Data Scientist (Strategic Advisor 2, Information Technology)

SDCI reviews and approves more than 53,000 land use and construction-related permits each year and conducts roughly 240,000 on-site inspections. Our work includes permit review for a wide range of building, mechanical, electrical, and site-development activities, design review, shoreline permits, and performing field inspections. Beyond permitting and inspections, SDCI enforces community standards and oversees tenant-landlord programs. In 2020, the department responded to nearly 24,000 complaints involving housing conditions, land-use violations, construction without permits, junk storage, illegal tree cutting, shoreline issues, and tenant concerns such as emergency relocation, deposits, and evictions. SDCI also manages rental housing safety programs and provides assistance to both property owners and tenants to ensure safe, well-maintained homes throughout Seattle.

The Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI) seeks a data-driven, outcome-focused Data Scientist (Strategic Advisor 2, Information Technology) to advance the strategic development of department services and improve the speed, transparency, and effectiveness of permitting and inspection operations. In this role, you will apply advanced analytical, data engineering, and visualization expertise to unify internal and external data sources, identify opportunities for process improvement, and help establish operational baselines aligned with the City’s housing and permitting priorities. If you are a detail-oriented problem-solver who thrives in a fast-paced environment and wants to make a direct impact on SDCI’s performance and customer experience, we want to hear from you.

Data Engineering

• Design, develop, and maintain ETL pipelines integrating internal and external data sources, including Accela, Qualtrics, Zendesk, Genesys, and business-system datasets.
• Build and maintain data warehouses/lakes for structured and unstructured data.
• Support and optimize the Experience Management (Qualtrics) tool suite and associated data standards.
• Implement data quality checks to ensure accuracy, completeness, and integrity.
• Translate stakeholder data needs into reliable technical solutions.

Data Analysis and Insights

• Create unified, cross-division datasets combining internal operational data with customer-experience data from Qualtrics, Zendesk, and Genesys.
• Analyze complex datasets to identify trends, patterns, and actionable insights across permitting and inspections.
• Develop dashboards, divisional business reports, and outcome-focused metrics for SDCI divisions and work groups.
• Conduct deep quantitative and qualitative analysis to identify root causes of bottlenecks in permitting and inspection processes.
• Improve existing individual business reports and integrate them with external stakeholder data to create comprehensive operational baselines used for continuous monitoring and improvement.

Data Governance

• Develop and implement a comprehensive data governance framework, including policies, standards, and quality metrics.
• Enforce data standards across SDCI and encourage similar adoption in partner departments.
• Identify and assist in assigning data ownership; facilitate accountability for data quality.
• Support a data governance committee responsible for strategic data issues.

Innovation and Process Improvement

• Lead complex, data-centered projects from initiation through completion.
• Track progress and adjust project plans for timely and high-quality delivery.
• Communicate plans across teams to align discrete projects with broader departmental and citywide strategy.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design and implement innovative process improvements.
• Stay current with emerging data technologies, permitting best practices, and industry standards.

Minimum Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in data management, data engineering, or data science.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and data storytelling abilities.
• Ability to build trust and engagement across teams and organizational levels.
• Strong proficiency in SQL, Python, and modern data engineering tools (e.g., Spark, Hadoop, Airflow).
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Experience with data modeling, ETL pipelines, and data quality frameworks.
• Proficiency with data visualization tools (Tableau, Power BI).
• Combination of education and/or equivalent experience demonstrating progressive responsibility.

Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Statistics, or related field.
• Demonstrated ability in technical writing for various audiences.
• Experience working in government or the public sector.
• Experience with government permitting systems (Accela, Bluebeam).
• Proficiency with Microsoft products, Webex, SharePoint.
• Experience with Visio, Miro, or similar modeling tools.
• Experience with the Qualtrics Experience Management tool suite.

To be considered for this position, please submit the following with your online application:

• A cover letter in which you clearly describe how your knowledge, experience, skills, and abilities prepare you for the job responsibilities and qualifications outlined in the job advertisement
• A current resume outlining your professional work experience

The full salary range for this position is $56.57 - $84.88 per hour. The targeted salary identified for this role is $78.76 per hour.

This position would be required to meet current in-office requirements outlined by SDCI and the Mayor’s Office.

The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections is a proud participant in the Race and Social Justice Initiative, a citywide effort to realize the vision of racial equity.

We require a strong commitment to customer service and a demonstrated ability to work effectively with individuals from diverse communities and cultures. The City of Seattle values diverse perspectives and life experiences; people of color, women, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.

The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation, holiday, and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents. More information about employee benefits is available on the City's website at: https://www.seattle.gov/human-resources/benefits