Technologist & Senior Fellow
R Street Institute
Washington, D.C.
The R Street Institute—a free-market think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., and with regional offices around the country—seeks an energetic, experienced senior technologist to provide high-level planning and execution of multiple projects. This position will report to the technology policy director.
Candidates must have a strong technical background with a track record related to issues such as cybersecurity, cryptography, internet architecture, telecommunications and/or machine learning. We are a relatively young think tank experiencing rapid growth in both personnel and scholarly output. This role will serve an important function by helping to lead the organization’s work in the technology policy field. The selected candidate will be given freedom to pursue research and writing within tech policy and adjacent fields and will play a key role in directing R Street’s ongoing work and strategy in these areas.
The ideal candidate will help bridge the expertise gap between the public policy community and Silicon Valley. He or she must be able to explain complex technologies to a non-technical audience in the context of a policy debate.
Responsibilities:
- Interface with economists, political scientists, journalists and lawyers—both within our organization and those affiliated with it—to enhance the level of technical sophistication and analysis in our work. Recruit new affiliates to the organization.
- Organize conferences and other events concerning technological topics; speak in public and testify before legislative bodies and executive agencies on topics related to technology.
- Outreach to technical communities and bodies (security researchers, standard setting bodies, etc.) and build R Street’s presence at events such as DEFCON, RSA, B-Sides, We Robot.
- Work with our other scholars on various projects and co-author white papers, regulatory filings and op-eds, as necessary. Anyone hired will be expected to turn out both longer white papers and shorter op-eds, blog posts and similar products on a regular basis.
Requirements:
- At least five years of relevant work experience in a technology development or technology adviser role.
- Some level of proficiency in a modern programming language (e.g., Python, Ruby, Java, C++, R, Haskell), as well as understanding of fundamental computer science concepts.
- A graduate-level degree in computer science, electrical engineering, cybersecurity or a related discipline is preferred, but not required. Work experience (including work in an academic setting) can substitute for any given degree, however, and self-taught technologists are welcome.
- An entrepreneurial mindset.
- Ability to communicate complicated, technical concepts in plain language for a policy audience. This includes in-person meetings, reaching out to popular media through op-eds and broadcast appearances and through academic publications and studies.
- A record of published work is strongly preferred, but not required. This should include commentary in the popular press and articles in academic journals.
- Work experience in one or more of the following areas is a plus, but not required: at a private-sector tech company; in a technical role in government (e.g., U.S. Digital Service, 18F); in a policy role in government; or in an academic research role.
This is a full-time position based in Washington, D.C. We will, however, consider candidates from outside of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area provided that they are willing to relocate.
R Street strives to provide a compensation package superior to those at other think tanks and nonprofits. In addition to a highly competitive salary, we provide health insurance entirely paid by the employer (even for families); a wellness benefit; employer-subsidized mobile phones benefit; 401(k) contributions with no employee match required; and an exceptionally generous vacation policy.
R Street does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, era of military service, gender identity or anything else that's illegal, immoral or stupid to use as a basis for hiring.
We currently plan to accept applications for this job until the position has been filled. Candidates in whom we are interested will be contacted for telephone interviews, which will be conducted on a rolling basis. In-person interviews will be required. Candidates who believe they are highly qualified and haven't heard back from us should follow up.
To apply, please send us a résumé in Microsoft Word or PDF, along with a cover letter and writing sample pasted into the body of an email. The email address for applications is [email protected].