Senior Political Data Scientist

Senior Political Data Scientist at GoodParty.org

GoodParty.org is actively seeking a Senior Political Data Scientist to join our mission, focusing on making people matter more than money in our democracy. In this pivotal role, you will leverage data, experiments, and quantitative models to empower independent candidates at every level, enabling them to run more effectively, win more frequently, and serve their communities with greater impact. You will become part of a fully remote, rapidly expanding startup where your work will directly influence the future of our democracy.

About GoodParty.org

A significant majority of voters, including over half of Millennials and Gen Z, feel unrepresented by either major political party. GoodParty.org provides a compelling solution to this challenge.

Our mission is to ensure that people's voices, not financial resources, drive our democracy by equipping Independent candidates with the tools and support to run, win, and govern effectively.

Since 2024, more than 13,000 Independent candidates have successfully won their elections across all 50 states, utilizing our comprehensive tools, training, and support. Our AI-powered platform offers free resources to launch and manage campaigns, connect with constituents, and serve their communities efficiently. The common thread among our elected officials is their unwavering commitment to prioritizing people over partisan interests and community welfare over corporate influence. We are not a political party; we are a platform and a movement dedicated to democratizing democracy itself.

Founded by serial entrepreneur Farhad Mohit (known for $1B+ exits including Flipagram/TikTok and Shopzilla), GoodParty.org is building innovative solutions to achieve a truly representative democracy where society's most pressing problems are actively addressed.

What You'll Do

• Develop, test, and refine quantitative models of electoral outcomes, including vote propensity, voter support scoring, and strategic pathways to victory for independent candidates.
• Model constituencies and public service outcomes by collecting, imputing, and analyzing public opinion data to enhance independent candidates' and public officials' understanding and service to their communities.
• Implement and iterate on public opinion measurement methods, such as surveys or in-product feedback, to establish continuous feedback loops on constituent priorities.
• Design and conduct surveys and political field experiments to ascertain the most effective strategies for independents to run, win, and serve once in office.
• Identify opportunities for natural experiments within our product, user, and election result data.
• Continuously improve measurements of electoral and public service outcomes.
• Discover new data sources and optimize the utilization of existing data pertaining to campaigns, elections, voting, and constituencies (e.g., enhancing our nationwide election identification system by surfacing candidate and election data well in advance of each election).
• Collaborate with engineering, operations, and product teams to integrate new datasets and modeling into a scalable data pipeline and internal tools.
• Enhance product features for candidates and public officials through the application of political data and modeling best practices, while consistently improving our core political models.
• Operate independently as a senior member of a small research team, driving measurable results quickly.
• Take ownership of a constant model improvement cycle, aiming for consistent, measurable accuracy gains and improved decision-making on a weekly basis.
• Report directly to the Research Director.

Who We're Looking For

• You are ready for the ambitious challenge of removing money from politics and democratizing democracy.
• You possess 5+ years of relevant experience; OR a Master’s degree in a quantitative or social science field (e.g., political science, statistics, economics, public policy, data science) with 3+ years of applied work experience; OR a PhD with demonstrated experience working swiftly with concrete deliverables.
• You have a strong background in applying data science, statistics, or computation to politics. This expertise may encompass, but is not limited to, econometrics, causal inference, sampling and survey design, political applications of machine learning and AI, or social scientific simulations.
• You have experience with public opinion data, either in designing and fielding surveys or analyzing combined data sources on public opinion or behavior, including appropriate data imputation.
• You have worked to develop statewide or nationwide insights into voter/constituent thoughts and behaviors.
• You have experience designing and deploying field experiments, whether in a product context, campaigns, or governance, or you possess a keen ability to identify natural experiments and opportunities for causal measurement in political data.
• You have experience with forecasts, predictions, or inferential models related to politics. Examples include counterfactual event simulation, propensity scoring or support scoring on campaigns, or data-journalistic predictive models of electoral success.
• You have hands-on experience with U.S. election data or other types of U.S. political data, and you are comfortable working with complex, real-world datasets (e.g., election returns, voter files, or administrative data).
• You are capable of scoping questions, selecting appropriate methods, delivering analyses, and iterating independently.
• You have utilized a statistical programming language in a previous role (preferably R or Python), are proficient in writing SQL queries, and have explored how cutting-edge AI models can be applied to political data and research questions.

Bonus If You Have

• Experience working with elected officials or government agencies in a data or modeling-intensive capacity.
• Led the design or implementation of real field experiments, ideally through digital products such as apps or web tools.
• Experience transforming research concepts from the whiteboard into prototypes or minimum viable software examples that can be scaled by an engineering team and deployed within a product.
• Studied, worked, or volunteered in politics, civics, or democracy reform.
• Are weary of passively observing democracy's shortcomings and are prepared to take action.

Why You Should Work at GoodParty.org

• Join a passionate team with diverse political perspectives, united by a singular mission.
• Our core values include: People First; Direct, Open, and Honest; Empowered Ownership; Iterate for Impact; and Fun Is Fuel.
• We are a Public Benefit Corporation, prioritizing social impact over financial profit.
• Benefit from an innovative Bitcoin-denominated deferred bonus plan, offering significant startup upside while contributing to a truly meaningful mission.
• Enjoy the flexibility of working where and how you prefer, as part of a fully remote team spanning the country.
• Receive 100% coverage for health, dental, and vision benefits for you and your dependents.
• We champion time off for rejuvenation with an unlimited PTO (sick and vacation) policy, recognizing that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and work-life balance is crucial for long-term success.
• Access to a 401(k) program for retirement savings (no employer match).
• An individual learning & development budget to support your professional growth.
• We ensure you have the necessary remote work setup with a dedicated workspace stipend.
• Receive $50/month to assist with internet and other home office expenses if you work from home. Co-working options can also be discussed.
• Our mission is fully funded, alleviating concerns about future funding rounds. Your focus can remain entirely on making an impact.

Compensation & Location

The salary range for this remote, full-time position with excellent benefits is $136,000 - $170,000. This range reflects the potential compensation at the time of posting; actual pay may vary based on experience, skills, seniority, education, qualifications, certifications, and organizational needs. This pay range is subject to modification at any time.

Candidates must be physically located in the U.S. at the time of application. We are unable to provide sponsorship for any roles.

Key Skills/Competency

• Data Science
• Political Research
• Quantitative Modeling
• Electoral Outcomes
• Public Opinion Analysis
• Survey Design
• Causal Inference
• Machine Learning
• SQL
• Python