Computational Journalist

ProPublica is seeking a computational journalist to help us uncover abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust.

Ultimately, we’re looking for someone who will use technology and data to identify and unlock stories that would otherwise be out of reach. That could be renting a boat to test the Wi-Fi networks at Mar-a-Lago, using the power of programming to fingerprint and cluster propaganda videos, or crunching data from millions of child protective services cases to understand who is most affected by the system.

You’ll be part of ProPublica’s data team, working collaboratively with talented journalists throughout our newsroom. We like both quick scoops and ambitious undertakings. Journalism experience and the ability to code are must-haves.

What you’ll do at ProPublica:

• Find, or build, the data that uncovers stories with an accountability lens.
• Conduct analyses that detect bias, influence and other harms.
• Explain our work and make it reproducible by writing engaging methodologies.
• Develop high-impact investigative projects using code and data analysis as well as interviews, research and on-the-ground reporting.
• Clean, bulletproof and spot-check data that underpins our investigations.
• Scrape websites and wrangle data, including the unstructured, messy kind.
• Consume APIs, including poorly designed ones.

We’re looking for someone with many of the following skills:

• At least four years of experience working on data projects, ideally focused on accountability, in a newsroom.
• Ability to bring an accountability lens to the issues of the day through quick investigations reported over a couple of weeks as well as longer projects that may require a few months (or more) of digging, using data and code to get there.
• Experience building data pipelines and conducting rigorous analysis.
• A solid understanding of the tools of data analysis, such as database management systems, statistics software like R, Google BigQuery, Python/pandas, Jupyter Notebooks, etc.
• Experience with best practices in data journalism, including a keen and careful eye for detail, documentation and reproducibility.
• Experience working with AI and machine learning, including generative AI, large language models and other forms of machine learning.
• Familiarity with public data sources across several beats and experience requesting data through public records requests.
• Comfort spinning many plates. You’ll need to stay organized, focused and proactive.
• A talent for translating complex topics clearly and compellingly to our audience.
• The self-discipline to work independently, as well as an eagerness to work with teammates and local partner reporters on collaborative projects.
• Ability to travel, as necessary, for assignments, team summits and training.
• A deep desire to work on important accountability stories and an eagerness to help dig for the truth to help spur reform.

This position is full time with benefits. The team is distributed, so remote applicants anywhere in the U.S. are welcome. For those who prefer working from an office, our headquarters are in New York City, and we have offices in Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; Chicago; Phoenix; and Berkeley, California.

The expected salary range for this position is $120,000 to $140,000.

This is a good-faith estimate of what we expect to pay for this position. The final salary figure will take into account a person’s experience, accomplishment and location. ProPublica is committed to paying its staff equitably, and these ranges should not be considered career salary limits or caps.

We will begin reviewing applications as we receive them, but we will continue to consider candidates as long as the posting remains live on our site.

Questions? Send an email to [email protected].

No phone calls, please.