Algorithmic Justice Fellow

ABOUT THE JOB

The ACLU seeks a full-time Algorithmic Justice Fellow, for a period of 12-months in the Technology Department's Analytics Division of the ACLU’s National office in New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, or Washington, DC. This is a hybrid role that has in-office requirements of two (2) days per week or eight (8) days per month.

The ACLU Technology Department provides trusted, dependable, and impactful analytics, engineering and product design and management expertise for the ACLU. In partnership with experts across the ACLU, the technology team delivers best-in-class solutions, services, and innovation that advance the ACLU mission and organizational priorities.

ACLU Analytics partners with teams across the organization to enable the ACLU to make smart, evidence-based decisions and bring quantitative insights on our issues to the courtroom and the public. Our team's work ranges from social science research for litigation & advocacy, to analysis & reporting for fundraising and engagement, to building and maintaining our data infrastructure. We strive to ensure the ACLU leads by example in the ethical use of data and technology. This includes maintaining our privacy and security standards, pushing for transparent data practices from government and corporate actors, and helping to steward high standards for algorithmic fairness, accountability, and transparency.

WHAT YOU'LL DO 

Reporting to the Data Science Manager, Algorithmic Justice Specialist, the Algorithmic Justice Fellow will use quantitative and qualitative research and analysis to support cutting-edge litigation, advocacy, and public education related to algorithms and civil rights. Working in close partnership with ACLU technologists, attorneys, and policy advocates, you will design and implement methods to audit deployed algorithmic systems used in high stakes areas like hiring, housing, and credit, analyze emerging state and local AI policy, and translate your findings into recommendations for litigators and policymakers, through research reports, whitepapers, and other written outputs. Your analyses will contribute to the development of methods for addressing discrimination in the digital realm – a critical emerging arena for advancing civil rights.

YOUR DAY TO DAY

You will be part of the Legal Analytics & Quantitative Research team, and work with team members across Analytics as well as stakeholders in our Legal, Political Advocacy, Digital, and Communications teams. Below is a sampling of projects you can expect to dive into:

• Develop and apply quantitative methods to evaluate automated systems, including systems leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), used for decision-making in areas like hiring, housing, and credit to assess and quantify their impact on marginalized communities.
• Contribute to all aspects of quantitative and qualitative evaluations of automated systems, including study design, literature reviews, project management, and writing for outputs including academic publications, whitepapers, and policy briefs
• Collaborate closely with other ACLU team members – including ACLU attorneys, policy counsels, data scientists, engineers, and other technologists – as well as with partner organizations and academic researchers on investigations for litigation, public-facing reports, academic publications, and data analyses
• Review and analyze patterns in local, state and federal policies and legislation regulating artificial intelligence using both manual and automated tools, such as applying natural language processing (NLP) techniques to the analysis of legislative text
• Support the legal analytics team on other high-priority civil rights cases, including disparate impact claims in criminal justice, housing, or employment
• Center principles of equity, inclusion, and belonging in all work, embedding the values in program development, policy application, and organizational practices and processes

FUTURE ACLU'ERS WILL 

• Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU
• Center and embed the principles of equity, inclusion and belonging in their work by demonstrating commitment to diversity with an approach that respects and values multiple perspectives
• Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflicts

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

• Substantial training and experience with issues related to fairness, accountability, and transparency of automated decision-making systems used in hiring and employment, housing, credit, or other areas
• Fluency in R, Python, or comparable statistical programming language
• Experience conducting quantitative or qualitative research studies and communicating findings in academic publications, whitepapers, or similar written outputs
• Experience analyzing local, state or federal policies and legislation related to automated systems and AI
• Experience applying project management skills to interdisciplinary projects with multiple stakeholders
• Ability to clearly translate technical concepts for a non-technical audience, including through data visualizations, presentations, written outputs, and other formats
• The ideal candidate will have a passion for the ACLU, civil liberties and civil rights, with an emphasis on algorithmic accountability and digital rights in particular

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Graduate-level work or research on sociotechnical aspects of algorithmic systems, or equivalent work experience
• Experience conducting correspondence testing studies or civil rights testing studies
• Experience conducting audits of deployed automated systems, especially “black box” audits and audits of systems used in hiring, housing, credit, or other areas
• Experience analyzing federal, state, or local policy as legislative data, e.g., using open data sources such as the Congress.gov API and applying statistical methods to machine-readable versions of legislative language
• Proficiency with Natural Language Processing (NLP) methods

COMPENSATION

The ACLU is committed to equity, transparency, and clarity in pay. Consistent with our compensation philosophy, there is a set salary for each role based on geographic work location. The annual salary for this position is $119,188 (Level G), reflecting the salary of a position based in Washington, DC.  Salaries are subject to a regional pay adjustment if authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting.     For details on our pay structure, please visit: https://www.aclu.org/careers/ACLU_Geographic_Pay_Structure-July_2024.pdf

WHY THE ACLU

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people.

We know that great people make a great organization. We value our people and know that what we offer is essential not just their work, but to their overall well-being. 

At the ACLU, we offer a broad range of benefits, which include:

• Time away to focus on the things that matter with a generous paid-time off policy
• Focus on your well-being with comprehensive healthcare benefits (including medical, dental and vision coverage, parental leave, gender affirming care & fertility treatment)
• Plan for your retirement with 401k plan and employer match
• We support employee growth and development through annual professional development funds, internal professional development programs and workshops

OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCESSIBILITY, EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. For us diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are not just check-the-box activities, but a chance for us to make long-term meaningful change.  We are a community committed to learning and growth, humility and grace, transparency and accountability. We believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within our organization – one that respects and embraces difference; treats everyone equitably; and empowers our colleagues to do the best work possible. We are as committed to anti-oppression, anti-ableism, and anti-racism internally as we are externally. Because whether we’re in the courts or in the office, we believe ‘We the People’ means all of us.

With this commitment in mind, we strongly encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.    

The ACLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please email benefits.hrdept@aclu.org. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

The Department of Education has determined that employment in this position at the ACLU does not qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.