Research Data Specialist

Organization: Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety

Title: Research Data Specialist

Location: Sacramento, Oakland, or Lakewood

Posted:

Final date to receive applications:

• Perform bulk data processing, updates, quality control, and database ingestion of utility data submissions.
• Develop and implement tools for analyzing, viewing, and interpreting geographic, demographic, utility infrastructure, excavation, and other data in programmatic analyses of activities associated with wildfire risk mitigation and underground infrastructure safety.
• Work under general direction to inform Energy Safety’s oversight of utility risk models.
• Act as a consultant and advisor to management on procedural and policy matters involving the analysis of both real‑world and model‑related data.
• Occasional travel may be required, performed less than 5% of the time.

• Experience using SQL to query database systems.
• Experience with development of data analysis and visualization tools using Python.
• Experience with data QA/QC processes and data cleaning.
• Familiarity with spatial data, ideally using ArcGIS software but not required.
• Familiarity with PowerBI or other business analytics software but not required.
• Experience presenting findings and recommendations to stakeholders, management, and subject matter experts.
• Interest and enthusiasm for power systems, safety, and risk modeling.

Education: Incumbents must possess 12 semester or 18 quarter units of coursework in a data‑driven research‑related field (e.g., economics, mathematics, psychology, sociology, demography, geography, anthropology, statistics, data science). The coursework must include at least one course in statistical methods and be equivalent to a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college. Work experience may be substituted on a year‑for‑year basis for the required units.

Experience:

• One year in the California state civil service performing data research‑oriented duties at a level of responsibility equivalent to a Research Analyst II; or
• Four years of progressively responsible technical research experience engaged in the collection, compilation, analysis, and interpretation of data, including at least one year at the level of responsibility equivalent to a Research Analyst II.

Applicants with a master’s degree in a related field may substitute two years of the required experience, and those with a doctoral degree may substitute three years.