHACentre #OneASEANOneResponse #DisasterAWARE #DMRS
AHA CENTRE
Mahalo (thank you) to our partners at the Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC) in Seychelles for hosting PDC this week!
PDC values the opportunity to introduce RCOC watchstanders to key capabilities within the maritime operating environment and to deliver DisasterAWARE Pro training. This joint engagement coincides with the Western Indian Ocean Pollution Exercise (WIPOLEX 25), July 7-11, focused on a simulated maritime hazard event impacting shipping and the waters off the coast of East Africa.
This exchange emphasizes how DisasterAWARE enhances situational awareness, supports operational planning, and enables effective response and humanitarian assistance across the maritime domain. >>> Learn more at pdc.org/DisasterAWARE
From Hawaii to our partners across the globe, PDC remains committed to strengthening regional preparedness and building a #SaferWorld.
#EarlyWarningforAll #DisasterAWARE #WIPOLEX25 #MaritimeSecurity #Seychelles
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)
Rcoc Seychelles
Ministry of Internal Affairs Republic of Seychelles
U.S. Embassy Mauritius