Application Guide

How to Apply for Data Engineer

at America Votes

🏢 About America Votes

America Votes is the coordination hub for over 400 progressive partner organizations, uniquely positioned to drive systemic change through data-driven election and advocacy strategies. Working here means your technical contributions directly impact voter outreach, policy wins, and protecting voting rights across the US.

About This Role

As a Data Engineer, you'll build and maintain the data infrastructure that powers progressive campaigns nationwide—from voter targeting to turnout modeling. Your pipelines and tools will be used by state and national staff to make real-time strategic decisions, making this role critical to electoral success.

💡 A Day in the Life

Your morning might start with a standup with state data directors to triage urgent pipeline issues, then you dive into writing dbt models for a new voter targeting project. After lunch, you review a PR from a colleague, debug a Python script for API data ingestion, and end the day documenting your work for the team's knowledge base.

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Interview Prep

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🎯 Who America Votes Is Looking For

  • A seasoned SQL expert who has designed complex transformations in BigQuery or Snowflake, not just written basic queries.
  • A Pythonista comfortable with scripting, API integration, and data validation, especially in a political or advocacy context.
  • A Git pro who uses branching, code review, and CI/CD in daily workflow, and thrives in fast-paced, ambiguous environments like campaigns.
  • A self-starter who can independently scope work, communicate with non-technical stakeholders, and prioritize competing requests from multiple state partners.

📝 Tips for Applying to America Votes

1

Tailor your resume to highlight political campaign or advocacy data experience—mention specific tools like VAN, EveryAction, or Catalist if used.

2

In your cover letter, explicitly connect your technical skills (dbt, Python, SQL) to progressive impact—e.g., 'I built a pipeline that increased turnout by X% in 2020.'

3

Submit a portfolio or GitHub link with dbt projects, SQL queries, or Python scripts that show data modeling and testing practices.

4

Mention experience with remote collaboration tools (Slack, Zoom, Asana) and async work—they value self-starters who communicate clearly.

5

Read America Votes' annual report and mention a specific data challenge they face (e.g., integrating voter files from multiple states) and how you'd approach it.

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your passion for progressive causes and understanding of how data drives electoral and policy wins.', 'Specific examples of building data pipelines from scratch, especially in high-pressure, time-sensitive environments.', 'Your experience with dbt—mention writing tests, documentation, and incremental models.', 'Your ability to collaborate with non-technical staff to translate their needs into technical solutions.']

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Study America Votes' 2024 strategic plan and how data integration across 400+ partners is key to their mission.
  • → Review their blog or press releases for recent data initiatives (e.g., redistricting, voter registration drives).
  • → Understand the progressive tech stack: VAN, EveryAction, Catalist, TargetSmart—and how dbt models might interact with these.
  • → Learn about the role of state data directors and how engineers support their field and analytics needs.
Visit America Votes's Website →

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Design a data pipeline for ingesting and transforming voter file data from multiple state sources into a unified schema.
2 How would you optimize a slow BigQuery query that joins several large tables? Walk through your debugging process.
3 Describe a time you had to refactor a poorly documented dbt model. How did you ensure tests and docs were added?
4 How do you prioritize competing requests from multiple state partners when you're the only data engineer on a project?
5 Explain how you'd use Git and CI/CD to manage dbt deployments in a team with varying technical skills.
Practice Interview Questions →

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Don't focus solely on technical skills without connecting them to the progressive mission—they hire for impact, not just code.
  • Avoid vague language like 'I love data'—be specific about tools (dbt, BigQuery) and outcomes (increased turnout, reduced costs).
  • Don't ignore the remote collaboration aspect—failing to mention async communication or self-motivation can signal a poor fit.

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to America Votes!

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