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# Data Scientist, Project Success and Innovation

- **Company:** American Institutes for Research
- **Location:** San Ramon, CA, United States (Remote available)
- **Salary:** $114,000.0 - $140,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Business Analytics Applications, Computer Programming, Github, Python (Programming Language), Machine Learning, Markdown, Stata, Large Language Models, Jupyter, Maintaining Code, Tools for Reporting, Software Version Control, Software Library
- **Published:** October 18, 2026
- **Apply:** https://diversityjobs.com/career/18668886/Data-Scientist-Project-Success-Innovation-California-Sacramento

## About the Role

* Master's or doctoral degree in a quantitative field, including statistics, computational social science, education data science, statistics, economics, quantitative psychology, quantitative methods, data science, or a related discipline, recently completed or nearing completion. Coursework or applied experience in causal inference and statistical modeling.
 * Experience with complex survey data, sampling, and large-scale administrative, longitudinal, or linked datasets.
 * Experience applying quantitative methods to education, health, or social policy questions.
 * Experience or familiarity with machine learning and AI methods, including applications of large language models in research.
 * Interest in building tools that other people use, and willingness to support them in doing so.
 * Familiarity with data common in applied social research, such as administrative records, longitudinal student or program data, survey data, or text.
 * Experience with restricted-use or confidential data.
 * Prior work building or maintaining code used by others.

Skills

 * Proficiency in R and/or Python.
 * Working knowledge of Stata.
 * Familiarity with version control (Git and Github) and an interest in reproducible research practices.
 * Familiarity with literate programming and reproducible reporting tools such as Quarto, R Markdown, or Jupyter.
 * Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues who have varying levels of technical experience.
 * Ability to write clearly about technical work for non-technical readers.

Disclosures: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. Depending on project work, qualified candidates may need to meet certain residency requirements.

## Description

PSI (approximately 50%)

 * Build and maintain shared analytic tools, including code libraries, project templates, and pipelines, that research teams across AIR can adopt and reuse.
 * Write documentation, training materials, and onboarding guides that make modern tooling accessible to staff with varying levels of technical experience.
 * Support project teams adopting new tools and workflows by answering questions, troubleshooting, and relaying recurring problems back to the team.
 * Prototype and test new tools and platforms, including machine learning and AI applications such as large language models, and help assess their fit and responsible use at AIR.
 * Help maintain deployed tools by triaging issues, fixing bugs, and tracking user feedback.
 * Contribute to work plans, timelines, and progress tracking for PSI activities, communicating regularly with PSI leadership.

EEOP (approximately 50%)

 * Conduct quantitative analyses on research and evaluation projects, including analyses for causal and non-causal research questions.
 * Serve as lead analyst on discrete studies or analytic components, with support from senior researchers.
 * Manage, clean, and quality-assure complex datasets from multiple sources.
 * Build and document reproducible analytic workflows and quality control procedures.
 * Review analytic code produced by research associates and other junior staff, and support their development in reproducible analysis and documentation practices.
 * Contribute to study design and analytic planning discussions.
 * Draft analytic sections of client reports, technical memos, and presentations, and help translate findings for non-technical audiences.
 * Track deliverables and timelines for assigned analytic tasks.
 * Contribute technical content to proposals., and principles and will therefore undergo reference and background checks. AIR maintains a drug-free work environment.