Data Scientist and Program Analyst

17A is a management consulting firm focused on improving the quality of government and social services through strong service delivery. The Data Scientist and Program Analyst will support a mission-driven nonprofit's Strategy & Analytics team by conducting end-to-end analysis, translating program needs into actionable insights, and connecting findings to resource allocation, program design, and organizational strategy. The role also involves communicating complex analysis to nontechnical stakeholders and building lasting internal analytical capabilities using AI-enabled methods.

Responsibilities:

• Embed in the daily meetings and work of a specific program team (e.g., housing, maternal health, or violence/public safety), developing a strong understanding of that portfolio's strategy, stakeholders, data, and recurring decisions
• Translate program needs into analytical questions — finding the decision behind a request, clarifying what evidence would help, and distinguishing analysis from reporting, data acquisition, operations, or engineering work
• Shape analytical products with program leaders, building analyses, prototypes, and recurring products that respond to the portfolio's real operating context, not just its initial request
• Remain a full member of the central Strategy & Analytics team, with shared priorities, analytical standards, peer review, and documentation
• Work across areas such as housing, economic mobility, (maternal) health, education, and public safety — tackling questions that rarely arrive with clean data, a settled methodology, or a well-formed problem statement
• Learn unfamiliar domains quickly, work confidently with imperfect data, and communicate sophisticated ideas clearly to nontechnical audiences
• Connect analysis to decisions, producing work that can influence resource allocation, program design, or organizational strategy across multiple issue areas
• Conduct analysis end to end — combining messy data, selecting appropriate methods, testing findings, and documenting sources, definitions, assumptions, and limitations
• Frame the question before analyzing it — finding the decision behind the request, challenging flawed assumptions, and defining the smallest useful first version
• Produce more than the literal answer — explaining what the result means, identifying adjacent insights, and surfacing questions stakeholders may not have known to ask
• Communicate clearly — turning complex analysis into concise briefs, visualizations, and explanations for nontechnical decision-makers, and enabling them to communicate with external stakeholders
• Build institutional knowledge so the next related question is easier and less expensive to answer
• Work AI-natively, using AI in research, coding, quality assurance, and documentation — verifying it carefully and never trusting it blindly

Requirements:

• • Have 3–5 years of applied analytical experience, typically from a top-tier strategy or analytical consulting firm, or an equivalent high-responsibility trajectory (e.g., running analytics for a high-growth startup or agency)
• • Have a strong quantitative foundation from a STEM degree, an applied quantitative social science (e.g., economics, urban science or spatial analytics, operations research, causal inference and program evaluation, or population health analytics), or a comparable discipline
• • Are professionally fluent in Python and working SQL, and can read and adapt existing R
• • Combine sound methodological judgment with consultant-style pragmatism — you choose the approach that fits the question, evidence, timeline, and stakes
• • Have daily working fluency with AI-assisted analytical tools, backed by concrete examples
• • Bring high agency, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to learn unfamiliar subject areas quickly
• • Are seriously committed to the organization's mission — prior nonprofit experience is not required
• These roles are well-suited for someone who is 3–5 years into their career — likely coming from a top-tier strategy or boutique data science / analytical consulting firm — and is ready to take on more ownership while doing work that has a clear, measurable impact on vulnerable communities
• • Analyst or Associate at a top-tier strategy or boutique data science / analytical consulting firm
• • Analyst running analytics for a high-growth startup or public sector agency, with unusual early responsibility
• • Graduate with a STEM degree or applied quantitative social science background (e.g., economics, urban science, operations research, or causal inference) with consulting or analytical experience
• Hybrid or remote setup is possible for the right candidate
• • Geospatial analysis and data visualization experience
• • Proven applied work in housing, maternal health, or violence/public safety (especially relevant for the Embedded Program Analyst track)
• This position has flexibility on location however •preference will be given to candidates that live within a commuting proximity to north-central Texas•