Data Scientist

Company

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

As an employee of the Boston Fed, you will work to promote sound growth and financial stability in New England and the nation. You will contribute to communities, the region, and the nation by conducting economic research, participating in monetary policy-making, supervising certain financial institutions, providing financial services and payments, playing a leadership role in the payments industry, and supporting economic well-being in communities through a variety of efforts. The Boston Fed is one of 12 Reserve Banks and we serve all or parts of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Our mission is accomplished through our Bank's values: community, innovation, integrity, trust, leadership, and excellence.

The Data Scientist uses skills in computer science and statistics to enable and optimize big data analysis and to produce research and monetary policy analyses in collaboration with research economists..

Independently identify, implement, train, and analyze appropriate models for a wide variety of datasets and research questions. Collaborate with economists to build and operationalize supervised and unsupervised learning models relevant to their research. Develop statistical tests to make data-driven economic analyses. Design and implement data pipelines involving cloud resources, SQL and NoSQL databases, and various analytical environments. Find new uses for existing data sources and make recommendations for the acquisition of new sources of information. Produce reports and presentations to illustrate results of data science activities. Research, implement, and document new data science tools (e.g., Anaconda stack, notebooks, new programming languages, cloud resources). Keep abreast of developments in big data computing tools and machine learning. Develop resources and training programs in data science tailored to economic researchers. Serve as department reference on programming in multiple paradigms (object-oriented, parallelized, and distributed).Perform other duties as assigned.Bachelor’s degree with extensive course work in computer science and statistics required. Master’s degree or above in a related field (i.e., applied mathematics, statistics, computer science or a related subject) preferred. College-level coursework in economics; general understanding of the role of the Federal Reserve.Mathematics/statistics/econometrics Ability to independently identify, implement, train, and analyze appropriate models for a wide variety of datasets and research questions. Strong statistics and econometric skills. Deep understanding of the assumptions and potential flaws in the applications of specific statistical methods, including in a wide variety of regression settings. Skills in machine learning (neural network and tree-based models) and natural language processing (deep learning). Strong mathematical background, including college- or graduate-level linear algebra, calculus, probability, and real analysis. Proven experience with data mining (e.g., clustering, dimensionality reduction). Understanding of fundamental concepts in econometrics (e.g., identification, causality, bias). Computer science Experience with a broad set of programming tools for quantitative analysis. Numerical Python (Numpy, pandas, scipy, scikit-learn), R, Julia, SQL. Confidence with a systems language (e.g., C or C++) when needed (preferred). Ability to effectively utilize distributed computing technologies (e.g., Spark, Hadoop). Ability to quickly ingest, structure, and operationalize large, potentially messy datasets. Detailed understanding of performance considerations and tuning of both SQL and NoSQL database technologies. Ability to perform performance optimization for a wide variety of numerical algorithms utilizing parallelization, vectorization, and GPU processing. Familiarity with AWS services and architectures. Understanding of modern best practices in data science, including software dependency management, notebooks, and version control. Strong background in algorithms and data structures. Background in software engineering preferred. Other High level of attention to detail; commitment to high-quality work. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including demonstrated ability to communicate complex economic or quantitative concepts to a wide range of knowledge levels. Ability to work collaboratively and contribute to a team setting as well as the ability to work independently and develop meaningful research questions. Experience working with demographic, economic, credit, and/or financial datasets. Interest in public policy. Proven ability to manage and adapt to multiple concurrent projects, shifting priorities, deadlines and informational needs.

All candidates must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent resident aliens with at least three or more years of U.S. residency from the date of legal entry to the U.S.

For this job, any offer of employment is contingent upon successfully passing a two-phase security screening. The first phase consists of the satisfactory completion of a physical examination (including a drug screening), reference checks, and a security investigation consisting of credit and criminal history checks. The second phase, which might not be complete until after you begin working at the Reserve Bank, is an additional risk-based security screening determined by the risk rating of the position.  Depending upon the sensitivity of the position, this phase may include, and is not limited to, citizenship status verification, and personal interviews with the candidate, references, and prior employers.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace and to provide equal employment opportunities to all persons without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, genetic information, disability, or military service.
 
 All employees assigned to this position will be subject to FBI fingerprint/ criminal background and Patriot Act/ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) watch list checks at least once every five years.
 
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work required of this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities or skills associated with this position or the personnel so classified. While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of this position, management reserves the right to revise this or any job description at its discretion at any time.

Full Time / Part Time

Full time

Regular / Temporary

Regular

Job Exempt (Yes / No)

Yes

Job Category

Work Shift

First (United States of America)

The Federal Reserve Banks are committed to equal employment opportunity for employees and job applicants in compliance with applicable law and to an environment where employees are valued for their differences.

Always verify and apply to jobs on Federal Reserve System Careers (https://rb.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/FRS) or through verified Federal Reserve Bank social media channels.

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