We are not currently accepting applications for this position.

We are seeking a computational journalist to join our expanding team to cover the hidden algorithms and social platforms that play an increasing role in our lives. Journalism experience is a plus, but we especially encourage applications from people with quantitative/research backgrounds, such as statistics, data science, machine/deep learning or epidemiology. Ability to code well is a must.

In this role, you will:

• Write software and conduct analyses that detect bias and other harms
• Reverse engineer “black boxes,” e.g., the Compas algorithm we covered in our “Machine Bias” story
• Write methodology articles (example) that explain our analysis and results to both readers and experts
• Work with reporters and other data team members with data brainstorming, acquisition, cleaning, bulletproofing and spot-checking
• Wrangle data, including including the unstructured, messy kind
• Scrape websites, including stubborn ones
• Consume APIs, including poorly designed ones

We’re looking for someone who has:

• Experience working on data projects in a newsroom, or has done statistical or data-scientific analysis in academia or in another research setting
• Fluency in modern and widely supported software languages, and an aptitude for and genuine interest in developing your skills in design and journalism
• Solid editorial judgment and the ability to write quickly and cleanly on deadline
• Clear thinking and sharp writing
• Attention to detail and a love for making things
• The self-discipline to work independently, as well as an eagerness to work with teammates on collaborative projects
• A solid understanding of the tools of data analysis, such as database management systems (SQL Server or PostgreSQL), statistics software (R), Microsoft Excel, etc.

A graduate degree is a plus. The job is full time and includes benefits. We are based in New York, but open to remote-working if the fit is right. Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States.

We know there are great candidates who won’t fit everything we’ve described above, or who have important skills we haven’t thought of. When in doubt, apply. There’s a place on the application for you to tell us more.

We are dedicated to improving our newsroom, in part by better reflecting the people we cover. (Here is a breakdown of our own staff.) We are committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and ages. And we are taking steps to meet that commitment. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.

You can apply using this form. The deadline for applications is April 27. The deadline to apply has been extended to May 4.

You can send questions to [email protected] No phone calls, please.

Want to know more about other jobs at ProPublica? We have them.

If this job doesn’t sound right for you, we may have others that are. Here is where we list all of our jobs, and where you can sign up to be notified when there is an opening. Here are the various fellowships we offer for promising journalists who typically have less experience.