Data Science Educator – Python (Full Time)

Overview

Posit (formerly RStudio) creates great software that helps people understand data and make better decisions in real-world applications. Our core offering is an open source data science platform, and we aim to make it available to everyone, regardless of their economic means. We’re a Certified B Corporation®, which means that our open-source mission is codified into our corporate charter.

About the Role

We’re developing a learning product named Posit Academy to support Posit’s mission of making data science accessible to all. We believe that doing good data science, like playing the piano, is a skill that cannot be developed with traditional workshops and online courses alone. We’re helping learners develop their skills with a mentor-led, computer supported learning environment. This role will oversee the design, development, and delivery of educational content in this environment.

We’ve had great success with early customers but we’re still rapidly iterating and experimenting in order to fully realize the product’s potential. Additionally, we have ambitious plans for scaling this product from hundreds of users to thousands over the next year and you’ll be an integral part of making that happen. This team has all the excitement of a startup, but with the stability and work-life balance that comes from working at a profitable, mission-driven company.

Things you will own

As a Data Science Educator, you will be responsible for helping employed professionals learn to do data science with Python. You will:

• Write and edit instructional materials for Python users, maintaining a schedule that allows 15-20 hours per week of focused writing time. You will develop content for every step of the learning journey, from tutorials and code recipes, to practice exercises supported by grading code for automated feedback, to datasets cleaned and curated for students to use, to data science projects that allow students to apply what they learn as they learn it.
• Mentor small groups of adult learners as they complete apprenticeships with Python. Each apprenticeship lasts about 12 weeks and guides a group of 5-7 learners through the tutorials, exercises, and projects that you and your team members will create. As a mentor, you will:
  • Facilitate weekly 1 hour online group sessions where students will share their data science project milestones.
  • Meet with students online each week, in individual or group office hours, collecting questions ahead of time in a Slack or MS Teams channel.
  • Create a positive, fun, and judgment free learning environment and encourage active participation. Where appropriate, you will provide students with useful feedback and tips on how to improve their Python programming.

Things you will help with

You will collaborate frequently with Engineers, Designers, and other Educators to develop infrastructure that supports the learning process. You will have the opportunity to:

• Provide product vision for software features, sharing pedagogical principles with your teammates.
• Experiment with other mentors to optimize the apprenticeship format.
• Review your writing regularly with fellow writers in a supportive and social culture that prizes clear writing.
• Help hire additional team members to expand our rapidly growing team.
• Learn new technology to teach, first and foremost Shiny for Python.

Things you will bring to the team

Ideal candidates will:

• Enjoy helping others reach their goals.
• Write clear prose that is a pleasure to read.
• Be eager to speak and code in front of students, but prefer to nudge students to try it themselves.
• Know Python well including pandas and scikit- learn, and have two or more years of experience using Python to do data science tasks.
• Have experience collaborating with others via git and github.com.
• Enjoy working in a startup-like environment with lots of autonomy and a strong sense of mission.
• Have a strong sense of empathy. You know how to explain technical concepts in a way that others will understand, you know how to make lessons enjoyable, and you can deliver feedback without demoralizing students.

Things we will help you learn

It would be a bonus if you knew about these things as well, but we are happy to teach you:

• Modern models of how the brain learns, such as Cognitive Load Theory, Deep processing, Multimedia Learning Theory, mastery learning, spaced (or interleaved) practice, and active learning.
• Enterprise data science, including the basics of: publishing data science artifacts, working in a server environment, selecting architecture for data scientists, customizing deployment methods, connecting to and working with databases, managing packages, and more.
• Further data science topics such as plotnine, siuba, R, Shiny, Tidymodels and emerging technologies.