Data Scientist

Special Instructions to Applicants:

This position posting requires you to submit a cover letter, resume and three professional references (which can be on a separate document or included with your resume).

Position Summary:

Texas Policy Lab (TPL) is seeking a data scientist who will work on pressing early childhood issues in Texas. The successful candidate will work with other members of TPL and faculty at Rice University to contribute to analytical projects involving large administrative and survey-generated datasets. S/he will apply frontier data analysis techniques to address policymaker needs, especially in analyzing the impact of a recent statewide child care subsidy and training program. S/he will import, manipulate, and merge large datasets. S/he will devise and implement strategies to automate the process of importing, exporting, and linking datasets arriving from various government agencies and work on visualizing analysis.

TPL provides Texas state and local government agencies with science-driven results to help inform how policy is developed and implemented in Texas. In close collaboration with those agencies, we produce scientific, independent, timely evaluations of current social and economic programs and new program initiatives. These long-term partnerships will improve Texas state and local government capacity to utilize data, scientific evidence, and technology in policy-making and resource allocation. The Texas Policy Lab draws on the expertise of Rice University faculty and its professional research staff.

This position is for a one-year appointment, with a possible appointment extension contingent on available funding.

Salary:

$44,300 to $57,000

Essential Functions:

• Under general guidance, assesses and produces relevant, standard, or custom reports showing business solutions tailored to new trends, demands, and concepts.
• Distributes and disseminates reports accordingly.
• Develops and produces dashboards, key performance indicators, trends, and other recognized metrics used to monitor and report performance.
• Collects, manages, and cleans datasets related to reporting generation.
• Researches and reconciles data discrepancies occurring among various information systems and reports.
• Participates in the implementation of data standards and common data elements for data collection.
• Collaborates with client/department manager to identify analytical requirements.
• Identifies new sources of data and methods to improve data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• May test prototype software and participate in approval and release process for new software.
• Performs all other duties as assigned.

Additional Functions/ Information:

• Must be able to work at a computer terminal for extended periods of time.
• Must be able to move about campus and go to various TPL sites.
• Some late evenings and/or weekends are required to meet TPL deadlines.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field (computer science, mathematics, statistics, economics, finance, etc.)
• Good listening, verbal and written communication, analytical, and research skills.
• Excellent scientific and numerical skills with meticulous attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to work in a team environment, participate actively, collaborate, and motivate others in the lab.
• Good critical thinking, technical, data collection, and interviewing skills.
• Good statistical and graphical analysis skills.
• Ability to maintain quality, safety, and/or infection control standards.
• Ability to plan and schedule effectively.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in a relevant field (computer science, mathematics, statistics, economics, finance, etc.)
• Expertise, as demonstrated by advanced coursework or other relevant experience, in predictive modeling, machine learning, and statistics.
• Demonstrable expertise in determining the appropriate analytic approaches and computing techniques given the data availability and research question.
• Strong programming skills in statistical and/or computational programs.
• Knowledge of frontier data science techniques and experience in their applications.
• Experience in importing, linking, reshaping, and managing large administrative datasets.
• Demonstrated e xperience in data visualization.
• Experience in manipulating administrative data collected from multiple sources.
• Demonstrable interest in public policy.
• Ability to communicate complex techniques and methods with other researchers.
• Interest in a substantive public policy area, such as criminal justice, child protective services, health, education, or others.