Data Scientist

Description

The unit plans and oversees the bike share program and other shared micro-mobility services in the city, including dockless e-scooters and e-mopeds.

The bike share program is a public-private partnership and one of the largest systems of its kind. A five-year expansion will roughly double its earlier service area and place more than 40,000 bikes within a five-minute walk of half of the city's residents.

The original bike share agreement ends in 2029, and the city is preparing to redesign the program. This role acts as a core technical architect for what comes next, pairing daily system analytics with research into new technology, review of back-end architecture and drafting of technical requirements.

You will turn complex data from the bike share and e-scooter programs into insights for planning and daily operations, using analytics, visualization and clear storytelling. You will work with colleagues at every level to support better decisions.

Responsibilities

• Research bike share and shared mobility topics to inform current and future planning.
• Build predictive models that answer detailed questions and forecast future system behavior and needs, such as simulating how different pricing options affect ridership and revenue.
• Write reports and briefing materials from the databases behind the bike share and shared mobility systems.
• Check vendor compliance with government rules, department policies and contract terms.
• Answer ad hoc data requests from internal and external stakeholders quickly and accurately.
• Build and maintain Power BI dashboards that give internal teams insight.
• Turn data into clear stories for senior staff, managers and staff, covering both what happened and why.
• Study best practices in bike share technology, hardware and data infrastructure, and help leadership write technical specifications for the future of bike share in the city.
• Work with leadership, Operations, Planning and Policy to align analysis and research with organizational priorities.
• Give evidence-based recommendations on system planning, managing current service areas and future policy.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and build strong working relationships across the team.
• Monitor data quality, find problems and keep data accurate.
• Document data procedures such as data dictionaries and business rules.
• Plan, design, maintain and support the unit's internal databases.

Requirements

• For Assignment Level I, which covers only physical, biological and environmental sciences and public health: a master's degree from an accredited college or university in a relevant field of physical, biological or environmental science, or in public health.
• For Assignment Level II and above, you need one of the following.
• A doctorate from an accredited college or university in a relevant field of physical, biological, environmental or social science, plus one year of full-time experience in a responsible supervisory, administrative or research role in that field.
• A master's degree from an accredited college or university in a relevant field of physical, biological, environmental or social science, plus three years of responsible full-time research experience in that field.
• Education and or experience equivalent to either of the above. In every case you need at least a master's degree in a relevant field and at least two years of experience as described in the second option.
• Two years as a City Research Scientist Level I can replace the experience required in the first and second options.

Conditions

Title: City Research Scientist, posting 21744.

Reports to the Director of Data Science.

Appointments carry a minimum probationary period of one year.

The city is an equal opportunity employer that works to keep the workplace free from discrimination and harassment based on legally protected status.