Data Scientist

City of New York; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of New York is seeking a Data Scientist to join the Office of Data Analytics (ODA) and work with the Analytics team on data-driven projects for City agencies.

You will perform analytics to inform policies and operations, collaborate with PMs, policy staff, and legal counsel, and help advance open analytics initiatives across city government.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS/engineering or related field with 4+ years of full-time experience.
• Associate degree with 6+ years of full-time experience in the area.
• Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years of related experience.
• Education/experience equivalent to the above.

Responsibilities

• Lead or support analytics projects with PMs, policy analysts, and legal counsel.
• Develop quality communications and deliverables; lead conversations with city clients.
• Define scoping and design of analyses under guidance of a lead analyst.
• Draft project timelines and adjust as needed with little coaching.
• Contribute to best practices and publish analytics code when possible.
• Support analytics center of excellence and city-wide data initiatives.
• Coordinate response efforts during citywide emergencies.
• Handle special projects and initiatives as assigned.

Skills

Excel

Data analysis

Statistical methods

Policy understanding

Education

Baccalaureate in CS/engineering or related field + 4 years experience

Associate degree in CS/engineering or related field + 6 years experience

Baccalaureate degree + 8 years experience in related area

Equivalent combination of education/experience

Tools

R

Python

Job description

The Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) leverages technology to drive opportunity, improve public safety, and help government run better across New York City. From delivering affordable broadband to protecting against cybersecurity threats and building digital government services, OTI is at the forefront of how the city delivers for New Yorkers in the 21st century. Follow us on social media @NYCOfficeofTech, and visit www.nyc.gov/oti to learn more.

At OTI, we offer great benefits, and the chance to work on projects that have a meaningful impact on millions of people. You'll have the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology and collaborate with other passionate professionals who share your drive and commitment to making a difference through technology.

The Office of Data Analytics (ODA) works with City agencies and their data to help serve New Yorkers more equitably and effectively. Historically, this work has mainly taken the form of analyzing agency data to improve City agency operations and working to make Open Data more accessible to all New Yorkers. Upon joining the newly created Office of Technology and Innovation, ODA has also assumed a greater role in determining the direction of the infrastructure that powers non-public data sharing between City agencies, and an expansion of our role in automating data feeds, providing more robust quality assurance, and improving the user experience of the City’s data sharing platforms.

ODA seeks a Data Scientist to join a diverse mission-driven urban analytics office and serve as part of the Analytics team, which practices and advances responsible and open analytics in the City of New York. ODA data scientists balance thinking and doing: we are curious and ask questions, but also passionate about rolling up our sleeves to deliver timely answers to complex questions.

The Data Scientist will report to the Director of Data Science, and work closely with other members of the Analytics Team and ODA office on projects. The Data Scientist will complete data analytics projects to better inform agencies or interagency policies, programs, and operational practices.

• Serve as lead or supporting analyst on data analytics projects, in collaboration with project managers, policy analysts, ODA leadership/sponsor, and legal counsel;
• Provide project management, research, and knowledge capture support where needed. This includes developing quality and accurate communications and deliverables, which may receive limited review before delivery, and the ability to lead facilitated conversations with City agency clients;
• Lead or support the decision-making process for the scoping and design of the analysis under guidance of a projects lead analyst or ODA leadership;
• Act as a lead project manager on an analytics project with little coaching required to draft a project timeline and adjust as necessary;
• Contribute to development of best practices for municipal responsible and open analytics work; publishing analytics code and projects publicly, when possible, in partnership with City agency partners;
• Support ODA as an analytics center for excellence and initiatives that increase City agencies’ data-driven practices, including: the Analytics Exchange (AnEx), data science workforce development initiatives, and best practice exchanges with the private sector and academia;
• Coordinate response efforts and workstreams in the event of a Citywide emergency
• Handle special projects and initiatives as assigned.

Work Location: Brooklyn, NY

Hours/Shift: Day - Due to the necessary technical duties of this position in a 24/7 operation, candidate may be required to work various shifts such as weekends and/or nights/evenings.

Minimum Qualifications

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication or a related field, and four years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
2. An associate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication or a related field, and six years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
3. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college, and eight years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
4. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1", "2", or "3" above.

Preferred Skills

The successful candidate should be a relentless problem solver, constantly curious and “question asker,” driven to find insights and “a-ha” moments in data and information, and to deliver recommendations to improve operations. An interest and/or understanding of New York City policy and operations or strong policy or operational analysis capabilities is preferred but not required.

The successful candidate possess the following skills and experience:

• Mastery with spreadsheets and at least one coding language (R, Python, etc.) for data manipulation
• Mastery with ETL scripts, version control, and documentation. Which include but are not limited to a mastery in conducting data landscape analyses, identifying and documenting data sources, joining and integrating datasets, completing data and analysis quality assessment (QA) reviews, and reconciling data questions
• Mastery with presentation slides, data visualization software’s, maps and memos. This includes leveraging visualization tools to present information in a way that drives fact-based decision making by developing intuitive static and interactive data graphics
• Experience conducting various types of analysis - minimum expectations include: targeting, prioritizing, anomaly detection, matching, and estimating
• Strong familiarity with providing statistical support by participating in the development of statistical methodology, study design, and data analysis of analytical projects
• Mastery in code and analysis review and in providing constructive feedback to peers on analysis quality

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

Residency Requirement

New York City Residency is not required for this position

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.