Researcher(Research Data Scientist)

We are seeking a Researcher - Data Scientist to join our growing team. You will leverage our large scale data collections — ranging from major platforms to fringe sites to individual browser data — to produce rigorous analyses on the relationship between politics and the online media environment. 

In general, CSMaP’s primary focus is peer-reviewed academic publications. The goal of this position will be distinct but complementary: the production of public-facing analyses for reports and white papers, leading media outlets, and visualizations. Your work will be published in a variety of outlets from the center’s website to leading national publications. You will maintain absolute rigor and accuracy, while working towards producing analyses and outputs at the speed necessary to inform public discourse and policy in the digital era. You may also be asked to contribute to academic work. 

Substantively, the focus will be as broad as the center’s research agenda, covering domestic and international contexts and examining a range of political and policy areas (e.g. democratic legitimacy, misinformation trends, social justice). Examples of projects could include: 

• Writing a report on salient misinformation narratives throughout the 2022 midterms
• Working with a journalist to classify the toxicity of messages around candidates 
• Creating visualizations for trends in news consumption patterns

Responsibilities: 

• Working closely with data engineers on social media data analyses
• Working with the faculty directors and other scholars to assist or lead in creating meaningful and interpretable visualizations 
• Writing / collaborating on reports, white papers, and public analyses for non-academic audiences 

Qualifications

Required education: Degree in computer science, data science, or the social sciences OR equivalent experience.  

Required skills and experience: 

• Experience manipulating large structured or unstructured datasets for analysis
• Experience working with R and Python, experience with machine learning models
• Ability to create compelling and interpretable summaries and visualizations from large datasets 
• Demonstrated ability to produce reports on technical subjects for public audiences
• Ability to work both as part of a team and independently
• Strong interpersonal, collaborative, and communication skills

Preferred knowledge and experience: 

• Experience working with social media and/or digital trace data
• Experience working on a large High Performance Computing Cluster and/or with a cloud computing service
• Background and/or familiarity with quantitative research methodologies a plus