Data analyst job description template

A data analyst

JD that is not generic.

One short, opinionated template. 280 words, not 1,800. Below: a side-by-side teardown of the typical job description and what to cut, the template ready to copy, and a one-click button to post it via Picked.

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The teardown

Side by side. Cut everything in red.

A typical JD · 1,847 words

scroll-killing

Data analyst (typical posting)

About us · cut

Founded in 2019, ACME Inc is a fast-growing, mission-driven, customer-obsessed scale-up empowering the modern hiring loop. We have been featured in TechCrunch, won several awards, and our culture has been recognised by Best Places to Work.

About the role · cut

You will be joining a passionate, collaborative team of self-starters in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. We are looking for a high-performing professional who is excited by ambiguity and ready to wear many hats.

Responsibilities · cut

- Collaborate with cross-functional partners to align stakeholders - Drive impact across the business - Champion excellence - Be a culture ambassador for the team - Wear many hats - Lots more bullets like this

Requirements · cut

- 5+ years of professional experience - Strong communication skills - Self-starter - Team player - Comfortable with ambiguity - Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Nice to haves · cut

- A laundry list of every tool anyone on the team has ever used - MBA / advanced degree - Previous experience at a high-growth startup

Benefits · cut most of this

- Competitive salary - Equity - Health, dental, vision - Unlimited PTO (which no-one takes) - Free snacks (in office) - Annual offsite - Pet-friendly office - Pinball machine

Picked template · 228 words

ships

Senior data analyst · London or hybrid

We are hiring our third data analyst. You will be the person our CMO and CFO call before deciding. The team is two analysts and one analytics engineer. We run on Snowflake and dbt. Slack is the room where most analyses get read.

One paragraph, not six sections

Context. What the role owns. Team size. How you ship. Everything else is noise until the interview.

Skip the company overview

They found your JD. They can find your website. They will skim it. They will learn about you in the interview if they are still interested.

Bullets only where they earn their place

A list of "responsibilities" tells the candidate nothing they cannot guess.

Post the comp band

You will filter the wrong people anyway. Either pre-application or after offer. Pre is cheaper.

The template · plain text

Copy. Paste. Replace the bracketed bits.

Post with this · 30s

data-analyst.md

228 words · 3 min read

# [Senior/Mid/Junior] data analyst · [city] or hybrid

We are hiring our [Nth] data analyst. You will be the person our [CMO/CFO/COO] calls before deciding. The team is [N] analysts and [N] analytics engineers. We run on [warehouse and modelling stack]. [Where analyses get read].

## You will be good here if

- You can take a vague stakeholder ask and send back a sharper question before opening the laptop.
- You have told a leader "the data does not say that" and made the conversation better.
- [The third trait you actually care about].

## What you will not get

A dashboard factory. We retire dashboards that nobody opens. We will ask you to delete more than you build in the first quarter.

## Compensation

[Currency][low] to [high] base. [low] to [high] percent equity. We post the band because we mean it.

## How we hire

30-second post, screen + assessment via Picked, 20-min interview via Picked, one on-site half-day with the team plus a live analysis walk-through. We aim to give a yes or no in 7 days.

## What is the rubric

Question-shaping, numerical judgement, comms with non-analysts, honesty about uncertainty, curiosity. Not the count of dashboards on your last CV.

That is the JD. Apply via [link] or just send a paragraph about the last dashboard you killed and why.

[Your name], [your title]

Tone rules

Eight phrases to delete
from every JD you ever write.

"Rockstar / ninja / wizard"

Nobody respectable applies to this. Replace with: nothing.

"Self-starter"

Means: we have no plan and no manager. Replace with: name the actual autonomy.

"Comfortable with ambiguity"

Same thing again. Replace with: tell them the specific ambiguity they will face.

"Fast-paced environment"

Means: chaotic. Replace with: name the cadence, sprints, ship-day, on-call.

"Champion"

A verb that means nothing. Replace with: the actual outcome.