Hi, I'm Glenn Amundsen, Director of Data Science at Thresher.

We’re looking for someone who is passionate about data science techniques, machine learning, and network analysis, to join our growing DS team. Thresher is building systems to decode the Chinese Government’s manipulation of the information space. We combine signal-rich proprietary data, novel AI-Powered technology, and world-class expertise to deliver valuable insights to our US government and Fortune 50 clients. 

As a data scientist at Thresher, you will be responsible for helping build these tools, working to uncover, analyze, and frame data insights hidden in these manipulation signals to help our subject matter experts (SMEs) and clients. Your projects will range from week-long efforts producing immediate value to multi-year DARPA-funded initiatives that straddle the line between fundamental research and applied R&D.

You'll work with members of our data science, subject matter expert, engineering, and product teams. One of our company values is “Just keep swimming.” We iterate together with a focus for action, striving to deliver the best products and insights to our clients. In this role, you will work on your own and with your team to find creative solutions and tackle challenging problems with cutting-edge technology.

In this position, you’ll:

• Experiment with a range of data science techniques to produce insight, including machine learning, network analysis, sampling methodologies, multi-language NLP, and data visualization
• Implement cutting-edge research at the intersection of data science and social science
• Explore and extract value from our database of more than 300 million documents
• Build new text classifiers
• Use neural networks and other techniques to leverage our unlabeled data
• Leverage state of the art open source techniques and tools like BERT to deliver value
• Own projects from inception to implementation
• Be responsible for projects that span statistical and mathematical reasoning, business communications and leadership, and computer programming
• Deliver insights to support existing products and come up with innovative product growth opportunities
• Participate in strategic discussions about the future of data science at Thresher
• Design and execute experiments to evaluate the integrity of our data sampling and collection strategies.
• Build prototype tools to help our SMEs extract insights from our data
• Use statistics to give SME insights a robust mathematical backing
• Work with our advisors from Harvard, Stanford, and UC San Diego to ensure we are employing the best methodologies to address complex, open-ended research questions

Here are some of the skills you’ll need to dive into the role:

• Experience with Machine Learning, NLP, and/or network analysis
• Experience building or tuning deep learning models especially in an NLP context
• A good understanding of statistics, including familiarity with statistical tests, distributions, and maximum likelihood estimators
• Ability to code, wrangle data, and implement algorithms in Python or R and familiarity with a database querying language like SQL or Elasticsearch
• Knowledge of which tools are suited for a given task, but also the ability to think of solutions beyond those best practices
• Capability to understand and integrate client or user needs
• Ability to work in a team with a diverse set of skills and life experiences
• Ability to communicate with data visualizations
• Ability to communicate well verbally and in writing at all levels of technical expertise, including to non-technical customers
• Ability to creatively solve problems and learn quickly and independently
• Time management skills. We have a lot to do in a little time. Understanding how to get things done, how to prioritize, and how to do that with others is key

Other nice-to-haves include:

Strong quantitative background with Bachelor’s degree in Physics, Computer Science, Math, Statistics, Economics, Engineering, or similar field. Master’s degrees preferred. PhD even better.

• Track record of turning data insights into product growth opportunities
• Familiarity with software development procedures/tools like Agile, Git and Jira
• 2+ years of relevant work experience (or 1+ with a PhD)

Excited? Want to know more about Thresher?

Thresher was born from the output of a team of data scientists from Harvard and the wisdom of a former intelligence officer who understands the needs of experts conducting high stakes analysis. Our workforce is fully remote, and brings together engineers, data scientists, subject matter experts, and product and corporate officers. Read more about our team here.

We strive to take care of our employees and invest in a culture that brings out the best in its members. Employee benefits include:

• Competitive, market-based compensation 
• Paid leave, including 20 days of vacation, 10 federal holidays, and 9 days of sick leave each year
• Company covers 100% of health care premiums for employees and 50% for dependents. We also provide short- and long-term disability, and life insurance for employees
• 6 weeks of paid parental leave, plus an additional 6 weeks paid through our disability coverage
• 401K retirement matching of 3%
• A $500 stipend to help set up your home office
• Option of co-working space reimbursement if you'd prefer to work in a co-working environment
• All-company gatherings a few times per year. Right now the pandemic is messing up in-person gatherings, but we still do great virtual sessions
• Flexible remote location in the US with schedule flexibility—there are lots of options about where you can be and how you can travel in this remote-first position once you coordinate with your manager and team 
• Weekly “virtual donuts” with colleagues, biweekly online games, team yoga, 5Ks, and other team and wellness activities

Diversity Promise

Thresher is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We give equal consideration to all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. Please see the US Department of Labor's EEO poster and EEO poster supplement for additional information. 

How to apply

If you read everything above and can picture yourself at Thresher, we are excited to see your application. Please fill out the form online (link below), and submit a resume and a cover letter describing why you are interested in working here and tell us a challenging problem you solved. (Make sure to include the letter! Applications that omit it will not be considered because we are looking for folks who are great communicators.)

Once you apply, here’s what you can expect in the interview and hiring process:

1. 30-minute informational call with a member of our Recruiting Management team
2. ~2 hour take-home exercise
3. 1-hour video call with our Director of Data Science
4. 1-hour video call with our Directors of Product and Data Science
5. 1-hour final call with our CEO