Policy Data Analyst

Location: Remote, New York City, or Oakland

Role Type: Full-time

Compensation:   $97,000

Visa sponsorship: Not available

Hires remotely in: United States

Experience: 2+ years

FOR WELLFOUND CANDIDATES ONLY: Please do not apply via Wellfound - you will miss the application questions.

Instead, please apply directly here: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/recidiviz/jobs/4567455006

Recidiviz is thrilled to be hiring a Policy Data Analyst to join our team! We’re a small, fast-moving group that works with complex criminal justice data from our state partners and develops analyses and tools that target the drivers of incarceration. That’s where you come in. We’re looking for someone who has attention to detail to improve our analysis, creativity and inquisitiveness to identify and solve open-ended problems, clarity to think through complex and variable data, flexibility to adjust in a rapidly evolving environment, and above all else, a collaborative, kind nature to add to our culture.

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

Recidiviz’s policy team supports state Department of Corrections (DOC) leaders that want to rewrite old policies or implement new ones, rooted in evidence and analytics, to improve outcomes, increase public safety and community health, and drive meaningful changes. We tailor data analysis, built on detailed DOC data, to answer questions like: What combination of criteria best select for probation clients who are safe to discharge? What static factors influence parole decisions today and how would that change if new, dynamic factors were added? How many people would X, Y, or Z adjustment to a policy affect and what can we say about the affected group? By translating concepts into concrete modeling, we help drive smarter and more ambitious change.

This role collaborates across several teams to guide work that targets the drivers of incarceration. Our Policy 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 the policy analyses that deepen our understanding of the criminal justice system and motivate policy change. Our Policy Data Analysts translate policy concepts into quantitative metrics, perform analyses, and play a key role in contextualizing and presenting their analyses to stakeholders, both internal and external. 

Travel of approximately one week per quarter may be required.

Core responsibilities

• Exploring our datasets to find new insights about American criminal justice systems
• Contextualizing and communicating key findings to internal and external stakeholders
• Collaborating with our Data Science and Implementation Engineering teams to design and execute on targeted roadmaps that drive impact in the states where we work
• Collaborating with our Product Management and State Engagement teams to bring analyses and data modeling into administrative and legislative policy processes
• Assessing policy priorities and specific policy details to develop responsive, analytical methods that provide actionable insights for decision making.

Wild success

A year from now:

• You’ve driven impact. Your work has informed several policy reforms across the country and has helped quantify the impact those reforms are having on the outcomes of the justice system.
• You’ve leveled up our analytical team. Your contributions to our analytics and processes, as well as your support for y