US Data Journalist

TL;DR

US Data Journalist: Cover US national news, including 2026 midterm elections, electoral politics, campaign finance and public policy intersecting with global trade, economics and financial markets with an accent on data-driven storytelling. Focus on sourcing, cleaning and analyzing data using R or Python to find and explain complex stories to non-specialist audiences.

Location: Must be eligible to work in the US and based in New York or Washington DC; onsite minimum of three days per week.

Salary: $90,000 to $120,000

Company

World’s leading news organisation recognised for authority, integrity and accuracy in delivering quality information worldwide.

What you will do

• Collaborate with US editors, correspondents and global teams to deliver data-driven journalism on US politics, policy and economics.
• Apply data journalism techniques to find stories, including web scraping, APIs and large databases.
• Clean, analyse data using R or Python and explain quantitative findings simply to non-specialists.
• Support reporters and editors across FT network with data-driven methods.
• Work self-sufficiently and collaboratively on fast-moving news, including occasional weekends.

Requirements

• Eligible to work in the US and based in New York or Washington DC.
• Strong portfolio in data journalism, ideally on business, finance, economics or North American politics.
• Experience using data journalism/data science for news stories.
• Proficiency in R or Python for data sourcing, cleaning and analysis.
• Excellent communication to explain analysis to non-specialists.
• Passion for continuous learning in data practices.

Nice to have

• Data visualisation experience.
• US political polling, elections, campaign finance or policy analysis.
• Statistics, data science or quantitative social science training.
• Data pipelines, statistical models, ML/LLMs in journalism.
• Git for collaborative coding, Flourish tool.

Culture & Benefits

• Warm, collaborative culture supporting growth, wellbeing and diverse perspectives.
• Generous annual leave, medical cover, parental leave, gym subsidies, community opportunities.
• Flexible working considered, subject to role; onsite minimum three days/week for newsroom staff.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and removing barriers for underrepresented groups.

Hiring process

• Submit application with portfolio, cover letter, résumé by May 10, 2026.
• No AI use in test submissions or written materials; monitored for fairness.
• Reasonable adjustments available; contact talent@ft.com.