Associate Director for Data & AI Investigations and Partnerships

Associate Director for Data & AI Investigations and Partnerships

The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism is seeking an innovative and collaborative data journalist to serve as Associate Director for Data & AI Investigations and Partnerships.

The Howard Center is an investigative reporting unit and journalism training program based at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Funded by the Scripps Howard Foundation, it regularly partners with major national newsrooms — such as NPR, PBS News Hour, The Associated Press and FRONTLINE (PBS) — to produce deeply reported investigations.

The center specializes in investigative reporting that requires complex data and digital document analysis, advanced computational methods, open source intelligence (OSINT), applied machine learning, large language models and other forms of artificial intelligence. The center is also launching a new program to maintain a curated set of newsworthy data and document collections for use by other journalists.

The center, working with AP and FRONTLINE, was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting in 2025 for an in-depth, data‑driven investigation into police custody deaths. The investigation employed large language models to sift through hundreds of thousands of digital documents acquired through more than 7,000 public records requests. The team built an original database — shared with partner newsrooms — documenting more than 1,000 deaths after police used “nonlethal” restraint methods.

• Launch and manage a new initiative to gather and maintain a curated set of newsworthy data and document collections for journalists and researchers to use.
• Assist the Howard Center director in establishing and managing data‑driven reporting collaborations with professional and academic newsroom partners.
• Manage selected student‑driven investigative data journalism projects in collaboration with professional news organization partners.
• Work to responsibly incorporate large language models and other forms of artificial intelligence into the investigative reporting workflow.
• Oversee the work of a Howard Center staff member and graduate fellows specializing in investigative data journalism.
• As a member of the Merrill College faculty, teach one hands‑on class per year tied to Howard Center data investigations.

• Resume.
• Cover letter explaining your interest in the position and how your prior work aligns with the responsibilities and preferred experience.
• Links to three examples of your work with a brief explanation of your role in their production (e.g., data‑driven investigative stories, databases, tools, documentation, teaching materials).

This position is a full‑time, year‑round, professional track faculty position, based in the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. The internal university title is Lecturer; the position does not carry tenure.

The posted salary range for this position is $155,000 - $180,000 per year.

Benefits include:

• 41 days of leave per year (22 vacation days, 3 personal days, 16 holidays) and 15 days of sick leave.
• A choice of a defined‑benefit retirement plan (State of Maryland pension) or a defined‑contribution plan (public‑sector 401(k) equivalent) with a generous employer contribution (7.25% of salary, no employee contribution required).
• State of Maryland health insurance, prescription drugs, dental, vision, term life, accidental death and long‑term disability coverage.
• Tuition remission at the University of Maryland, College Park and other University System of Maryland schools for you and your dependents.

This is a five‑day‑per‑week, in‑person position based at the University of Maryland campus in College Park, Maryland. The position reports to the Howard Center director and is not eligible for a permanent, fully remote or hybrid schedule, though occasional remote work is allowed with prior approval.

Contact the hiring manager, Howard Center Director Sean Mussenden (smussend).

• Experience producing investigative data…