Data Services Intern

Catalist; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 23,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sick leave benefits

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Catalist, a leader in civic data and data science, seeks a Data Services Engineer Fellow to support the Data team by handling high-volume requests, executing productionized jobs, and ensuring quality control.

Reporting to the Director of Data Support, you will gain hands-on experience in a data-driven environment while developing foundational technical habits within a collaborative, hybrid workplace.

Qualifications

• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong timeliness and reliability in handling a queue of tasks.
• Clear, professional written email communication.
• Comfort with basic command-line/terminal use.
• Ability to follow documented procedures precisely and consistently.
• Background check required.

Responsibilities

• Monitors a shared inbox and responds to incoming work-item requests promptly and professionally.
• Reads each request carefully to identify the correct productionized script and inputs.
• Checks outputs for completeness and obvious errors before delivering them.
• Communicates status, delays, or questions to requestors and the DSE team; escalates out of scope requests.

Skills

Attention to detail

Timeliness

Written communication

Command-line basics

Following procedures

Background check

Tools

Terminal

Job description

For over 20 years, Catalist has been a leader in civic data and data science innovation. Our mission is to provide progressive organizations with the data, software, and services needed to better identify, understand, and communicate with the people they need to engage and mobilize. Our clients include the largest, most influential organizations in the U.S. active in civic engagement, advocacy, and political campaigns.

Catalist is home to a dedicated, creative team of technologists, data scientists, and campaign experts committed to using our talents and technology to nurture a vibrant and growing progressive community.

As a Data Services Engineer (DSE) Fellow at Catalist, you will support the Data team by completing well-defined, high-volume work items: monitoring an inbox for incoming requests, running a set of productionized jobs, and providing appropriate quality control. This is an execution-focused role suited to someone who wants hands-on exposure to a data organization while building foundational technical habits.

This position reports to the Director of Data Support and works closely with Data Services Engineers, who assign and review work items.

Core Duties & Responsibilities

• Monitors a shared inbox and responds to incoming work-item requests promptly and professionally
• Reads each request carefully to identify the correct productionized script and the correct inputs to use
• Checks outputs for completeness and obvious errors before delivering them
• Communicates clearly with requestors and the DSE team on status, delays, or questions, and escalates out-of-scope requests to a DSE or the Director of Data Support

Requirements

• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy
• Strong sense of timeliness and reliability in managing a queue of discrete tasks
• Clear, professional written communication skills, particularly over email
• Comfort with, or willingness to quickly learn, basic command-line/terminal use
• Ability to follow documented procedures precisely and consistently
• Background check required

Preferred Skills & Abilities

• Interest in progressive politics, campaigns, or voter data
• Some prior exposure to Terminal or a Unix command-line interface
• Interest in eventually growing into a Data Services Engineer or similar technical role

Benefits

• Sick Leave Benefits
• Catalist offers statutory sick leave benefits to all employees, including part-time and short-term temporary employees.
• Hybrid Office/Remote Work
• Certain positions at Catalist are eligible for Office/Remote Hybrid or full Remote status.

20 - 20 USD