Data Scientist, Education Systems and Policy

American Institutes for Research (AIR) is hiring a Data Scientist for its Education Systems and Policy team. The role applies quantitative and data science methods to education research and evaluation, develops reproducible analytic workflows and tools, and supports project teams with analysis, technical communication, and client work.

Responsibilities:

• Lead or contribute to the design and execution of rigorous quantitative research and evaluation projects across multiple Education Systems and Policy initiatives
• Apply appropriate quantitative methods to collect, manage, analyze, and interpret data, including leading inferential analyses for both causal and non‑causal research questions
• Develop, maintain, and document reproducible and collaborative analytic workflows, including data management processes and quality control procedures
• Review, quality‑check, and strengthen analytic code and outputs produced by junior staff; provide guidance and mentorship to promote best practices in analysis and documentation
• Translate complex analytic findings into clear, actionable insights for client reports, technical memos, presentations, and briefings
• Manage discrete project tasks or analytic components, including planning timelines, tracking deliverables, and coordinating with project leadership and clients
• Support proposal development by contributing to technical and analytic sections and helping shape study design and analytic approaches
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders through meetings and dissemination activities, contributing to a collaborative and inclusive team environment

Requirements:

• Master's or doctoral degree in statistics, mathematics, computer science, computational social science, education data science, or a related discipline
• Demonstrated understanding of education policy, education systems and school and district finance
• Demonstrated experience supporting or leading quantitative research or evaluation projects, preferably for public-sector, nonprofit, or education-focused clients
• Experience designing and executing inferential analyses and contributing to research reports, briefs, or presentations
• Experience managing and maintaining analytic datasets, including documentation, quality control, and reproducible workflows
• Experience with machine learning methods or interest in applying ML to support causal and non-causal research
• Experience working in education or K–12 research contexts
• Proficiency in R, Stata, or Python for applied quantitative analysis
• Ability to review, quality-check, and improve others' analytic code and support junior staff through guidance and mentorship
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with attention to accuracy and research, best practices
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate complex analyses for technical and non-technical audiences
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines independently while contributing to a collaborative team environment
• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. on a full-time basis
• Employment-based visa sponsorship (including H-1B sponsorship) is not available for this position