Overview – Intern Position

US Ignite, Inc. (US Ignite) is looking for a Data Scientist Intern (Preferred experience working with Urban Datasets) to work on development of an economic development tool for US Ignite’s partner communities and their small businesses partners. If you’re looking for an exciting and innovative project to accelerate your career, come join a team that constantly seeks to spur innovation and builds things better and faster for our communities.

This internship is an exciting opportunity to be part of a team of brilliant people that is truly helping shape the future of the Internet and the way Americans across the country will experience their work and day to day lives.

About US Ignite

US Ignite is a national nonprofit, a 501(c)(3), that is accelerating the smart city movement – and creating value for an entire ecosystem – by guiding communities into the connected future, creating a path for private sector growth, and advancing technology research that’s at the heart of smart city development. Why is this important? Because local governments need to improve quality of life and ensure economic development in their communities, particularly during a time of rapid technological change. Businesses recognize the importance of the emerging market around smart communities and need to find commercial strategies that are repeatable, scalable, and sustainable. And foundations and federal agencies need to channel their institutional aims into efforts ranging from cutting-edge research to practical economic development initiatives that deliver measurable benefits.

As a trusted partner, US Ignite brings this entire smart city ecosystem together, successfully pairing financial investment with technical and organizational expertise. Through the public-private partnership programs we run, US Ignite is a catalyst for communications network advancement, and for innovation in smart city services that are powered by a new generation of technologies.

To make it all happen, our crew of highly experienced (and fun) team members work with people from research universities, small communities, cities, government agencies, and the biggest names of the telecommunications and technology sectors to identify and connect resources and best practices that ignite smarter communities.  It’s exciting, challenging, and visionary work, and we would love for you to be a part of our team!

About the Smart Cities Data Exchange Project

For your internship, you’ll be aligned with the Smart Cities Data Exchange Project. US Ignite and the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) are now in the software design phase of building a new economic development tool for smart communities. This is part of our joint Smart City Data Exchange initiative, and our aim is to provide communities with the ability to see development potential in their neighborhoods on a property-by-property basis for the purpose of attracting commercial investment and fostering economic growth.

The new data visualization tool is being developed on a Geographic Information System (GIS) based demographic map and will use numerous datasets obtained both from open data portals and through our partnerships with cities and other private stakeholders. It will have the ability to extract information from data sources via API, and then translate that data for further processing, analytics, and visual presentation. Users will be able to enter the characteristics of a particular business into the application, and the software will suggest optimal locations for investment based on business type and specified attributes of interest.

Job Summary
As a Data Scientist, you will discover and solve real-world problems by analyzing large amounts of data –  specifically federal, city and sensor data, defining new metrics and business cases, designing simulations and experiments, creating models, and collaborating with colleagues in engineering, software, and controls. You will be responsible for data modeling, discovering insights and identifying opportunities through the use of statistical, machine learning, algorithmic, data mining and visualization techniques.

Primary Job Responsibilities

Primary internship responsibilities include:

• Identifying the datasets that will be helpful in the development of the tool.
• Engaging in data collection and pre-processing in support of tool development and multiple machine learning workflow modelling or test data collection.
• Working with API from different city/federal/private data sources.
• Working on Data Extraction Transformation and Loading (ETL), Data Merging, Data Analysis, Data Postprocessing and Data Visualization.
• Modeling the Data and performing single/multi variate analysis using dependent covariates.
• Following best practices to gather and use large datasets from multiple sources, adapt existing knowledge to build models, and design workable solutions to meet customer needs.
• Producing basic Front-End development.
• Participating in team business reviews, design, scoping, and prioritization discussions.
• Writing accurate, clear, and mathematically rigorous technical documents and reports.
• Ensuring work meets needs and team goals.
• Making contributions to internal/external data science community.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a highly quantitative field (computer science, Urban or electrical engineering, mathematics, statistics) or equivalent domain-specific experience in lieu of a degree.
• Experience with SQL, R, Python (Mandatory), or other scripting language; command line usage.
• Proficient in ML data workflows, data collection methodologies, and data analysis.
• Work with Urban Datasets and Economic Modelling preferred.

Location and Period of Performance

US Ignite is located in Washington, DC. Ideally, candidates should be willing to work in Washington, DC this winter in order to encourage in-person collaborations with team members. However, candidates outside of the Washington, DC area may be considered. The proposed internship period of performance is January 2020-May 2020.

Stipend

Compensation commensurate with experience.

How to Apply

To apply, please send a resume and a cover letter to Meghan Histand ([email protected]) and Praveen Ashok ([email protected]). The deadline for this internship opportunity is December 2, 2019.

Notice

US Ignite is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a U.S. veteran.