Social Science Research Intern Jobs in Reston, VA

Washington, DC | Full-Time | Hybrid

In this role, you'll apply data science and analytic methods directly to projects, turning large, often unstructured datasets into findings that teams and clients can act on. Our work lives at the intersection of data science and social science: we pair computational techniques with an understanding of the social, political, and information dynamics behind the data. This is a multi-faceted role. You'll support our internal data efforts, stay hands-on with analysis and client delivery, and work with the product team to help improve Narrative Analytics, the platform our analysts use every day. Whether your background is in social science research, product and analytics, or a more technical track, what matters most is that you can take messy, real-world data and make it useful for our team and our end customers.

• Contribute to our data efforts
  • Support internal data science work: apply sound methods, keep quality high, and keep analysis reproducible and defensible.
  • Build and apply classification models, clustering, and other ML/AI approaches to surface insight from large, unstructured datasets.
  • Help translate qualitative research questions into structured analytical workflows.
• Build AI-powered analytical workflows
  • Design prompts, LLM chains, and agentic workflows that automate classification, thematic coding, entity extraction, and summarization at scale.
  • Build and evaluate repeatable analytical products with real quality controls and human-in-the-loop checks.
  • Experiment with emerging techniques (RAG, multi-step reasoning, tool-using agents) to extend what we can deliver.
• Make data usable and clear
  • Handle complex cleaning, transformation, and wrangling so the data stays trustworthy.
  • Build dashboards and visualizations (Tableau, Superset, or similar) that make insight clear to clients and colleagues alike.
  • Turn findings into actionable recommendations and present them directly to both the internal team and customers with clarity and confidence.
• Support the product and work across teams
  • Work hand in hand with the product team to shape Narrative Analytics around what users actually need, bringing the analyst's and client's perspective into product design.
  • Collaborate across analytics, product, and client teams so the work fits together and reaches the people who depend on it.

• Must be eligible to work on US Government contracts
• A BS degree in a quantitative or analytical field (data science, computer science, statistics, computational social science, political science, economics, communications, or a related discipline), or equivalent hands-on experience.
• 2+ years of relevant experience with a bachelor's or BS degree with relevant internship experience and a proven track record of leveraging analytics to drive significant business impact, or a 1+ years of relevant experience with a master's degree with strong, practical data analytics project experience or relevant internships.
• Hands-on experience working with text-as-data: media, social media, or open-source text corpora.
• Working proficiency in Python and/or R, plus solid SQL for pulling, transforming, and validating data.
• Familiarity with core NLP and ML methods (text classification, topic modeling, sentiment and stance detection, embeddings, transformers) and with applying LLMs in real workflows (prompt engineering, structured outputs, integration).
• The ability to explain technical work to non-technical audiences and to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative team.

• Existing security clearance (SECRET or higher) a plus
• Experience designing structured content analysis or analytical frameworks for text data.
• Experience in information environment assessment, strategic communication analysis, or media landscape monitoring.
• Experience shaping analytical tools or platforms around real user needs.
• Experience with computational social science methods (network analysis, narrative framing, document similarity) that go beyond keyword search.
• Experience translating social science research questions into scalable computational approaches.

If you're passionate about technology and making an impact, apply today! Protagonist is dedicated to fostering a welcoming and innovative environment where everyone's voice can make a difference.

Protagonist is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Salary Range: $70,000-$102,000 based on education and level of relevant experience.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.