Senior Quantitative Researcher/Data Scientist

About Digital Promise Global

Digital Promise Global is an independent, bipartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to spur innovation to advance equity and improve the opportunity to learn. Positioned at the intersection of educators, entrepreneurs, and researchers, Digital Promise Global identifies, develops, and promotes strategies to improve education and provide people with the knowledge and skills needed to compete in the global economy. Digital Promise centers our work in equity and values and rewards inclusivity, collaboration, and innovation.

About Powerful Learning

The Powerful Learning team ensures all learners have consistent and sustained experiences of powerful learning, thus empowering them to thrive in an increasingly complex and technological world. Our work involves engaging in research that contributes to the field of learning sciences; designing solutions that define, model, and provide examples of evidence-based insights that support the implementation of powerful learning; engaging strategic partners and communities to co-design and advance powerful learning solutions; and mentoring leaders within the education ecosystem. Our team, alongside our broader organization, is well-positioned to respond to the emergent needs of the field.

About The Position

As part of the EdTech R&D team, the Senior Quantitative Researcher/Data Scientist will support primarily external partners in designing studies, analyzing data, and synthesizing findings. This position will lead quantitative research in two areas. For the first, this position will study the impact of education technology on instructor teaching and student outcomes, including motivation, engagement, persistence, student learning, and course success for learners from historically and systematically excluded backgrounds. Building on this work, this position will also support a new initiative to understand and explore how education technology organizations can improve the learning outcomes of historically and systematically excluded learners through rapid cycle research and development of product features. The Senior Quantitative Researcher/Data Scientist will report to the Director, EdTech R&D.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of quantitative research design for projects that develop and/or evaluate inclusive and equitable education technologies and innovations.
• Conduct rigorous quantitative analysis (including power analyses) involving the wrangling, cleaning, and analysis of survey, learning analytics, and student outcomes data.
• Identify and develop appropriate measures of learning outcomes that can be used for rapid cycle continuous improvement of products and services.
• Contribute to updates, memos, and reports on data analysis, R&D progress, and findings for partners, clients, funders, and agencies.
• Contribute to reports and publications for partners, funders, and the broader field, and support dissemination of research findings to practitioners, developers, and researchers.
• Lead codesign and coresearch activities with EdTech developers, educators, administrators, and other researchers (e.g., logic model/theory of change development)
• Lead or co-lead quantitative research design components for proposals.
• Provide direction and support to team members specific to the issues and opportunities that come from their responsibilities
• Collaborate with teams across Digital Promise.

Qualifications

• A Ph.D. in learning analytics, learning sciences, psychometrics, quantitative methods, or a related field + 3 years of relevant experience (relevant Master’s degree with 6 or more years of quantitative research experience will also be considered).
• High expertise in a subset of these quantitative methods (e.g., learning analytics, multilevel modeling, social network analysis, psychometrics, machine learning).
• Expertise in a subset of these topics: research on motivation, agency, engagement, belonging.
• Expertise in conducting data analysis in R and using data visualization tools and software.
• Expertise in at least one online survey tool platform (Qualtrics preferred).
• Experience working with EdTech product teams or related programs to support rapid-cycle research and development.
• Experience working with learning platform data and other large datasets is preferred.
• Interest in working closely with education and technology partners to understand their questions and develop and iterate on study designs and data outputs that address them.
• Ability to use research insights to support EdTech product development that aligns to learning goals.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; proven ability to communicate with practitioners and technology developer partners about analytic findings.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment and manage competing tasks, deadlines, requirements, and decisions.
• A passion for education, a team mentality, creativity, and a positive “can-do” “yes-and” spirit

At Digital Promise, We Also Seek Candidates With

• A strong commitment to improving equity and accessibility in education
• A commitment to anti-racist approaches to our work
• Diverse life experiences
• An interest in redesigning learning systems
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional team members to ensure information is shared, projects are completed on time, and goals are reached.

Working Conditions

Digital Promise Global is a hybrid organization. Employees are expected to travel at least 4 times a year for in-person meetings and the annual staff retreat. Additional travel may be required based on role and responsibilities.

• Travel up to 20%
• Physical/Sensory Demands Fast-paced working environment. Extensive computer usage and online engagement & communication. Must be willing to build inclusive relationships and collaborate with employees at all levels within the organization and external partners.
• Special Provisions: Occasional work outside of normal business hours, such as weekends and evenings required.

Compensation

We consider candidate experience and location when determining where a candidate may fall within that range. Digital Promise offers a competitive total rewards package including coverage of 85% of health insurance premiums for employee coverage and 75% of health insurance premiums for dependent and family coverage, 15 vacation days, 12 sick days, 3% 401k employer contribution, 3% employer 401k match, and a flexible work environment.

The full-time salary range for the Senior Quantitative Researcher/Data Scientist position based on geographical regions is listed below, with an exact salary depending on relevant experience.

California: $128,952 - $140,331

DC Metro Area & NYC: $117,229 - $127,573

National: $105,507 - $114,816

To Apply

Please apply and submit your resume, cover letter, and salary requirements. Applicants are encouraged to submit their materials as soon as possible. Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis until the search is successful.

Digital Promise is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applications without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.