Senior Data Scientist

Code for America believes government can work for the people, by the people, in the new digital age, and that government at all levels can and should work well for all people. For more than a decade, we’ve worked to show that with the mindful use of technology, we can break down barriers, meet community needs, and find real solutions.

Our employees build and transform government and community tools and services, making them so good they inspire change. We merge the best parts of technology, nonprofit, and government to help support the people who need it most.

With a focus on transparency and fairness, and deep empathy for partners in government and community organizations and the people that our partners serve, we’re building a movement of motivated change agents driven by meaningful results and lasting impact.

At Code for America, you contribute to exciting work while learning and developing in a supportive and flexible environment. Our compensation and benefits are holistic and thoughtfully curated to represent our employees and our mission. Help us drive real generational change that lasts.

Code for America is looking for a talented Senior Data Scientist who will uncover user needs through data and analysis, inform our product development decisions, measure program and intervention effectiveness, and clearly communicate insights to cross-functional teams that drive continuous service improvement. They will also contribute to team culture and help advance data science best practices.

Code for America’s data scientists use a wide range of statistical and analytical methods to improve user experiences and outcomes across the tax, criminal justice, and safety net services that Code for America delivers.  

As a Senior Data Scientist, you will contribute to complex, high-impact projects from end to end - applying rigorous data analysis, developing predictive models, and collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to drive data-informed decisions. You’ll work alongside qualitative researchers, designers, software engineers, product managers, program managers, and client success staff, ensuring that insights translate into actionable improvements. You will play an important part in shaping how we use data to design equitable, effective government services that meet people where they are.

Data Scientists at Code for America are an integral component of all of our program areas and as a Senior Data Scientist, you will work in one of the following programs:

• Criminal Justice, which focuses on Automatic Record Clearance,
• Tax Benefits, which focuses on free trustworthy tax services and simplified tax filing,
• Social Safety Net, which includes food benefits, integrated benefits applications, and training & capacity building.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in data science and analytics, and experience driving projects independently in cross-functional, mission-driven environments.

The Senior Data Scientist will report to a Data Science Manager, and there may be up to 10% of travel for this role.

Hands-on Data Science Work

• Conduct descriptive data analysis using case, survey, and event data to identify and size problems 
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to identify potential improvements
• Develop and implement key metrics to measure the effectiveness and impact of our products and services
• When appropriate, apply AI/ML techniques in collaboration with cross-functional teams to improve the delivery of products and services
• Create and maintain dashboards and visualizations to communicate key insights to stakeholders

Project Management & Documentation

• Break down, estimate, and prioritize tasks with a good architectural/systems perspective 
• Reliably own and deliver on medium to large size projects
• Create and maintain technical documentation for data science projects and models
• Communicate project status, risks, and outcomes to technical and non-technical stakeholders

Team Collaboration

• Contribute to a positive and collaborative team culture
• Contribute to the development of data science best practices and standards

Other duties as assigned

This position is a perfect fit for a highly analytical, collaborative data scientist who is passionate about using data to drive social impact and is comfortable leading complex projects independently while working closely with cross-functional teams.

• At least 4 years experience as a data scientist or equivalent
• Expert in Python or R
• Expert in SQL
• Knowledge of dbt for data transformation and modeling within data warehouses
• Experience with Metabase or similar business intelligence tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Looker) for creating dashboards and reports for key non-technical stakeholders
• Experience with machine learning frameworks and libraries such as PyTorch, scikit-learn, Tensor Flow, etc.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly communicate findings to both technical and general audiences
• Excellent collaboration skills, with a demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional relationships, respond to external stakeholder needs, and facilitate effective decision-making conversations.
• Proven ability to work through ambiguous problems, breaking them down into their component steps

• Personal experience with the social safety net, or other mission-relevant government services
• Experience with large language models and fine-tuning pre-trained models
• Knowledge of prompt engineering and working with APIs of large-scale generative AI models, such as the GPT, Gemini, Claude, or Llama model families
• Experience with Google Analytics, Google Ads, or other marketing tools
• Experience with government data

Salary: 

Code for America’s salary bands are transparent as a part of our commitment to transparency and fairness. As part of our hiring practices, we aim to target the midpoint of the 2nd quartile of the range for all new hires.

Offer targets vary based on market / geographic location. The offer targets for this role range from $111,648 to $136,675, annually.

Benefits and Perks: 

Values:

• Leadership and teammates who share a strong work ethic and values, and who respect and care for one another
• A collaborative, cross-functional, hardworking, and joyful environment

Employee Enablement Support: 

• Laptop provided
• $700 remote environment setup; $200 stipend and up to $500 reimbursement, in accordance with our equipment policy
• Cell phone and/or internet reimbursement of $50 per month 

Professional Development:

• $1000 annual (per calendar year) stipend towards professional development; prorated at time of hire
• Up to $1000 of professional development funds can be rolled over each year, up to a maximum of $2000

Retirement & 401k Plans:

• Employees under 3 years are eligible for a 100% employer match of up to 3% of employee contribution
• Employees with 3+ years are eligible for an additional 50% employer contribution over 3%, to a maximum of 5%

Medical:

• Full benefits package with options up to 100% coverage toward select medical, dental, and vision plans
• Employer contributes up to 80% of the cost towards dependent and family coverage

Remote Work:

• Code for America employees may work remotely across the US
• Code for America employees main residence must be within the US
• Full-time employees work 40 hours per week, Monday - Friday
• Collaborative working hours: we aim to hold all internal meetings between 10 AM - 3 PM PT. We expect all Code for America staff to be available during these set working hours

Time Off: 

• Open personal time off, a minimum of 16 paid holidays, and an org-wide closure from Christmas Day through New Year's Day
• Paid sick time; up to 96 hours annually
• Competitive paid parental and family leave
• 4 weeks of paid sabbatical after 4 years of service, with an option of up to 4 additional weeks of unpaid time away

Code for America is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.

This position is covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement between Code for America and Code for America Workers United, affiliated with OPEIU, Local 1010. The agreement was ratified on October 27, 2023, and is currently in effect.

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