Senior/Staff Data Scientist (ACF)

Skylight

16h•$150,000 - $203,000•Remote

About The Position

Skylight is hiring a Senior/Staff Data Scientist to support the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and its new Data Capacity and Digital Services organization. The team works with enterprise-serving organizations, including ACF Tech and the Office of Grants Management, to help programs advance ACF’s mission and priorities, such as reducing grantee burden, reducing waste, fraud, and abuse, and modernizing legacy systems. The role uses data to help government stakeholders and product teams make informed decisions. It combines stakeholder consulting and analytical work with data engineering, visualization, and occasional lightweight engineering. The successful candidate will work directly with senior leaders, frame ambiguous questions, take initiative to find answers, and communicate actionable findings. Much of the work is expected to focus on data ingestion, storage, processing, and visualization rather than predictive or statistical analysis. The position is full-time, exempt, and fully remote. Work must be conducted within the United States, excluding U.S. territories. Travel may be required one or two times per year based on client or contract needs. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship, successfully complete a company background check, and be able to obtain a Tier 2 public trust background investigation. An existing clearance is not required.

Requirements

Think strategically about data to identify questions, communicate ideas, surface opportunities to create business value, and drive decisions.
Be familiar with modern data engineering, including cleaning and preprocessing data from a variety of sources.
Analyze datasets using appropriate methods and design, prototype, and build credible, effective, and accessible statistical models.
Preserve privacy and security when performing data analysis.
Communicate data, models, and findings clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
Use appropriate visualization tools to highlight actionable insights, trends, and recommendations.
Champion leading practices in data science.
Flex into lightweight engineering by building small tools and automations with low-code and AI platforms such as Credal, Databricks, and Microsoft Power Apps.
Have experience working on cross-functional teams spanning product, design, engineering, and operations in iterative delivery.
Have a mindset and work approach aligned with Skylight’s core values.
Be legally authorized to work in the United States now and in the future without sponsorship.
Successfully complete a company background check and be able to obtain a Tier 2 public trust background investigation.
Conduct all work within the United States, excluding U.S. territories.

Nice To Haves

Experience or interest in policy, public health, or human services.
Experience with grants management data and large, unstructured datasets.
Familiarity with Palantir Foundry and/or Databricks.
Experience delivering AI-forward technology in government, regulated industries, or other public-benefit settings.
A track record of staying aligned and accountable on remote teams.

Responsibilities

Engage executive and program stakeholders to frame questions and independently investigate answers, including when requests are ambiguous.
Organize data and build data pipelines using tools such as Palantir Foundry and Power BI.
Build AI agents, integrate them into workflows, and validate their outputs.
Visualize grant and program data using Tableau and Power BI.
Analyze large volumes of structured and unstructured information, including grants and program data, to identify trends and patterns.
Build lightweight tools, prototypes, and automations with platforms such as Credal and Power Apps.
Propose solutions and strategies for business challenges and select appropriate tools, frameworks, and languages, with a preference for open-source and low/no-code solutions.
Communicate findings through data visualizations that support leadership decisions.
Build predictive models and machine-learning algorithms when needed.
Collaborate on cross-functional teams that include user experience researchers and designers, product managers, engineers, and other specialists.
Provide technical consulting and capacity building alongside delivery work.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
Short-term and long-term disability insurance.
Life and AD&D insurance.
Dependent care FSA, healthcare FSA, and health savings account.
Dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match up to 10% of salary, with no vesting period.
Flexible paid-time-off policy, generally around 25 days per year, plus 11 paid federal holidays.
Up to 12 weeks of paid time off for eligible new birth, adoption, or foster parents.
Performance rewards, including annual salary increases, annual performance bonuses, spot bonuses, and stock options.
Business development and sales bonuses.
Referral bonuses.
Annual $2,000 professional development allowance.
Annual $750 allowance for tech-related purchases.
Annual $100 swag budget.
Flexible, remote-friendly work environment.