Principal Data Scientist - Washington, DC office

NORC at the University of Chicago • Washington DC, WA

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking an experienced Principal Data Scientist to join the Statistics and Data Science department. This position is contingent on contract award. We are open to part-time or full-time candidates. The Principal Data Scientist plays a top role in working with our research teams to produce valuable insights for our clients. This position supports the development of the strategy and vision for our largest data or more complicated analysis projects; may manage both the activities and the work product of data analysts and/or data scientists; provide input and guidance to task leaders especially regarding data acquisition, questionnaire content, data analysis, and overall data dissemination; design, develop, and deploy algorithms, models, and work flows to discover valuable information in various sources; bring structure to large data sets; evaluate the data, construct models, create business applications, and work closely with organizational leaders to provide input into strategic business implications for the organization. The Principal Data Scientist is expected to work collaboratively in a team environment. This is a hybrid role based in our downtown Washington, DC office, with a regular office presence at our office and the client site. Qualified applicants must be U.S. citizens due to security clearance requirements for projects.

Requirements

• PhD required in Math, Statistics, Computer Science, Data Science, or Social Science related field.
• Expert level foundation in areas of statistics, mathematics, computer science, machine learning, and scientific methods of inquiry.
• At least 15 years’ experience in positions of increasing responsibility, working with large datasets and conducting statistical and quantitative modeling, melding analytics with strong programming, data mining, clustering and segmentation.
• Demonstrated experience leading large data science organizations, including direct management of teams of approximately 40 or more data scientists and technical professionals.
• Extensive hands-on experience developing, deploying, and scaling production AI/ML solutions, including NLP, predictive analytics, record linkage, synthetic data, and related advanced methodologies.
• Experience influencing and coordinating work across larger organizations or programs involving 100+ staff is strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to explain complex AI, machine learning, and Responsible AI concepts to executive leaders, clients, public audiences, and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience establishing or operating AI governance programs aligned with NIST frameworks and federal AI guidance.
• Advanced problem solving skills, quantitative/qualitative analysis skills.
• Ability to organize and prioritize work assignments to meet project needs.
• Experience in client communications and relationship management; strong technical writing skills, strong verbal skills; and data visualization/presentation.
• Able to explain technology, techniques and approaches to others.
• Strong data programming skills in statistical packages and database tools such as SAS, SQL, Python, R, Tableau, Hadoop, Hive, MapReduce and/or other large data systems.
• Qualified applicants must be U.S. citizens due to security clearance requirements for projects.

Nice To Haves

• Domain expertise preferred.
• Experience working with the U.S. Census Bureau, Census-related programs, or other large-scale population statistics organizations is strongly preferred.
• Experience with international population counts, census operations, or national statistical agencies (e.g., Statistics Canada) is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of demographic estimation, survey methodology, record linkage, population measurement, and official statistics preferred.
• Established leadership in Responsible AI, AI governance, and trustworthy AI implementation within research, government, or large enterprise environments.
• Demonstrated success managing large, geographically distributed analytics and data science teams.

Responsibilities

• Identify data from multiple sources, perform analysis and recommend applications to add value to project and corporate initiatives, provide insight into important business issues and/or solve a pressing business problem.
• Employ and oversee advanced machine learning/natural language processing.
• Oversee AI implementations.
• Develops the platforms and tools to enhance the organization's analytic capabilities.
• Work closely with project leaders on implications of the data for processes and decisions.
• Provide leadership for large-scale AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics initiatives, including natural language processing (NLP), predictive modeling, record linkage, and synthetic data generation in production environments.
• Lead and mentor multidisciplinary teams of data scientists and technical staff to deliver enterprise-scale AI/ML solutions.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on Responsible AI, communicating AI governance, risk management, and ethical AI practices to senior leaders, clients, public audiences, and technical teams.
• Support the development and implementation of AI governance frameworks aligned with NIST standards and federal best practices.
• Collaborate with Census and population statistics stakeholders to advance methodologies for survey research, demographic estimation, and population measurement.
• Recommends methodology and oversees implementation of, data management, merging, cleaning, transforming and harmonizing data.
• Using a wide degree of creativity and latitude, develops hypotheses, designs experiments and tests feasibility of proposed initiatives.
• Engage in business development activities including leading proposal efforts, authoring various sections of the technical proposal.
• Train and supervise staff on specific protocols and tasks.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment
• Dental and vision insurance
• A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program
• Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance
• Generous paid time off, holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Bereavement leave
• Tuition assistance
• An Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree