Staff Positions
Data Operations Lead — Mid-Level
American Witness, the pioneering criminal justice transparency and reporting organization is looking for someone to lead the next evolution of our already unparalleled data operations.
If you are interested in social justice, or just seeing that the criminal justice system is held to account, love data and the idea of helping design and implement something new, we want to speak to you.
After eight years and several iterations, American Witness is in the process of reinventing how we manage our data to be able to increase its social impact, deliver better products and change how criminal justice is reported.
American Witness is the parent of two data engines currently located in two cities, DC Witness (dcwitness.org) and Baltimore Witness (BaltimoreWitness.org.) In each city, dedicated teams track every homicide and non-fatal shooting from act to resolution, telling every story equally and showing what happens across the entire criminal justice system rather than just its component parts. We track over 100 data points on each case and have amassed thousands of case histories and hundreds of thousands of data points.
We are currently using Airtable but have reached its limits and are building a new front and backend with increased capabilities.
We are looking for an early to mid-career data scientist who will be responsible for managing, maintaining, enhancing, and optimizing our data infrastructure and operations. The data operations lead will also be called upon to analyze and interpret data to provide valuable insights that support reporting and data products about the criminal justice systems in our locations.
So if you are up for becoming our data guru, this is the opportunity for a data scientist looking to make a difference.
Key Responsibilities for Managing and Maintaining the Data Infrastructure:
- Monitor and maintain the current Airtable repository
- Assist in moving from Airtable to MySQL backend database
- Maintain comprehensive documentation of database configurations, procedures, and best practices
- Establish and maintain data repository backups
- Manage data input processes and downstream data interfaces
- User input interface design
- Possess programming knowledge (e.g. Develop and maintain automation scripts, data transfer, module, SQL queries, among others)
- Cloud computing experience a plus
Key Responsibilities for Data Analytics
- Work with journalists to determine trends and interesting facts
- Create and maintain routine reports and dashboards to track key performance indicators (KPIs) and share insights with relevant stakeholders.
- Assist in the development of ad-hoc reports as requested by various teams.
- Maintain documentation of data sources, data processing steps, and analytical procedures for future reference.
- Operation of infrastructure
- Supporting Data Products
- Data visualization such as Power BI or Tableau experience a plus
- Recruit and manage a small team of staff and interns
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s or higher degree in a relevant field such as Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or related
- Basic understanding of database management systems and concepts
- Interest in DevOps practices, tools, and automation
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a keen attention to detail
- Proficiency in data analysis tools and programming languages (e.g., Python, R, SQL)
- Excellent communication skills to convey complex findings to non-technical stakeholders
- Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and adapt to changing priorities
- Highly motivated with a desire to learn and grow in the field of data analysis
Position is on-site in the DC office with some travel to Baltimore. This is NOT a remote position.
Pay is commensurate with experience.
Submit applications to info@americanwitness.org.
Internship Opportunities
D.C. Witness Fall Internship
Are you looking for an internship for the Fall?
Then you should apply to D.C. Witness.
D.C. Witness is looking for interns to help in its vital mission to bring transparency and change to the city’s broken criminal justice system.
Students and recent graduates who are interested in pursuing careers in journalism, sociology, public health, data analysis or legal fields are welcome to apply.
You will be a part of the team that reports on court cases, analyzes data and identifies violent crime trends.
This is not a coffee grabbing internship. From Day 1, you will learn and hone journalism techniques that will enable you to help D.C. Witness make a difference. So many community members are craving the information you will provide.
During the internship, interns may:
- Track violent crime cases;
- Attend court hearings/trials on violent crimes;
- Write brief and long-form stories on violent crime cases, data and trends;
- Research court documents and analyze crime-reduction policies;
- Assist with interviewing families of defendants and victims;
- Interview court employees;
- Participate in multimedia projects; and
- Other administrative responsibilities.
This internship is unpaid but college credit may be offered. D.C. Witness is a news site
(www.dcwitness.org) that provides transparency on homicide, non-fatal shooting, sexual assault and domestic violence cases in Washington, D.C. The site does this by collecting data on cases from date-of-death/incident to judicial resolution, reporting on court proceedings, and conducting interviews.
If interested in applying, please send a resume, cover letter and writing sample to the
Editor Jeff Levine at levine@dcwitness.org.
Or:
Assistant Editor Adriana Marroquin at adrianam@dcwitness.org.
—
Assistant Editor — Entry Level
Location: Washington, DC
D.C. Witness is looking for an assistant editor to help manage its editorial department.
If you are committed to hard news, serious reporting, data journalism, investigative reporting and looking to get a taste of editing, we would be delighted to talk to you.
We are looking for someone to help us grow the degree of transparency we offer of the local justice system and continue to build something new.
We are looking for someone who has interest in the justice process either as a journalist or moving onto law itself. We need someone who is organized, responsible, detail-oriented and ready for a position with management responsibilities.
This is an Assistant Editor position with reporting responsibilities. The position is a full-time, Monday-Friday position with work expected on the occasional weekend. Hours will vary and are subject to change depending on court operations.
This position is not a remote position.
The D.C. Witness Assistant Editor duties will include but are not limited to:
- Work with the Editor to manage interns and their written work
- Write and posting breaking news articles on non-fatal shootings, sexual assaults and homicides
- Write and assist interns with profile, research-based and investigative articles
- Edit (first-pass) intern articles
- Proofread data reports
- Work with Editor-in-Chief to compile a bi-weekly newsletter
- Assist interns will speaking to sources
- Track submission of various documents
- Manage interns’ social media posts and other social media content
- Track and gather analytics on social media content
- Cover court hearings or trials when needed
- Assist Editor-in-Chief and Editor with other duties as needed
Qualifications:
- Knowledge/interest in basic reporting techniques
- Strong verbal and written skills
- Possess strong attention to detail
- Professional work posting on social media sites is a plus
- At least one year of experience working in media is a plus
- Interest in the Criminal Justice System
- Interest in data journalism
D.C. Witness is a non-profit news website that tracks homicide, non-fatal shooting, sexual assault and domestic violence cases in Washington, D.C. We take a unique approach that has reporters in every courtroom for every hearing on every case. We don’t just cover the big eye-catching stories, picking up the torch where traditional news falters. Through our coverage, underserved communities are given a voice and every life is memorialized. And, by leveraging our data, public officials are already improving their policy-making processes.
To apply to the position, please send a resume, cover letter and three writing examples to noa@dcwitness.org.
—