Index Data Scientist - Red Tape Index
INFINITY CONSTELLATION
Posted 27 days ago
About Red Tape Index:
Red Tape Index (RTI) ranks jurisdictions by how fast they turn permit applications into approvals. We start with U.S. cities for building and construction, and we are expanding rapidly into new geographies (Australia live, multiple countries coming) and new verticals (data center, healthcare, energy, rare earths).
RTI is a sister company to Labrynth, spun out of Invisible Technologies and backed by the Infinity Constellation group. RTI publishes the index; Labrynth provides the agentic systems on top.
About the Role
We are hiring an Index Data Scientist to own the methodology layer of every RTI ranking — the formulas, weights, confidence scoring, and ranking logic that turn raw regulatory data into a defensible, sponsor-ready index. You will translate prototyped scoring into transparent, auditable models, and you will build the playbook for launching net-new indices on demand (rare earths, data center, healthcare services, energy).
You will be the person who can sit in front of a sponsor, a regulator, or a board member and defend why the index says what it says. You will work directly with the Data Science and the Web Scraping team.
Key Responsibilities
Own the methodology layer for every published RTI index — weighting, normalization, confidence scoring, and ranking logic.
Translate prototyped scoring into transparent, defensible models with documentation a client, regulator, or auditor can read end-to-end.
Build the new-index playbook: required data, methodology template, confidence calculation, coverage thresholds
Validate cross-source decisions with statistical rigor: correlation, drift, sensitivity, robustness to missing data.
Partner with sponsoring companies to translate commercial questions into index methodology — without compromising independence.
Publish methodology one-pagers and FAQ pages alongside each index, suitable for press, sponsors, and regulators.
Work with the Web Scraping Engineers on schema and data-quality requirements;
Lead methodology reviews and owns the change-log when an index is updated.
Requirements
3+ years building indices, benchmarks, scoring models, or rating methodologies in production — at a rating agency, index provider (MSCI, S&P, FTSE, Bloomberg), actuarial consultancy, or equivalent.
3+ years quantitative background — actuarial science, statistics, econometrics, applied math, or equivalent.
Proven ability to write methodology documentation that holds up to external scrutiny (regulator, client, auditor).
Strong stakeholder communication — can defend a model to a non-technical CEO and a skeptical analyst in the same meeting.
Python and SQL fluency; comfortable in pandas / NumPy and at least one ML / stats library (scikit-learn, statsmodels, R).
Experience with cloud data platforms (GCP, AWS, Supabase).
Strong problem-solving skills; comfortable with ambiguous, partial, and messy data.
Strong English communication; comfortable presenting to executives and external partners.
Nice-to-Have
Has built a published index from zero — designed it, defended it, iterated it.
Background in regulatory, real estate, healthcare, energy, or commodities markets.
Experience with public-sector data, government statistics, or planning / permit datasets.
Experience with sponsor- or client-facing index work where independence and defensibility matter.
Familiarity with LLMs for prototyping methodology or generating documentation.
Working Model
Remote-first; primary collaboration in Americas time zones with ~5 hours overlap.
Fully remote, flexible hours.
Payment in USD (contractor / freelance basis); full-time conversion possible for the right person.
Work on a global team, with real-world challenges and rapid growth opportunities.
