Data Analyst (Entry-Level)

About us
Recidiviz is creating safer, healthier communities by improving outcomes for people in the criminal justice system. We build technology to reduce the number of people in prison and to help criminal justice leaders embrace data-driven decision-making.

Using software tools and thoughtful product design, we've been able to safely and permanently reduce incarceration and improve outcomes. We work side-by-side with leaders of the criminal justice system, people in prison and on supervision, and ecosystem partners to build a better path forward. In addition to the revenue we earn from state partners, some of the most respected philanthropists and foundations support our work.

People who succeed at Recidiviz lead with kindness and humility, assume good intent, learn from failure, and fix problems when they see them. They are excited to work arm in arm with government leadership and staff to improve outcomes. They are great listeners. They build deep relationships with and empathy for the people we work with and the people who our mission serves, even when those two groups feel at odds.

About the role
This role works alongside experienced analysts and teammates across several teams on work that targets the drivers of incarceration. Our Data Analysts work with diverse data (criminal justice data both raw and processed from across the country, reports and policy documents from government agencies, and much more) to develop our understanding of the criminal justice system and to motivate change. In this role, you'll carry out well-defined analyses, build clear visualizations with our existing tools, and support product launches by preparing the data each product needs in each state. You'll share your findings with teams across Recidiviz and, alongside teammates, with our state partners.

Core responsibilities
Exploring our datasets to find patterns and insights about American criminal justice systems
Carrying out well-scoped analyses with guidance from senior analysts and our State Engagement team
Supporting product launches in the states where we work by following established launch processes, preparing the analytical data each launch needs, and flagging data discrepancies as they come up
Building clear, well-documented visualizations and dashboards using our existing tools
Communicating findings to internal teams, and presenting to state partners alongside teammates
Analyzing trends in areas related to our own work to understand how our products function
Wild success
A year from now:

You've contributed to real impact. Your analyses have supported product launches in the states you work with and have helped measure the impact those tools are having on the justice system.
You've become a go-to analyst for your states. You know their data, policies, and products well, and you answer new questions with growing independence and the right tool for each job.

Minimum qualifications
Strong communication and collaboration skills, to help nurture a knowledgeable, data-oriented culture
Enthusiasm for working with internal and external partners from diverse backgrounds and worldviews, such as government staff, researchers, journalists, technical staff, and practitioners in criminal justice reform
Care and curiosity in inspecting source data and checking results closely, so the data and analyses you prepare can be trusted and reused
6 or more months of practical experience exploring, analyzing, and cleaning real-world datasets. Internships and research count, and part-time roles count when their hours add up to roughly 6 months of full-time work.
Working proficiency in SQL, including joins, aggregations, and window functions
Familiarity with Python, specifically the Pandas package, for data analysis and visualization

Preferred qualifications
Interest in criminal justice or public policy, or experience working with public-sector data
Experience with a BI or dashboarding tool such as Looker or Tableau
Familiarity with any part of our data stack, which includes Google Cloud Platform, BigQuery, Looker, Jupyter notebooks, and Python/Pandas