Data & Media Insights Lead

About Middesk
Middesk makes it easier for businesses to work together. Since 2018, we’ve been transforming business identity verification, replacing slow, manual processes with seamless access to complete, up-to-date data. Our platform helps companies across industries confidently verify business identities, onboard customers faster, and reduce risk at every stage of the customer lifecycle. Middesk came out of Y Combinator, is backed by Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners, and was recently named to Forbes Fintech 50 List and cited as an industry leader in business verification by digital identity strategy firm, Liminal.

About The Role
You'll own Middesk's data-driven storytelling for national media. This role turns real-time news cycles, government and fraud trends, and Middesk data into timely, credible insights that earn coverage in top-tier outlets. This is not a content marketing role or a PR generalist role. It's an investigative research and analytical storytelling role for someone who can read the news, spot where data adds clarity, conduct original research, and work closely with a data scientist to produce insights journalists actually want.

Your output is clear: original data stories backed by rigorous research that land in national media and build Middesk's credibility in high-visibility conversations.

What You'll Do

Original research & investigations: Lead deep, proactive research that uncovers novel insights, including:

Filing and tracking Freedom of Information requests to surface public data others aren't using

Researching and synthesizing academic studies, regulatory filings, and government reports

Interviewing subject‑matter experts, academics, regulators, and industry practitioners to build context and credibility

Identifying emerging patterns in fraud, business formation, and enforcement before they hit the news cycle

Building ongoing relationships with researchers and experts who can validate or challenge findings

Data‑driven media storytelling: Own Middesk's external, data‑led media narratives, including:

News‑cycle‑driven data insights

Original data analyses tied to fraud, business identity, and government trends

Media‑ready narratives, charts (in collaboration with our brand designer), and story angles

Translate complex data into clear, defensible insights that journalists can quickly understand and trust

News cycle & trend intelligence: Proactively identify moments where Middesk data can add signal, context, or counterpoint to the public conversation. Be the first at the company to spot and react to:

Fraud trends

Government enforcement actions

Regulatory changes

High‑profile cases and policy moments

Broader business and economic news tied to entities and identity

Partnership with data science: Work in tight partnership with a dedicated data scientist to:

Shape hypotheses based on news, research findings, and emerging trends

Define analyses that are fast, relevant, and defensible

Pressure‑test findings before they go external

Turn raw outputs into clear storylines, headlines, and talking points

Media narrative packaging & pitching: Develop complete, media‑ready story packages, including:

Clear story angles and headlines

Key findings and takeaways

Supporting charts or data points

Quotable context journalists can reference

Credibility & quality bar: Act as the final editorial checkpoint for all external data stories, ensuring Middesk earns trust through rigor and evidence. Do this by:

Maintaining a high bar for accuracy, defensibility, clear sourcing and methodology, and non‑promotional, insight‑first framing

Ensuring Middesk's data stories can withstand journalist skepticism, public scrutiny, and regulatory or policy‑aware audiences

How Success Is Measured

Media impact:

Consistent placement of Middesk data stories in national and top‑tier outlets

Journalists proactively referencing or returning to Middesk for data‑backed context

Research quality & depth:

Original insights that couldn't exist without your investigative work

Freedom of information requests, expert interviews, and academic research directly inform published stories

Timeliness & relevance:

Middesk data is tied to active news cycles, not retrospective thought pieces

Stories feel timely, necessary, and additive to the conversation

Data credibility:

Insights are quoted accurately and not walked back

Middesk is seen as a reliable and serious source, not a hype‑driven commentator

Internal leverage:

Middesk leadership relies on your work to respond quickly to breaking news

Data stories reduce the need for reactive scrambling by creating a repeatable motion

We're Looking For Someone With

8+ years in data storytelling, investigative journalism, investigative reporting, research, or insight‑driven content roles

Proven experience conducting original research including filing FOI/FOIA requests, analyzing public records, and synthesizing academic or regulatory sources

Experienced interviewing academics, experts, regulators, customers, and subject‑matter experts to build depth and credibility

Proven experience turning research and data into stories that land in national or top‑tier media

Strong instinct for news value: you know what's interesting now

Comfortable working closely with data scientists and questioning assumptions

Clear, disciplined writer who can explain complex findings without oversimplifying

Calm under pressure and comfortable working on tight timelines

Calmly opinionated: you can defend narrative choices without being rigid

Motivated by clarity, credibility, and long‑term impact, not content volume or trends

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