Job Title: Lead Data Scientist
Department: Data, Analytics and Infrastructure Resource
Job Grade: II (Starts at $96,323.05)
Reports To: Deputy Director
Location: Washington, DC
Overview of responsibilities
Are you the kind of person who sees order in the seemingly random events in world? Do you stress the small stuff and seek answers to difficult questions? Does data and science motivate you? Are you up for a challenge? If so, you may be the data scientist we are looking for.
There are vast amounts of hidden insights to be found in the AFL-CIO’s data and you will be responsible for discovering them. You should have solid experience using applied statistics and programming to answer tricky problems at scale. You should be passionate about new technologies and ways of solving problems and determining how to apply them to your work. We are also looking for someone who has a commitment to teach and strengthen the skills of our team. We welcome diverse perspectives and experiences and we encourage you to showcase your style of thinking in your work.
The Data, Analytics & Infrastructure Resource’s goal is to generate lasting power for the labor movement, by building the Federation’s programmatic tools, web development, data systems, and analytics capacity. This team serves a broad range of clients across the labor movement – from other AFL-CIO departments, to AFL-CIO affiliates, to state and local labor bodies. Through investment in central infrastructure, training, and direct service work, the department aims to empower its partners to run stronger and more cost effective political and legislative mobilization, digital, and organizing campaigns.
Description of duties
As the lead data scientist at the AFL-CIO, you will:
- Build, test, and deploy data science solutions at scale for the AFL-CIO under tight timelines (we have to ship before Election Day).
- Imagine and build the data science tools and products we need to run a strong program.
- Collaborate with other analysts and data engineers on data science projects, particularly in automating solutions.
- Mentor analysts, data engineers, and others in the department. You are the data science expert and will build up the rest of the teams skills and capacity.
- Own our data acquisition process and suggest and implement positive changes.
- Produce ad hoc analysis of disparate data sets – you will often be asked to find order in chaotic data and communicate meaningful results to non-technical people.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
You should have a good mix of the following (but we encourage interested people to apply even if you don’t check every box):
- Undergraduate degree in a technical field (like computer science, statistics, applied math, etc) or an equivalent mix of academic and/or real world experience.
- At least 3 years of meaningful work or academic experience in data science.
- Analytical creativity and problem solving skills using data science techniques.
- Deep understanding of statistical programming using a common data science language and toolkit (like R, python, Stata or another language) and experience in predictive modeling and machine learning.
- Understanding of data visualization techniques and dashboarding (using tools like D3, Shiny, Periscope, or Tableau).
- Experience with manipulating large data sets in a SQL database (we use Vertica and Redshift).
- Experience with data wrangling, missing data imputation, standardizing messy data from different sources, and ETL processes.
- Interest in the labor movement or progressive causes, such as political campaigns, public interest groups, or government.
- Ability to work extended or irregular hours.