Data Journalism Fellow

About the role

We are pleased to announce that Lawfare is hiring two early-career researchers to help develop and expand the use of RAGtime, our AI-enabled research platform for primary-source, democracy-sensitive public records. RAGtime went into production in May 2026 and today integrates more than 1.6 million primary-source documents—federal court litigation, the U.S. Code, the Code of Federal Regulations, Office of Legal Counsel opinions, and the documentary history of U.S. foreign relations—into a single searchable, queryable, and analyzable interface at ragtime.lawfaremedia.org. A beta version launched in June 2026 to Lawfare’s roughly 10,000 financial supporters, and the platform is now moving toward wider public release.

This role is less about traditional software engineering than about the imaginative, rigorous use, expansion, and development of a powerful new research tool. Working closely with Lawfare’s editor-in-chief, senior editors, and a community of developers, these fellows sit at the intersection of data analysis, journalism, and innovation to explore what RAGtime makes possible: probing how it engages existing datasets, experimenting with new ones, and developing high-value use cases for journalists, lawyers, researchers, and civil society. It is a role in the spirit of the generalist, conceptually curious—well-suited to someone excited to think alongside a novel technology and help shape how it is used.

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience within a range of $70,000-$90,000. Benefits include health and dental care (with premiums fully paid by Lawfare), flexible hours, and participation in Lawfare's 401(k) plan with up to 4% employer match. Funding for these positions beyond one year is contingent on fundraising.

What you'll do

Working across data journalism, research analysis, and use-case development, the data journalism fellows will:

• Explore and document how RAGtime engages its existing datasets—federal litigation, statutes, regulations, Office of Legal Counsel opinions, and foreign-relations records—surfacing patterns, strengths, and gaps;
• Experiment with new datasets: help identify, evaluate, and onboard new corpora of public records, and assess how they expand what the platform can do;
• Develop use cases by working with senior editors and users to craft and refine the prompts and workflows that turn RAGtime into beneficial tools for research, reporting, and analysis;
• Conduct data journalism and research analysis using RAGtime—finding stories, evidence, and insight in the primary-source record and helping translate them into Lawfare’s published work;
• Serve as a thought partner to the editor-in-chief and to volunteer software developers on the platform’s roadmap and capabilities;
• Help keep current and new data pipelines up to date using AI-assisted (“vibe coding”) approaches—formal software-engineering experience is not required;
• Gather and synthesize feedback from users to inform improvements and new features;
• Contribute to platform documentation, user guidance, and, as needed, reporting on platform use for funders and stakeholders;
• Take on other responsibilities as the platform grows.

Qualifications

These are early-career positions, well-suited for recent graduates or those with one to three years of experience. We are looking for:

• Strong research, analytical, and writing skills—ideally with a background in journalism, data journalism, research, law, public policy, information science, or a related field;
• Comfort using AI and large language models in daily work, and enthusiasm for “vibe coding”—using AI tools to write lightweight code and scripts—even without a formal technical background;
• Curiosity and rigor: an eagerness to explore a new tool, form hypotheses about how it can be used, and test them;
• Comfort working with data—finding, evaluating, organizing, and drawing insight from structured and unstructured sources;
• An interest in law, government, national security, or the public record (a strong plus).
• Candidates must be able to work effectively with minimal supervision, communicate clearly, take initiative, and collaborate across editors, users, and volunteer developers in a fast-paced environment.

Lawfare is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

How to Apply

• A resume showing the experience and education requested above;
• A brief cover letter explaining your interest in the role and how your skills fit;
• A writing, research, or data journalism sample;
• Two references, with email addresses, of people directly familiar with your work.