Data Intern

Job title: Data Intern

Location: Remote or hybrid, Washington DC

Classification: Temporary, full-time, non-exempt

Organization: Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY)

Due: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. All applications submitted by the priority deadline of January 15 will receive full consideration.

Start Date: Flexible between mid-May and early June

Overview of the position:

The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth is hiring a data intern for Summer 2026! Founded in 2009, CFSY advocates to ban juvenile life without parole in the United States, and create opportunities for those directly impacted by extreme sentencing to thrive and lead. The Intern will assist the CFSY staff in refining a database of children around the country who received lengthy sentences. The Intern will work up to 40 hours/week for up to 10 weeks. Over the course of the employment period, interns will become familiar with national and state efforts to end juvenile life without parole and other extreme sentences for children.

The Summer 2026 Internship will be remote or hybrid.

The intern reports to the Data and Research Fellow and works within the Data & Research Department.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Researching outcomes for individuals sentenced in the justice system, including results from court hearings and parole review
• Extracting, organizing, and synthesizing data from government and public sources into structured, state-level datasets to support research and policy analysis
• Identifying trends and patterns in datasets and creating summaries/drawing conclusions based upon this information
• Perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Current bachelor’s or master’s student or recent graduate, or equivalent professional experience
• Experience using database management systems (such as Excel, Google Sheets, and Airtable)
• Experience assisting with transforming, cleaning, and structuring quantitative datasets using tools such as SQL or statistical software (for example SPSS, SAS, or Stata) for analysis
• Familiarity with collecting and/or analyzing qualitative data to identify themes
• Well-developed organizational skills
• Maturity and reliability
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and listening skills
• Willingness to take direction and work as a team – friendly and courteous, willing to work as part of the larger community efforts to end juvenile life without parole
• Excellent data abilities. Candidates selected for interviews will be asked to complete a brief data assignment.
• Candidates with availability for multiple semesters are encouraged to apply.

Values and Traits:

• Strong interest in criminal legal reform, particularly ending harsh youth sentencing practices, racial discrimination, and human rights abuses in the United States
• Belief that our society has failed the children impacted by life without parole and other extreme sentences, and that we all have a responsibility to create avenues for their restoration and that of our entire community
• Belief in the inherent good, dignity, and humanity of all people regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, class, education level, zip code and more; and belief that every one of us is more than the worst things we’ve done or experienced
• Flexible and willing and able to adapt to the evolving nature of CFSY’s work
• Constructive and optimistic; confronts problems with the expectation that a solution exists
• Prioritizes self-care.

Location and Travel

The CFSY’s headquarters are in Washington, DC, with many staff working remotely throughout the country. For this Summer 2026 position, the intern will work remotely or hybrid. There may be options to work in our office in Washington, DC, but this is not required. Temporary employees are asked to provide their own computer. However, this should not be a barrier to employment and accommodations can be made. All business related travel will be paid for by the CFSY in accordance with our travel policy.

Physical Environment and Equipment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to: stand, sit, talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone;
• Specific vision abilities include close vision requirements due to computer work;
• Ability to effectively use a telephone, including mobile phone; computer (with Microsoft and Google applications); keyboard; and video conferencing.

Compensation, Benefits, and Culture:

The hourly wage for this position is $17.50. This position is temporary, part‐time, and non-exempt; the Intern will work up to 40 hours/week for up to 10 weeks.

The CFSY believes in and actively practices meaningful connection to individuals directly impacted by extreme prison sentences. We work in deep partnership with people currently in prison, those who have been released, and their family and social networks. All staff at the CFSY, regardless of role and position, engage in this connection and are regularly proximate to those directly impacted by the work we do.

To apply:

Email a letter of interest, resume, and two references (contact information only, recommendation letters are not necessary) in one PDF file to jobs@cfsy.org. Use “Data Intern - Last Name” as the subject of your email and as the file name for your PDF, and include your availability in the email. For tax purposes, please list the address you will be working from for the duration of the internship on your resume. Only complete applications sending all application materials in one PDF file will be reviewed.

The CFSY is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and those with lived-experience with the criminal legal system are strongly encouraged to apply for this role.

If you don’t meet every qualification listed but are excited about our mission and the work described, we encourage you to apply. CFSY is most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and you may be just the right person for this or other roles.

Compensation, Benefits, and Culture:

The hourly wage for this position is $17.50. This position is temporary, part‐time, and non-exempt; the Intern will work up to 40 hours/week for up to 10 weeks.

The CFSY believes in and actively practices meaningful connection to individuals directly impacted by extreme prison sentences. We work in deep partnership with people currently in prison, those who have been released, and their family and social networks. All staff at the CFSY, regardless of role and position, engage in this connection and are regularly proximate to those directly impacted by the work we do.