The availability of public data is growing at exponential rates, creating unprecedented opportunities for data analytics and information arbitrage. The Vertical Knowledge (VK) platform enables our customers to access and understand information that is publicly available but very challenging to identify and capture at scale. It provides organizations in both public and private sectors with a significant strategic advantage, transforming the way they discover, collect, and deploy Publicly Available Information (PAI) to solve their most challenging problems. We are constantly adapting to a rapidly changing landscape, and our customers depend on our innovation, proprietary technology, expertise, and support to consistently deliver the value of PAI.

At VK we hire talented people and then give them the opportunity and support to make an impact. Working at VK means standing at the forefront of technology that enables organizations across the private and public sectors to harness PAI (Publicly Available Information, also known as public data) - the fastest-growing type of alternative data in the world. 

As the saying goes, when everyone’s digging for oil, it’s good to be in the drill business.  Data is today’s oil and VK builds the most sophisticated and powerful drilling technology in the market.  

VK is based in Chagrin Falls, outside of Cleveland, OH. (home of Calvin & Hobbes, Superman and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). We are a mission-driven organization that takes pride in knowing that our work has the potential to literally save lives. 

We're looking for a skilled Data Scientist who will be responsible for applying technical expertise to execute meaningful analysis using specialized methodologies and tools to support our customer's mission and operations. The position will report to the Chief Data Strategy Officer. 

The data scientist role includes data model development, analysis, testing, and creating derived data product, working closely with internal and external customers to understand their questions and needs.

The Data Scientist role is responsible for data processing, engineering, analysis tasks, analyzing information, identifying trends, and creation of data models. The Data Scientist role will gain insight into key business problems and deliverables by applying statistical analysis techniques to examine structured and unstructured data across multiple data sources.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Use Python, SQL, visualization tools and other data science IDEs to query, transform, analyze, and combine datasets in support of solving problems and implementing research ideas across industries and data categories.
• Enhance our platform through the creation of tools and processes that streamline, scale, and standardize our ability to evaluate, clean, analyze, and disseminate data
• Work with cross-discipline teams to ensure connectivity between various data sources and business problems
• Communicate highly technical methods to non-technical stakeholders and translate open-ended questions into data-driven answers
• The Data Scientist role will work well with peers of similar experience as well as senior managers and juniors that need mentoring

QUALIFICATIONS

• 2 or more years of experience in a data science or research function
• B.S. Degree in a STEM, quantitative or analytical field such as Computer Science, Mathematics, Economics, Statistics, Engineering, Physics, or Computational Social Science; or combination/equivalent work experience and/or military training with a Masters Degree in Data Science
• Strong technical data aptitude coupled with a strong understanding of the business value open-source data contributes to solving complex problems
• Possess both an understanding of real-world mission/business objectives and a working grasp of software development practices and technologies
• Must be a skilled communicator, with well-developed verbal, written and presentation ability to communicate data narratives to technical and non-technical audiences
• Customer service oriented with a demonstrated desire to meet expectations and the ability to serve multiple internal and external customers and deliver an excellent experience. 
• Able to understand various data structures and common methods in data transformation
• Transferable experience in quantitative research, data science, data research, or similar functions is preferred.
• Experience using structured and unstructured databases
• Experience in data mining and statistical analysis
• Software programming knowledge (e.g. R, Scala, SQL and Python)
• Understanding of data architecture, table hierarchy and data relationships.
• Ability to perform data profiling to identify and understand anomalies.
• Project management skills/experience a plus
• Experience with Agile software development methodologies (e.g. JIRA) a plus
• This position requires that the candidate selected must be a U.S Citizen, and have the ability to obtain/maintain a U.S. DoD Top Secret Clearance
• Position may be based in our office in Northeast Ohio or remote anywhere in the U.S

COMPETITIVE BENEFITS & SALARY

• Company paid premiums for employees and their dependents, such as medical, dental, vision, disability and life
• Employer Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions 
• 401(k) retirement plan with financial planning
• Unlimited vacation days
• Flexible work schedules 
• A casual work environment and dog friendly office (Ohio HQ only)
• A fully stocked kitchen with snacks and beverages (Ohio HQ only)

Vertical Knowledge L.L.C. is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.  VK is committed to the policy of an equal employment opportunity in recruitment, hiring, career advancement, and all other personnel practices. All qualified applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, genetic information, disability, past or current military service, or national origin.    

Applicants who qualify under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as Amended, may be eligible for a reasonable accommodation in Vertical Knowledge LLC application and selection processes. If you require an accommodation in applying through our online system, please send an email to Careers@vk.ai. Please note that this email address is not to be used for checking on the status of an application.