Data Scientist or Associate Data Scientist
WHO WE ARE
We are the Metropolitan Council, the regional government for the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. We plan 30 years ahead for the future of the metropolitan area and provide regional transportation, wastewater, and housing services. More information about us on our website.
We are committed to supporting a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve.
Metro Transit is an operating division of the Metropolitan Council and provides about 80 million rides on our bus and rail network. Strategic Initiatives is a department responsible for supporting data-driven decisions across the operating division.
How your work would contribute to our organization and the Twin Cities region:
We are seeking a Data Scientist to be filled at one of the two levels below:
Data Scientist - At this level you will be expected to perform professional level of research and data science work.
Associate Data Scientist – As an aspiring data scientist, this is an entry level position with directed professional research and data science work.
In either of the levels you will apply advanced data manipulation and analytical methods, in support of data-driven decision making efforts in all Metro Transit functional areas. Additionally, you will support effective use and communication of work by designing and developing highly visual, interactive and accessible reports and tools for agency staff.
1. Design and advance Metro Transit's key performance indicators and other performance measures designed to inform planning and process improvement for bus and light rail operations. Examples of tasks include:
- Perform research to identify key factors that impact ridership, organizational efficiency, safety, etc. relevant to improving transit
- Prototype data manipulation processes intended to improve the accessibility and usability of critical data sources
- Use linear, logistic, fixed effects, and other methods in data science to analyze on-time performance, travel time, ridership and other key metrics in order to measure impacts of service design, service delivery, customer information, marketing, training, quality assurance programs and others
- Develop and use time-series models in support of forecasting to guide strategic planning and budgeting
2. Assist with performing data analysis research to identify the best transit industry practices and to inform modeling techniques:
- Collect, clean, and prepare data for statistical analysis
- Create and maintain databases and spreadsheets
- Organize data and results of analytics projects
3. Develop and deploy interactive visualization tools, combining knowledge of business processes, software development tools and techniques, model operation and database management.
What education and experience are required for this job (minimum qualifications)
Data Scientist -- Non-Represented Grade G, Exempt
Hiring Salary Range: $70,928 - $80,496
Full Non-Rep Grade G Salary Range: $70,928 - $107,058
Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Analytics, Physics, Biology, Psychology or other related quantitative field AND three (3) years*of experience in the following:
- Management of multivariate datasets and use of statistical modeling techniques
- Using the "R" or "Python" programming language
- SQL
- Parsing and cleaning unstructured, structured, and semi-structured data, in the full analytics project life-cycle including communicating results to stakeholders.
- At least one (1) year of experience in the development and deployment of statistical models
OR
Associate's degree and five (5) years of experience in the above areas,
OR
High school diploma, or GED, and seven (7) years of experience in the above areas.
Associate Data Scientist -- Non-Represented Grade F, Non-exempt
Hiring Salary Range: $65,603 - $74,443
Full Non-Rep Grade F Salary Range: $65,603 - $99,008
Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Analytics, Physics, Biology, Psychology or other related quantitative field AND two (2) years* of experience in the following:
- Management of multivariate datasets and use of statistical modeling techniques
- Using the "R" or "Python" programming language
- SQL
- Parsing and cleaning unstructured, structured, and semi-structured data, in the full analytics project life-cycle including communicating results to stakeholders
OR
Associate's degree and four (4) years of experience in the above areas,
OR
High school diploma, or GED, and six (6) years of experience in the above areas.
*Master's degree may substitute for two (2) years of experience. Two years of experience can be gained during education through internships.
What additional skills and experience would be helpful in this job (desired qualifications):
- Interest and knowledge in transit operations and planning – and a desire to improve the experiences of transit customers
- Proficient with visualization tools like Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, R Shiny, etc.
- Excellent communication skills including summarizing key findings using plain language and developing compelling presentations for audiences that are not familiar with data scientist skills or techniques
What knowledge, skills and abilities you should have within the first six months on the job:
- Use statistical analysis techniques (e.g., regression analysis, survival analysis, time-series modeling, etc.) to analyze data, identify trends and root causes of change or failure
- Database design and maintenance – includes organization and development of data sources
- Bus and rail transit systems operations principles and practices
- Basic level applied mathematics and statistics
- Basic level in Excel
- Basic level in SQL
- Basic level in a statistical analysis software package (i.e., R)
- Intermediate level report writing (e.g. Power BI, Tableau, etc.)
- Skills in data manipulation with structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data
- Read and understand complex academic and technical papers
- Write summary reports, technical papers, and literature reviews
What you can expect from us:
- We offer the opportunity to make a difference and positively influence the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
- We encourage our employees to develop their skills through on-site training and tuition reimbursement.
- We provide a competitive salary, excellent benefits and a good work/life balance.