Position Title: Lead Data Scientist
Reports to: CEO
Organization: Politech
Position Location: Full-Time Remote (even after COVID)
About Politech
Politech is the company behind Blocks, a SaaS web application for effective political advocacy. We help organizations manage and realize their policy goals by providing them with tools that assist them in tasks such as voter registration, grassroots organizing, and outreach. Our primary focus has been to assist progressive organizations that advocate on behalf of underserved communities. Our software platform has been a vital part of keeping such organizations successful and efficient.
Who We Are
We are deeply committed to public service and progressive social change. We are 100% minority owned and operated with a diverse team, inclusive of gender, ethnicity, and race.
Position Summary
Politech is looking for a Lead Data Scientist who will support our product, sales, leadership and marketing teams with insights gained from analyzing company data. The ideal candidate is adept at using large data sets to find opportunities for product and process optimization and using models to test the effectiveness of different courses of action. They must have strong experience using a variety of data mining/data analysis methods, using a variety of data tools, building and implementing models, using/creating algorithms and creating/running simulations. They must have a proven ability to drive business results with their data-based insights. They must be comfortable working with a wide range of stakeholders and functional teams. The right candidate will have a passion for discovering solutions hidden in large data sets and working with stakeholders to improve business outcomes.We favor collaboration over hierarchical decision making, and this position will work directly with other developers and reports directly to the CEO.
Our employees are from all over the country and bring varying levels of experience to the company. First and foremost, we value honesty from all employees. We strongly encourage a work environment centered on open communication and conscientiousness. Working remotely gives our employees the ability to better maintain a work-life balance, but we expect that productivity and job performance will not be sacrificed. We are a fully remote team so you will need to be flexible to work with staff in different time zones when requested.
The individual should be highly motivated to make a difference and to move progressive issues forward. Our employees’ opinions matter to us for the success of the company and we want you to bring creative solutions to make our work better for our clients. Interest and understanding of politics and campaigns is a plus, but not required.
Responsibilities
- Use strong business acumen, as well as an ability to communicate findings, and mine vast amounts of data for useful insights
- Use these insights to influence how an organization approaches business challenges
- Use a combined knowledge of computer science and applications, modelling, statistics, analytics and maths to solve problems
- Extract data from multiple sources
- Sift and analyze data from multiple angles, looking for trends that highlight problems or opportunities
- Communicate important information and insights to stakeholders
- Make recommendations to adapt existing business strategies
Minimum Qualifications
- Strong problem solving skills with an emphasis on product development.
- Experience using statistical computer languages (R, Python, SQL, etc.) to manipulate data and draw insights from large data sets.
- Experience working with and creating data architectures.
- Knowledge of a variety of machine learning techniques (clustering, decision tree learning, artificial neural networks, etc.) and their real-world advantages/drawbacks.
- Knowledge of advanced statistical techniques and concepts (regression, properties of distributions, statistical tests and proper usage, etc.) and experience with applications.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills for coordinating across teams.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience visualizing/presenting data for stakeholders using: Periscope, Business Objects, D3, ggplot, etc.
- Experience with ElasticSearch or equivalent
- Experience using web services: Redshift, S3, Spark, Linode, etc.
- Experience creating and using advanced machine learning algorithms and statistics: regression, simulation, scenario analysis, modeling, clustering, decision trees, neural networks, etc.
- Experience with the census datasets and mapping applications: ArcGIS, MapBox, etc.
- Contributions to open source
Compensation: Competitive salary commensurate with knowledge, experience, and qualifications.
Politech is an Equal Opportunity Employer that greatly values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
Apply
Include your GitHub account (or similar), resume, and cover letter. Write us something explaining who you are, what you do, why you want this job. We take our commitment to progressive social change seriously, and we expect you to be able to speak to yours in your cover letter. After an initial interview, you will be asked to provide a Elixir code sample or complete a code challenge in a relevant language.