Job Summary
The Visual Analytics Specialist position is an integral part of the Center for Sustainable Energy’s (CSE) Transparency and Insights (T&I) team, which supports the organization’s policy development, program implementation, and marketing and outreach activities. T&I is a dynamic group of over 30 researchers, data scientists, and program managers that works across all CSE’s major program areas: clean vehicles, electric vehicle infrastructure, distributed energy resources, and more. The Visual Analytics Specialist will contribute to CSE’s analytical capacity, particularly by implementing ETL (extract, transform, load) to curate datasets for visualization, descriptive data statistics and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) processes to guarantee accuracy, and UX/UI dashboard design processes to develop accessible static and interactive visualizations.
Essential Functions and Responsibilities:
Data Visualization and Reporting
Lead the development and maintenance of interactive and static data visualizations, which can range from web-based interactive dashboards, maps, predictive models, and reporting tools, as well as static tables and charts.
Design and develop data visualizations using CSE’s iterative process that routinely involves client interaction (user story interviews and user testing, and wireframe design and presentation).
Understand and implement best practices for UX/UI and accessibility.
Access data and facilitate reporting from existing databases.
Use and maintain standards of practice documentation, complete projects, and ensure consistent quality across our visual analytic deliverables.
Own quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) processes of visual products (data and functionality).
Contribute to training modules and learning opportunities for staff to learn visual analytics skills, such as UX//UI, accessibility-related topics.
Be a resource and mentor for junior staff implementing data visualization best practices.
Manage client expectations (e.g., prioritization of feedback while considering best practices).
Research and Statistical Methods
Perform statistical analysis (descriptive statistics) and/or GIS-based spatial analysis.
Perform quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) on data analyses conducted by research analysts.
Assemble, manipulate, analyze, and interpret data from various sources, potentially in coordination with external research partners.
Compile, read, and summarize existing literature to frame research efforts and inform policy.
CSE Program Support
Lead the identification and development of visual analytical tools for program assessment, tracking, and evaluation, including projections of budgets, hours, and participation rates.
Support program staff or senior members of T&I team in developing presentations.
Lead the presentation of materials to clients for feedback, including wireframes and visual minimal viable products (MVPs).
Contribute to business development initiatives when needed.
QUALIFICATIONS
Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Required
Data Visualization Software/Libraries (Intermediate/Advanced proficiency)
Familiarity with applying basic and intermediate data visualization approaches
Experience building interactive dashboards and static visualizations utilizing Tableau Cloud, Tableau Public, Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep, PowerBI, Flourish, Datawrapper, Plotly Dash, Plotly, Matplotlib, Seaborn or other comparable software preferred
Understand and apply visual hierarchy and container organization best practices
Implement interactive features, including parameters, filtering, and actions
Familiarity with data connectors
Graphic Design Software (Beginner/Intermediate proficiency)
Familiarity with designing wireframes using Figma, Canva, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator experience or other comparable software
Knowledge of scalable vector graphics (SVG)
Experience applying basic graphic design principles
UX/UI (Beginner/Intermediate proficiency)
Experience collecting user stories and conducting user testing
Understand how to effectively ensure smooth transition from test environment to production environment; Ability to test the production environment
Data Management (Intermediate proficiency)
General knowledge of ETL processing
SQL experience preferred, not required
Microsoft Excel (Intermediate/Advanced proficiency)
Look-up, index matching, calculations, pivot tables
Microsoft Word and PowerPoint (Intermediate proficiency)
Extraordinary attention to detail, organizational and problem-solving skills
Strong oral and written communication skills
Self-motivated to meet deadlines of multiple concurrent projects using project management tools
Proven ability to implement quality assurance protocols
Demonstrated propensity to proactively communicate with teammates in a remote environment and seek feedback on work
Interest in working with data, research and sustainable energy initiatives
Preferred
Understanding of electricity sector (including rates) and/or markets or policy related to electric vehicles, energy efficiency, distributed generation and/or energy storage. (Beginner/Intermediate proficiency)
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (Beginner/Intermediate proficiency)
Knowledge of vector-based analysis, spatial joins, static map production, and use of Coordinate Reference Systems (CRS)
Understand best practice for geospatial database maintenance
Apply cartographic principles
Update and maintain web geoprocessing services
Familiarity with ESRI ArcGIS product suite, ArcPy, QGIS, geopandas, or comparable software preferred
Survey and qualitative statistical analysis tools (Beginner proficiency)
Survey platforms (e.g., Alchemer, Qualtrics)
Statistical analysis tools (e.g., Python, R)
Qualitative analysis tools (e.g., Dovetail, NVivo)
Web Development (Beginner/Intermediate proficiency)
HTML/CSS/JavaScript
Customization, data visualization libraries
Programming (Intermediate proficiency)
Dataframe manipulation and calculations
API experience strongly preferred
Python and/or statistical software (R, STATA) experience strongly preferred
Webscraping experience preferred, not required
Data Management (Beginner proficiency)Relational database development, maintenance, queries and reporting.
Education:
Master’s degree or equivalent. Substantial coursework in web design, data visualization, data analysis, and statistics. Majors in visual arts, graphic design, computer science, social science, environmental science, economics, or related fields preferred.
Coursework should show substantial data visualization, web design, and analytical content.
Additional work experience may be substituted to satisfy the education requirement.
Experience:
3-5 years of related experience.
Licenses, Certificates or Registrations:
N/A
WORKING CONDITIONS
Work Environment:
Works in a home (remote) or office environment
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Must have manual dexterity sufficient to operate a computer keyboard and other equipment customarily present in an office environment.