Application Guide

How to Apply for Member of Technical Staff (Data Science)

at The Upright Project

🏢 About The Upright Project

The Upright Project is a pioneering impact analytics company that quantifies the net impact of companies on the environment, society, and health. By providing data-driven insights, they enable institutional investors to make climate-conscious capital allocation decisions, making them a unique player at the intersection of data science and sustainable finance.

About This Role

As a Member of Technical Staff in Data Science, you will lead end-to-end data science projects, own product areas, and mentor junior team members. Your work will directly influence multi-million dollar investment decisions by building AI-forward pipelines that quantify company impact from product data, combining technical leadership with tangible real-world impact.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day might start with a stand-up with your data science team, followed by coding sessions where you use Claude Code to iterate on a Bayesian model for impact estimation. You'd then mentor a junior team member on their pipeline, review a pull request, and end the day by presenting results to stakeholders, influencing how institutional investors allocate capital.

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🎯 Who The Upright Project Is Looking For

  • A seasoned data scientist with 6+ years of experience, who has shipped production-quality models and pipelines in Python and TypeScript.
  • Expert in Bayesian inference and convex optimization, with a strong mathematical foundation and hands-on experience with classical ML, LLMs, and SQL.
  • Comfortable with agentic development using coding agents like Claude Code or Cursor, and experienced in building reliable agentic workflows.
  • A natural mentor who can set technical direction, own product areas end-to-end, and thrive in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.

📝 Tips for Applying to The Upright Project

1

Highlight specific projects where you built production data pipelines that handled large-scale, real-world data (e.g., product catalogs or financial data).

2

Demonstrate your proficiency in Bayesian inference by describing a project where you used it for uncertainty quantification or decision-making.

3

Showcase your experience with agentic development: mention specific tools (Claude Code, Cursor) and how you used them to improve efficiency.

4

Tailor your resume to emphasize impact: quantify results (e.g., 'Improved model accuracy by 15%' or 'Pipeline reduced latency by 50%').

5

Include a link to your GitHub or portfolio with relevant code samples, especially if they involve LLMs, Bayesian methods, or agentic workflows.

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Passion for using data science to drive climate-conscious decisions and quantify sustainability impact.', 'Proven ability to own and deliver complex data science projects from conception to production, with examples.', "Experience mentoring junior team members and setting technical direction, aligning with the 'Member of Technical Staff' title.", "Specific expertise in Bayesian inference and convex optimization, and how you've applied them to solve real-world problems."]

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Read The Upright Project's impact methodology whitepaper to understand how they quantify net impact.
  • → Explore their publicly available company impact reports to see the type of outputs you'd be building.
  • → Check their blog or news section for recent developments, especially around AI-forward pipelines or new product areas.
  • → Look into their investor clients (institutional investors) to understand the context of capital allocation decisions.

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Describe a time you built a production data pipeline from scratch. What challenges did you face with data quality or scalability?
2 How would you design a Bayesian model to estimate the net impact of a company's product portfolio?
3 Explain your experience with agentic development: how do you use coding agents to build reliable workflows?
4 How do you approach mentoring a junior data scientist while managing your own project deadlines?
5 Given a dataset of product attributes, how would you quantify the carbon footprint of a company using LLMs and classical ML?
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Don't focus solely on academic research or toy models; emphasize production experience and real-world impact.
  • Avoid vague descriptions of your role in projects; be specific about your contributions and the technologies used.
  • Don't neglect to mention your experience with agentic development or coding agents, as it's a key requirement.

📅 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!

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Good luck with your application to The Upright Project!

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