Researcher, Election Analytics

The New York Times is hiring a researcher to join its Election Analytics desk, a multidisciplinary team composed of journalists, statisticians, pollsters and developers, to help build out novel datasets for use in its election coverage.

You would be responsible for collecting, categorizing and/or cleaning data that forms a fundamental part of some of The Times’s flagship election products — namely, the Needle, The Times/Siena Poll and our polling trackers. You would be expected to go far beyond the obvious in uncovering data that could make our election coverage more insightful, more accurate and more interesting. You should be motivated to find data that nobody else has discovered or put to good use yet. You would need to ensure the accuracy of your work and that the data you collect is reliable enough to be used in some of the most scrutinized journalism that The Times produces.

You would be working in collaboration with colleagues in the Election Analytics desk to identify new areas for research, but you would also be expected to contribute your own ideas for worthwhile research targets. You should be a quick learner who is eager to dive into an unfamiliar area and prepare a memo, presentation or spreadsheet laying out what you’ve learned. You would also be expected to think carefully about how to make the data most useful to others, both in our department and throughout the newsroom, through good organization, communication and documentation and through collaboration with colleagues to create easy-to-understand internal dashboards and graphics.

This is a hybrid position based in New York that requires regular attendance in the office each week per departmental guidance. This position will require working some nights, weekends and holidays during election season.

To apply, please include a cover letter of no more than 600 words that directly addresses your interest in political data and that describes a project where you created or maintained a database and what your contributions were.

Responsibilities:

• Finding all newly published political polls and accurately entering the data into a database
• Researching public websites to discover new opportunities in the data that is available
• Calling and emailing pollsters and election officials to request data
• Fact-checking articles, graphics and poll crosstabs
• Categorizing and cleaning data
• Creating project plans when tasked with finding data in a new area of interest, including documenting risks to comprehensiveness and accuracy 
• Keeping good records that are accessible to colleagues on how to find information in the future or who to contact to get the most reliable information
• Working with colleagues to ensure the information we collect is reflected in our coverage and available to readers
• Maintaining documentation and making it available to colleagues on points of contact and best practices
• May contribute to stories in your area of responsibility and work on other projects as needed and available
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.
• You will report to the Director, Election Data Analytics. 

Basic qualifications:

• 2+ years of relevant experience
• Passion for political data
• Experience working with election-related datasets
• Demonstrated ability to meet inflexible deadlines
• Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to work independently
• Demonstrated experience maintaining complex spreadsheets, including manual data entry and data cleaning 
• Experience creating complicated spreadsheets from scratch, including creating a new data structure and long-term flexibility
• Strong interpersonal skills; you should be excited to invest the time to build relationships with sources

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience working in a newsroom
• Knowledge of what’s possible using scripting languages, such as Javascript, Python, PHP, R, etc.
• Advanced experience writing formulas in spreadsheets, such as using pivot tables, cross-referencing data, etc.
• Experience querying data stored in MySQL, Postgres, Bigtable, etc. databases

This position is represented by the NewsGuild of NY.

REQ-018256

The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all  backgrounds to apply.

We are  an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics.  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Know Your Rights Poster is available here. 

The New York Times Company will provide reasonable accommodations as required by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Individuals seeking an accommodation for the application or interview process should email reasonable.accommodations@nytimes.com. Emails sent for unrelated issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.

The Company will further consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable "Fair Chance" laws. 

For information about The New York Times' privacy practices for job applicants click here.

Please beware of fraudulent job postings. Scammers may post fraudulent job opportunities, and they may even make fraudulent employment offers. This is done by bad actors to collect personal information and money from victims. All legitimate job opportunities from The New York Times will be accessible through The New York Times careers site. The New York Times will not ask job applicants for financial information or for payment, and will not refer you to a third party to do so. You should never send money to anyone who suggests they can provide employment with The New York Times.

If you see a fake or fraudulent job posting, or if you suspect you have received a fraudulent offer, you can report it to The New York Times at security@nytimes.com. You can also file a report with the Federal Trade Commission or your state attorney general.