Who we are:

The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. For more information, visit vera.org.

Vera has a staff of 224 people, is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York and has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and New Orleans. We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity in the workplace. We expect our staff to embody respect, independence, collaboration, commitment, anti-racism, and equity—both in our outward-facing work and the internal culture of our workplace. We value a range of experiences in people’s educational backgrounds and encourage people who have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system to apply.

About the role:

Vera’s central data science unit is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to help us bolster the organization’s efforts to scale its use of data as part of its research strategy. As the Senior Data Scientist, you will lead technical and analytical projects that employ novel uses of public and administrative datasets to advance knowledge production on the criminal legal and immigration systems. The successful candidate will work closely with a data engineer and the Associate Director of Data Science & Analytics to redesign and build upon existing data collection and analysis developed at Vera. Additionally, you will work in partnership with Vera’s social science researchers to build new approaches to effectively use data science technologies in context. This role is an opportunity to contribute your data science expertise to interdisciplinary work that cuts across a diverse set of initiatives focused on inequities in the criminal legal and immigration systems.

At Vera, we are attentive to the potential benefits and negative consequences of the use of technology in the criminal legal system, including by researchers and advocates. Under the leadership of Vera’s Associate Director of Data Science & Analytics, we are developing “public interest data science” approaches by prioritizing projects that constructively overcome the many challenges present in public and administrative datasets that hold key systemic information on the way our justice and public support systems function. We complement this work with a critical perspective on the current and potential ways data science, predictive algorithms, and AI can be used to exacerbate harm. The Senior Data Scientist role is an opportunity to hone project leadership and subject expertise skills while building and implementing this vision for data science as a tool to dismantle mass incarceration and further racial equity.

About you:

You are a data scientist with leadership experience in the end-to-end process of scoping, executing, and communicating data science products to a variety of audiences. You have a developed point of view on how large-scale data projects can expose issues that contribute to the systemic inequities of the criminal legal system and have the technical chops to overcome messy, divergent datasets and bring your ideas to life. You enjoy collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches to data analysis and prioritize creating workable solutions in context over building the latest cutting-edge black box machine learning models. 

What you'll do:

Data science project design and leadership  

  • Scope project-level end-to-end analysis processes and lead data science practice standards in collaboration with other senior data science staff 
  • Scope project requirements for technical development, data analysis, and data management with Associate Director
  • Steer project-wide adoption of analytical and coding process standards where applicable (e.g. style guides, pull request templates, etc.) in coordination with Associate Director of Data Science and other senior data science staff at Vera 
  • Lead project peer code review processes 
  • Lead centralization of relevant public datasets and facilitate access for researchers across the organization. This will include becoming both the technical and analytical expert on production datasets, working closely with Vera’s tech support and mentoring/supporting research staff on data use context and best practices.

 Project implementation  

  • Lead data science workflow, analysis, and visualization 
  • Lead development of analysis-end ETL processes to maintain and optimize large-scale data collection in close collaboration with the internal data engineer and research staff. This entails building an optimal data architecture for end products in research, data analysis, and visualization using messy source datasets (e.g. large public federal datasets, scraped data, administrative data not originally collected for analysis purposes, etc.) 
  • Lead analysis of data using data science techniques and methodologies in support of research and product goals 
  • Work collaboratively with web and visualization staff to create data products for public release 

Research and knowledge building  

  • Collaborate with social science researchers to advance knowledge on the impacts of the criminal legal and immigration systems
  • Collaborate closely with research staff on social science research questions and priorities to guide goals in data analysis and data product development 
  • Lead development of innovative uses of data science and develop new data science projects collaboratively with Vera researchers, either as an end product or supportive of research production 
  • Support research report writing with contributions on analytical methods and results 

Technical documentation, support, and synthesis of results 

  • Lead development, writing and / or editing, and presentation of internal and external data products in support of project goals
  • Lead drafting and maintenance of key documentation including and beyond code repositories
  • Present analytical results and data products to external audiences
  • Facilitate cross-functional relationships that interact with data science (e.g. communications, legal, IT, vendor management, etc.) 

Team Support  

  • Team or department-wide tasks, as required 
  • Mentorship and / or supervision of analyst and associate-level data science staff 
  • Recruitment support as needed 
  • Team events and convenings 
  • Planning and other administrative duties 

What qualifications are we looking for?

  • Commitment to using research and analysis to end mass incarceration and undo racism and inequity in the criminal legal system required 
  • Lived experience, preferred  
  • Bachelor’s degree AND 4+ years of relevant experience, or equivalent experience with an advanced degree.
    • In lieu of a bachelor's degree, applicable work or life experience may be considered. 

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities you'll bring: 

  • Demonstrated leadership skills working with data collection, processing, and analysis in Python and / or R, with preference for experience with messy public datasets 
  • Experience maintaining and optimizing complex data product development in an environment where multiple developers are contributing to a codebase 
  • Experience working with and maintaining SQL databases in a cloud-based environment 
  • An understanding of full-stack development with preference for some experience in a software engineering context 
  • Experience or familiarity conducting analysis of social policy or legal regulation is preferred 
  • Project management experience 
  • Ability to work effectively with a diverse array of people and positions, including advocates, government officials, criminal justice system personnel and people who are directly impacted by the criminal or immigration legal systems 
  • A professional dedication to issues of race, equity, and fairness 
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills 
  • Exceptional attention to detail 
  • Ability to work on multiple projects effectively and efficiently 
  • Ability to travel up to 5% of the time (team events, conferences, and / or site visits) 

The current tech stack uses the following technologies, so fluency is required:

  • Python and / or R 
  • GitHub 
  • Google Cloud Platform and / or AWS 
  • PostgreSQL (or similar relational database technology) 

 Some familiarity with the following is preferred:  

  • Airflow 
  • Flask 
  • Docker 
  • D3.js 
  • Datawrapper (or similar web-based viz tools) 

Location:

Please note this role can be based out of either of our office locations, including Brooklyn, NY, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, LA, or Los Angeles, CA. Vera employees adhere to a hybrid schedule and are in-office on an alternating schedule that generally amounts to 10 days per month.

Compensation and Benefits:

The compensation range for this position is $114,000 - $117,000. Actual salaries will vary depending on factors including but not limited to experience and performance. The salary range listed is just one component of Vera Institute’s total compensation package for employees. As an employer of choice in our field, supporting Vera staff - both personally and professionally - is a priority. To do this, we invest in the well-being of our staff through other rewards including merit pay, generous paid time off, a comprehensive health insurance plan, student loan repayment benefits, professional development training opportunities and up to $2,000 annual for education costs and fees relevant to Vera work, employer-funded retirement plan, and flexible time. To learn more about Vera’s benefits offerings, click here. 

Applications may also be faxed to:

ATTN: People Resources / Senior Data Scientist
Vera Institute of Justice
34 35th St, Suite 4-2A, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Fax: (212) 941-9407
Please use only one method (online, mail or fax) of submission.
No phone calls, please. Only applicants selected for interviews will be contacted.

In order to ensure a healthy and safe work environment, Vera Institute of Justice is requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccine before their start date. Employees who cannot receive the vaccine because of a disability / medical contraindication or sincerely held religious belief may request an accommodation (e.g., an exemption) to this requirement.

Vera is an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, or caregiver status. 

Vera works to advance justice, particularly racial justice, in an increasingly multicultural country and globally connected world. We value diverse experiences, including with regard to educational background and justice system contact, and depend on a diverse staff to carry out our mission. 

For more information about Vera, please visit www.vera.org.

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