Associate Data Scientist 2022

Compass Lexecon is one of the world’s leading economic consultancy firms. Our European Practices provide economic advice on competition policy, economic and financial regulation, public policy and the assessment of damages in complex disputes. We work on some of the most high-profile cases before the European Commission, the General Court and national competition authorities, regulators and courts.

Compass Lexecon is recruiting Associate Data Scientists to join the Data Science team (part of the broader Research Team). Data is a core part of every project at Compass Lexecon and turning that data into compelling empirical analysis is fundamental to what we do. With increasing amounts of data being generated, there are exciting opportunities to apply tools from data science, machine learning, and data engineering to the interesting policy and competition questions that arise in our work.

We are looking for curious and enthusiastic new team members who love problem solving, who are curious, and who are determined to get to the bottom of problems. For any given challenge we deploy techniques from a range of areas including but not limited to webscraping, data engineering, geographical analysis, web app building, theory modelling, machine learning, automation, statistics, and more. We are not looking for people who are experts at all of these areas, but we are looking for people who are ready to learn and dive in to any one of these when it is the right tool for the job.

Some examples of the work the team has done so far include:

• Using Natural Language Processing to analyse critical aspects of competition in mergers:https://www.compasslexecon.com/the-analysis/using-natural-language-processing-in-competition-cases/ 
• Deploying different data visualisation approaches to help clients understand complex datasets:https://www.compasslexecon.com/data-visualisation-crossing-the-line/
• Building tools to “automate the boring stuff” and save days of manual time in combining datasets:https://www.compasslexecon.com/game-set-and-fuzzy-match/
• Analysing decisions from regulators to understand critical trends and the importance of different types of evidence in merger proceedings:https://www.compasslexecon.com/ecmergerdecisions/

The team aims to (a) advance our thought leadership in the industry by introducing new tools and techniques to address challenges encountered in economic consulting, bringing Compass Lexecon to the forefront of data analytics, and (b) broaden and deepen all Compass Lexecon economists’ specialist skillsets to offer our clients the most effective, creative and cutting-edge analysis and advice. In doing so, we aim to push the frontier of how data is used to shape markets in some of the world’s most important industries.

Associate Data Scientists join us either straight from university or after one or two years of work experience. You will be based in either Berlin, Brussels, Dusseldorf, London, Madrid, or Paris and work closely with other data scientists located across our European offices. Please indicate in your cover letter your preferred office.

The Role

• Working on client-facing projects, you will apply data science tools to solve real-world competition and regulatory challenges faced by businesses. Each project is different – one week you may be helping to solve a difficult data engineering challenge, the next you may be working on causal statistical models.
• Contributing to cutting-edge research projects, you will be helping develop Compass Lexecon’s thought leadership in the application of advanced analytics to competition and finance cases.
• Conducting training, sharing knowledge, and building tools to allow economist teams to improve how they work with data.

You should apply if you

• are in your final year of Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in computer science, applied mathematics, statistics, machine learning, economics, or operations research; or if you have one or two years’ of data science experience
• have strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• enjoy and have some experience coding in one or more programming languages (in particular, we value Python, R, and SQL)
• have a keen interest in a variety of data science tools and concepts (such as machine learning, natural language processing, data infrastructure, and version control systems), and are eager to independently learn about new techniques
• have strong organisational and prioritisation skills
• like working in a collaborative, knowledge-sharing environment

Benefits of working at Compass Lexecon

• Competitive salary and benefits
• A wide variety of interesting and challenging projects
• An international team with a broad range of backgrounds and experience
• A blend of professional and academic environments
• The opportunity to work with top law firms, corporations, government bodies and academics
• A steep learning curve, coupled with a supportive and collaborative team
• The opportunity to contribute from day one