Data/Social Scientist

We’re significantly expanding our team!

Join a group of Data Scientists, Social Scientists, and Civic Design Researchers working to meet DC's most critical problems and promote equitable outcomes for all Washingtonians.

Thanks to federal recovery funds, the District has the opportunity to test innovative and bold ideas to build back better. Over the next three years, The Lab will help policymakers evaluate these efforts to make informed decisions. We need Data Scientists and Social Scientists at the Masters, ABD, PhD level and beyond with strong applied research, coding, statistics, and modeling skills to support this expansion. Check out some examples of our past and current work on transit subsidies, road safety, body-worn cameras, and rental assistance.

Who we’re looking for:

• Team players, who want to use scientific tools to make a positive difference in DC residents’ lives, particularly for historically disadvantaged populations.

• Dedication to ethical, inclusive, and iterative design for equitable service delivery.

• Strong R or Python skills (be ready to share organized, annotated code).

• Strong quantitative skills, including research design, statistics or econometrics, program evaluation, data science, predictive modeling and/or experimental methods.

• Bonus: a passion for making a difference in at least one of the following: alternatives to policing, gun violence prevention, housing stability, combating academic learning loss, supporting returning citizens, or workforce development.

• People who can start in DC no later than February 1, 2022.

What you’ll gain:

• Skills to influence policy decisions and program design that impact your neighbors.

• Experience designing and implementing evidence building alongside government leaders.

• The opportunity to use your skills to contribute to key policy and budgetary decisions.

• Real world experience conducting rigorous science within local government.

• Experience using granular administrative data (and all its fun quirks!) across education, housing, public benefits, transportation, and public safety to measure the outcomes that matter.

• Publications (from tweet storms and blog posts to peer reviewed journals).

What you should know:

• Positions are a 13-month renewable appointment. At the end of three years, we hope to find permanent homes for these positions in District agencies and/or Deputy Mayor’s Offices so this work is sustained.

• If you’re currently University faculty or a pre or post-doc, there is an opportunity for those in a Social Scientist role to join the team through a Personnel Exchange Agreement which would allow you to retain your university affiliation while working for the District.

• Our team is currently working a hybrid model of 3 days in the office and 2 days of telework.

• You are welcome to apply for multiple roles/levels. Qualified candidates are invited to take a performance task to demonstrate their skill.

Interested? Read full position descriptions and apply through careers.dc.gov. Not sure which position to apply for? Connect with us at [email protected]. We’re happy to provide guidance. Applications are due December 21.

• Data Scientist, grade 12 - Masters (Job ID: 15282)

• Social Scientist, grade 12 - Masters or ABD (Job ID: 15283)

• Social Scientist, grade 13 - Post-doc/early career PhD; you’ve been part of applied research projects (co-author level) (Job ID: 15286)

• Senior Social Scientist, grade 15 - PhD and you’ve run applied research project teams (PI, project director or methods lead) (Job ID: 15285)