Data Scientist

Job Description

About the Role

We are seeking candidates with a strong background in Python and core data science skills, and a passion for building solutions to difficult social problems. Ideal candidates should possess the ability to work independently to solve complex challenges related to both human and technology and be able to quickly learn new tools, technologies, or programming languages as needed.

As a junior data scientist, the day-to-day work may include:

• Working with clients to understand their needs: Understanding their current processes and pain points and identifying which of these can be framed as a tractable data science problem.
• Wrangling/cleaning government or client data: from extracting data from SQL databases and making API calls to scraping websites and cleaning survey data.
• Designing, testing, and improving various algorithms: From OOTB sci-kit-learn algorithms to bespoke ones.
• Working on various parts of the solutions - frontend, backend, deployment, etc.
• Synthesising, visualizing, and communicating results: Dashboards, plots, interactive viz, presentations and reports
• Working with other team members to test and deploy these solutions.

Career development

Professional development for our technical roles is essential for IDinsight’s long-term impact. With support from IDinsight leadership, the employee will maintain self-directed professional development plans and will be given “stretch” opportunities designed to strengthen their professional skills. Real-time feedback and structured reviews are regularly provided to maximize each data scientist’s expertise. IDinsight’s entrepreneurial culture allows roles and career progression to be tailored to individual strengths, interests, and goals. Employees have the opportunity to increase responsibilities, and high performers will have the opportunity to move up in the organization along technical, managerial, or client-facing paths.

Required Technical Qualifications

• Proficiency working in Python is required. Please do not apply if you are not proficient in standard data science packages in Python (numpy, pandas, scikit learn, etc.). The application will ask you specific questions about your Python abilities.
• Proficiency in understanding and coding standard supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms and components of the data science pipeline - data cleaning, feature selection, cross-validation, parameter tuning, etc.
• Sound foundations in statistics and probability.
• Working knowledge of SQL
• B.S./B.S.E. degree in Applied Math, Data Science, Computer Science, Physics, or a Similar Technical Field

Other required qualifications:

• Proven ability to work alone and with teams in a dynamic, multicultural environment.
• Passion for improving lives through evidence-informed policy.
• Strong oral and written communication skills in English. Fluency in languages spoken in countries where IDinsight works is a plus.
• Strong values aligned with IDinsight’s stated values.
• Ability and interest in sharing knowledge, mentoring others, presenting work and reviewing the work of others.
• Deeply passionate about global development and improving lives in disadvantaged populations
• Open-minded self-starter who will thrive while tackling new, unusual and unpredictable challenges

Preferred Qualifications

The most competitive applicants will also have experience in one or more of the following:

• Experience living and working in developing country settings.
• Experience working on optimization and unsupervised learning problems.
• Experience working with SQL, custom APIs and AWS products like RDS, EC2, and Lambda.
• Experience working with GIS software such as QGIS.
• Experience working with satellite imagery / remote sensing data.

Nuts & Bolts

Locations

This position is located in one of IDinsight’s existing offices, with the possibility of extensive travel dependent on project needs. While we have some teammates working remotely, the most likely offices for this position are New Delhi, India, or Nairobi, Kenya or Dakar, Senegal. Preference will be given to those with pre-existing work authorization in these countries; however, IDinsight will seek work permits where possible for exceptional candidates.

Compensation

Compensation is commensurate with relevant experience and background and is competitive within the social sector. Please note that, as a non-profit, we are unable to provide compensation similar to leading technology firms.

Start Dates

The start date of this position is flexible, although there is the potential to start almost immediately. We expect a minimum one-year commitment, with regular professional development conversations and potential for a long-term career at IDinsight.

References

Applications should include three references, including email, phone, and title. Briefly state in what capacity you worked with each reference.

How to Apply

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The application asks various questions for us to get to know you and requires a CV and cover letter.

Please ensure that your CV includes relevant professional and personal experience and details on academic qualifications. CVs can range from one to two pages. Please note that headshot photographs, parental information, birth dates, marital status, and other personal information not relevant to the application do not need to be included in your CV. Additionally, we strongly encourage you to use your cover letter to highlight why you want to work for IDinsight specifically and what has prepared you to succeed in the role you’re applying for. A customized cover letter is an important part of IDinsight’s recruiting process as it allows us to understand your motivations for the position, relevant skills, and clarity of writing.

Applications will be received until this position is filled.