Senior Policy Data Analyst

Recidiviz•Oakland, CA

2d•Remote

About The Position

Recidiviz is hiring a Senior Policy Data Analyst to help criminal justice systems use evidence and analytics to improve outcomes. The policy team works with state Department of Corrections leaders to develop or revise policies grounded in administrative data and analysis. The analyst translates policy concepts into concrete modeling and decision support, helping state partners understand system behavior, evaluate policy scenarios, and make informed changes. This is a high-autonomy technical contributor role. The analyst owns the analytical process end to end: turning project objectives into analytical products, designing an approach, managing risks and timelines, producing findings, and preparing materials for decision-makers. The work emphasizes building analysis for decisions rather than research findings. Projects are often novel and evolve as system dynamics and stakeholder needs become clearer. The analyst works closely with a Partnerships Lead, who coordinates with state partners on objectives, while the analyst sets the strategy for analysis. Success is measured by the impact of the analyst’s interventions. The role involves working with corrections and parole data, modeling policy scenarios and tradeoffs, communicating findings to decision-makers, managing projects, collaborating across Recidiviz, and identifying opportunities for further analysis. The position can be performed remotely or from Recidiviz’s Oakland or Manhattan offices. Travel to state partners in the continental United States is encouraged approximately once every six months and is occasionally required; trips are expected to include visits to prisons and parole offices.

Requirements

At least 5 years of practical experience exploring, analyzing, and processing complex datasets.
Professional experience using SQL with large datasets, including high proficiency writing efficient queries for complex extraction and transformation.
Professional experience with Python, particularly pandas, for statistical analysis and data visualization.
Sufficient statistical background to reason about analysis design, examine results closely, and prepare analyses that withstand scrutiny.
Experience scoping and delivering analytical work, particularly balancing depth and speed under short timelines and shifting priorities.
Experience on teams with shared cross-functional ownership, including proactively seeking missing context and flagging risks before they become blockers.

Nice To Haves

Experience adapting quantitative methods to create intuitively meaningful metrics in ambiguous, unconstrained contexts.
Experience working with large public-sector administrative datasets, especially criminal justice data.
Familiarity with Google Cloud Platform, BigQuery, Looker, Jupyter notebooks, and Python/Pandas.

Responsibilities

Use SQL and Python to process corrections and parole administrative data and explain how systems behave.
Develop statistical analyses and models, such as regressions, time-series analyses, stock-and-flow models, or distributional analyses, to project outcomes under different policy designs and assess data limitations.
Create decision-support materials, including decks and memos for Department of Corrections leadership, and tailor findings to the audience to support action.
Own projects end to end by translating objectives into an analysis strategy, setting roadmaps, identifying and addressing unknowns, adapting to changing objectives, and right-sizing analyses for impact.
Collaborate across Recidiviz to gather state context, understand data infrastructure, and support policy implementation.
Identify further analytical opportunities in assigned states and conduct early exploration to assess their potential.
Develop analytical approaches, modeling patterns, or frameworks that can be reused by teammates across states.

Benefits

90% medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage for employees and dependents.
Flexible time off, including 20 days of PTO, 3 days of paid volunteering time, and 13 paid holidays.
12 weeks of paid parental leave.
401(k) retirement plan with a 5% company match and no vesting period.
Complimentary One Medical membership, depending on location.
Carrot partnership offering fertility and family-forming benefits, as well as a growing number of hormonal health and gender-affirming care benefits.
Monthly ClassPass credit for personal wellness.
Free mental health support via Talkspace.
Option to work remotely or from Oakland or Manhattan offices.
Annual company offsite each spring and other ad hoc gatherings.
Thoughtful colleagues working together on a mission-driven organization, with startup challenges and stretch opportunities.