Lead Data Scientist, Justice Processes

OFFICE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) seeks a Lead Data Scientist for Justice Processes to design and test data‑driven policy solutions that improve efficiency and reduce jail population. You will develop research agendas and trainings, and build relationships with partners across government, nonprofits, and the community.

You will lead exploratory analyses, deploy models to production, and translate complex findings into policy briefs and dashboards for decision makers and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Associate degree with two years of relevant experience in admin/analytic/coordinative roles.
• Four‑year high school diploma with four years of relevant experience.
• A satisfactory combination of education and/or experience as described above.

Responsibilities

• Conduct exploratory data analysis and build descriptive and predictive models to support policy and practice.
• Design, build, and deploy machine learning models into production environments with monitoring.
• Create reproducible workflows in Python, R, and SQL with well‑documented research processes.
• Deliver policy briefs, presentations, and interactive dashboards translating findings into actionable evidence.
• Partner with city agencies, nonprofits, and justice system stakeholders to scope projects and align research with operational needs.
• Support public and stakeholder engagement by presenting results at conferences and policy forums.

Skills

Python

R

SQL

Data storytelling

Machine learning

Statistics

Data visualization

Communication

Public policy

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Associate degree + 2 years experience

High school diploma + 4 years experience

Tools

Microsoft SQL

PostgreSQL

APIs

JSON/CSV/Parquet

Computation notebooks (e.g., Jupyter)

Job description

ABOUT THE OFFICE: The Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) advises the Mayor of the City of New York on criminal justice policy. MOCJ develops and implements strategies, with partners inside and outside government, to reduce crime and incarceration and to promote fairness and legitimacy. MOCJ works with law enforcement, city agencies, non‑profits, foundations, and others to implement data‑driven strategies that address current crime conditions, prevent offending, and build the strong neighborhoods that ensure enduring safety.

The Research Innovation Policy team drives the development and effective implementation of precision public health and public safety initiatives. Drawing on evidence‑based and community‑based insights, the Research Innovation operates through four main pillars: data‑driven policy development, evaluation, quality assurance, and interagency coordination.

ABOUT THE ROLE: Reporting into the Executive Director of Research Innovation, and as part of the Policy Unit, the Lead Data Scientist for Justice Processes is responsible for designing, testing, and communicating data‑driven policy solutions to improve justice process efficiency, flow through the system and problem‑solving off‑ramps, and safely reduce the jail population. This involves both leveraging existing evidence‑based insights to drive policy and crafting a data science‑driven research agenda that supports the resolution of the most pressing issues. It will also involve incorporating nuanced data‑driven insights into trainings, curriculums, external messaging, and other high‑impact contexts. The successful candidate must be able to develop and maintain relationships with research, program, agency, community, and justice‑involved partners. They must be creative, highly motivated, and able to manage projects from inception through implementation.

Lead Data Scientist on Justice Processes responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Conduct exploratory data analysis and build descriptive and predictive models to support policy and practice.
• Design, build, and deploy machine learning models into production environments, including monitoring for model drift and performance degradation over time.
• Create reproducible workflows in Python, R, and SQL, and maintain well‑documented research processes.
• Deliver policy briefs, presentations, and interactive dashboards that translate complex findings into actionable, decision‑ready evidence.
• Partner with city agencies, nonprofits, and justice system stakeholders to scope projects and align research with operational needs.
• Support public and stakeholder engagement by presenting results at conferences, policy forums, and cross‑agency working groups.
• Preparing insights for publication or for internal use only as appropriate.

RESEARCH PROJECTS COOR(MA)-MGR - 0527A

Minimum Qualifications

1. Do you have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university?
2. Do you have an associate degree from an accredited college or university along with two (2) years of experience with administrative, analytic, coordinative, supervisory or liaison responsibilities?
3. Do you have a four‑year high school diploma, or its educational equivalent approved by a state's Department of Education or a recognized accrediting organization along with four (4) years of experience as described in question "2" above?
4. Do you have a satisfactory combination of education and/or experience equivalent to that described in questions "1," "2," and/or "3" above?

Preferred Skills

• A postgraduate degree (master’s or PhD) in statistics, economics, data science, computational social science, or a related quantitative field.
• 5+ years of experience in applied data science, analytics, or research roles, ideally in policy or civic tech.
• A strong portfolio of self‑directed analytic work is expected. Experience in the justice system is a plus.
• Research experience required both quantitative and qualitative research preferred.
• Detailed knowledge of Python or R for data manipulation, analysis, and modeling.
• Experience using advanced statistical techniques and modern machine learning methods for predictive modeling to drive decision making, optimization, and resource allocation.
• Experience working with relational databases (e.g. Microsoft SQL, PostgreSQL) and writing complex SQL queries.
• Experience integrating external data from APIs and common data formats like JSON, CSV, and Parquet.
• Expertise in data wrangling and cleaning, including handling messy, incomplete, or complex administrative datasets.
• Strong data storytelling skills, with experience creating or supporting compelling visualizations, dashboards, and policy briefs.
• Proficiency with computation notebooks for data exploration, analysis, and presentation of results.
• Experience working with justice‑involved or other marginalized populations preferred.
• Ability to generate and drive a project from conception to implementation, to identify gaps, relevant partners, criteria for decision‑making, and analytic strategy.
• Ability to balance competing priorities, complex situations and tight deadlines ability to think outside of the box and develop novel strategies for analysis ability to work independently in a fast‑paced environment ability to work comfortably with a wide variety of people at different levels within the organization and with different backgrounds.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present data and research.
• Attention to detail and the ability to give and receive clear direction/instruction.

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 generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

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.