Data Scientist

Accepting applications until December 6 at 6pm ET

About WattTime

WattTime is a non-profit tech start-up. We conduct and coordinate original research into emissions datasets with unusual potential to rapidly drive emissions reductions at scale, then help implement those reductions. Our best-known innovation is Automated Emissions Reduction (AER), used by over 600 million devices daily (e.g., all Nest thermostats, U.S. iPhones, Toyota EVs, etc.) to cut their carbon footprints by using energy when the grid is cleanest. We also develop and share other techniques, like our Emissionality technology, to multiply the impact of renewable energy projects.

WattTime is also the secretariat of Climate TRACE, a joint initiative of over 100 non-profits, tech companies, universities, and individual researchers pooling their expertise in AI, remote sensing, and emissions data to collectively build a highly advanced comprehensive open source global greenhouse gas measurement system.

Members of the Climate TRACE coalition, which includes former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, apply machine learning to satellite imagery to “trace” all greenhouse gasses around the world to their individual sources. In November 2022, the coalition completed the MVP which was unveiled by the Secretary General of the United Nations at the COP27 international climate negotiations. Now cities, states, and even country governments are signing up to use the tool to inform and accelerate their decarbonization strategies. To support this demand, the coalition is further building out the data team. This unique role will involve supporting governments and companies around the world in decarbonizing with the speed only cutting-edge technology and collaboration makes possible. 

 About the Role

Climate TRACE is a coalition of organizations -- over 60 people across 12+ organizations all working on the same goal. Each month, WattTime receives millions of new data points containing key information on the state of greenhouse gas emissions globally. We are seeking an experienced Data Scientist to work with this data, ensuring quality, consistency, and accuracy. 

Each member within Climate TRACE has a different expertise -- heavy industry, oil and gas, road transportation, etc. This role will be intimately involved in the data for each sector, learning the ins and outs of each team’s model, and the basics of that particular sector of emissions. If you are interested in growing an intimate understanding of all global emissions, this is the role for you. 

As a Data Scientist working on Climate TRACE, you’ll be responsible for finding automated ways to answer questions like: Does this global value for e.g. cement production emissions “make sense”? How can we contextualize this value and validate it within a greater global or industrial context in an automated fashion? Are there other economic or social indicators that could help me understand this data? 

This role will be a great fit for anyone with exceptional analysis/data science skills, a penchant for finding trends and anomalies in large datasets, and a curiosity for interpreting the real world implications of data. You don’t just see data as numbers to put in a database, you understand that these numbers represent something in the world and are driven to understand what that is. 

 Responsibilities

• Perform and automate validation of data submitted to WattTime from Climate TRACE members each month

• Build and execute systems for evaluating large amounts of data and quickly finding potential errors

• Help detect anomalies by projecting what values might be expected vs. what was delivered

• Maintain, document, and develop shared repositories for data analysis (both internal and open/public)

• Curate and ingest a pipeline of new data that meaningfully adds to the Climate TRACE database or analysis capabilities (e.g. new asset locations or economic indicators)

• Transform data (including scraped data, above) to be stored in Postgres database

• Design and maintain dashboards to monitor data quality and consistency

 Qualifications 

Above all, the person hired for this position should be committed to driving positive impact in the world. All candidates should have proven experience that includes: 

Required hard skills 

• Bachelors or higher in STEM related field, finance, or equivalent

• Excellent programming skills in Python, including experience with large datasets

• Knowledge of predictive statistics, e.g. Bayesian, Actuarial, Operations research

• Ability to contextualize data with additional information and knowledge

• Ability to work effectively from a remote environment across regular U.S. work hours through tools like Slack, Zoom, GSuite, and others 

Required soft skills

• Precise, clear communicator who can accurately articulate what they do vs. don’t know 

• Iterative thinker who thrives while moving fast despite imperfect data. Perfectionists, this role is not the one for you!

• Excellent problem-solving skills, particularly in breaking problems into component parts

• Ability to take initiative and collaborate in a low-hierarchy, fast-moving environment 

• Collaborative, flexible, respectful, and kind 

• Experience or interest in working within a tech start-up, evolving as the organization grows

• Willingness to travel to team collaborative sessions a few times a year

• Above all, a deep seated-commitment to stopping climate change and a willingness to place that above all other goals, even when that’s messy and hard

Preferred

• Experience in the field(s) of emissions, sustainability, the physical economy, or climate science

• Experience working with greenhouse gas emissions inventories and/or remote sensing

• Experience working with very large databases and/or geospatial data
  

How We Measure Success at WattTime

• Productivity: hard work, efficiency, completing ambitious deadlines on time

• Quality: producing high quality work, proactivity, use of specialized skills 

• Doing the work: on-task, flexibility, prioritizing whatever climate impact requires

• Judgment: critical thinking, clear communication, anticipating problems, impact-focused decision-making

• Helping others: collaboration, active listening, respect, giving/receiving feedback, self-awareness
  

Logistics

• This is a full time, remote position - work from anywhere in the U.S. 

• Must be authorized to work in the U.S. 

• For those authorized and located in the U.S., WattTime is open to U.S. visa sponsorship; as an H-1B cap-exempt, non-profit research organization, WattTime can sponsor employees for H-1B status throughout the year

• Salary: $180,000-$190,000/year, based on where you can hit the ground running

 Application Process

• Resume screening 

• Initial phone screening

• Technical interview #1

• Skills assessment to see your work in action

• Technical interview #2

• Final round interviews including with the team at large

• Reference checks and offer

Read more about what it's like on this LinkedIn post from one of our fantastic engineers.

Why Work with WattTime

• Competitive salary

• Full medical, dental, vision, life insurance packages for employees and 80% coverage for dependents

• Paid parental leave 

• Flexible time off 

• Professional development support 

• Home office support and employee choice technology 

• 403b with up to 5% matching contribution

• Opportunity to work for a tech non-profit focused on driving real impact 

What we’re like: we’re obsessed with making practical, results-driven change. We believe nothing has more potential for fast, world-changing impact than software. We embrace change. We are lean and rapid prototypers. We never confuse growth with impact. We are all personally, fiercely committed to our mission. We are quietly radical in unexpected ways. We don’t believe in competition–other people doing good work are allies. Our deep bench of expert volunteers helps us routinely punch above our weight class. We trust in data and everyone’s voice being heard. We know diversity is central to success. We consider respect non-negotiable; there are no jerks here.

 How to Apply

You can apply for this position on our website at www.WattTime.org. From the “About” tab, select the “Careers” page, then select the job for which you want to apply.  

Please attach your resume and in lieu of a cover letter, use the form field provided to address the following:

• Given what you know today, does your previous experience match this role most in terms of the skills required, domain knowledge relevant to our specific coalition, or mission-alignment with Climate TRACE overall? Feel free to add some nuance, but start with one of these three aspects as your top match.

 Equal Opportunity Policy 

WattTime is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, pregnancy, marital status, family care status, age, appearance, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental ability, medical condition, military or veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or characteristics or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local laws. We encourage all individuals to apply and are committed to a diverse workplace where every person is treated with respect and dignity. 

WattTime is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, WattTime will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided with reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed for the application process described above, please contact Julie Tompkins at julie.tompkins@watttime.org.