Research and Learning Scientist

TalkingPoints

19h • $120,000 - $130,000 • Remote

About The Position

The Research and Learning Scientist drives rigorous, actionable research on how TalkingPoints improves student outcomes through family-school partnerships. The role supports research and development for family learning products, ensuring that promoted home practices align with how children build literacy and numeracy skills, and contributes to studies across the broader research agenda. Reporting to the Director of Research, the Scientist owns projects from design through dissemination and collaborates cross-functionally in a team that values rigor and rapid iteration.

The Scientist leads research for at-home learning and personalized recommendation products; applies learning science and behavior-change principles to product R&D; and advises on AI-powered family recommendations, including data signals, skill mapping, data sufficiency, and output quality. The role designs and conducts mixed-methods studies, manages and analyzes quantitative and qualitative data, develops measures of family and educator outcomes, translates findings into impact stories and strategic recommendations, and represents the organization’s research with districts, funders, and external researchers. It also includes leading long-term district research partnerships and informally mentoring researchers as needed.

Requirements

• PhD in education, learning sciences, developmental or educational psychology, or a related field.
• 8+ years of applied research experience, including product, R&D, and funder-facing work.
• Learning science expertise in literacy and/or math, home learning, and families as learning partners.
• Expertise in mixed methods, experimental and quasi-experimental design, and measure validation, with honest communication of tradeoffs.
• Record of translating evidence for non-research audiences and delivering with little oversight.
• Proficiency in R.
• Working knowledge of SQL and/or Sigma.
• Comfort using AI tools.
• Experience with public education datasets and PII.

Nice To Haves

• Family engagement or attendance research expertise.
• Experience evaluating AI-powered or personalized recommendation tools.

Responsibilities

• Drive research for at-home learning and personalized recommendation products, and contribute to studies across the research agenda.
• Support product R&D by applying learning science and behavior-change principles and testing whether features strengthen family practices and student learning.
• Advise on AI-powered family recommendations, including data signals, how they map to skills, where data is insufficient for personalization, and output quality.
• Design and run mixed-methods studies, including rapid-cycle, descriptive, and correlational analyses, quasi-experimental designs, and randomized trials.
• Manage, clean, and analyze quantitative and qualitative platform, partner, and public data, such as NCES and state systems.
• Develop and administer measures of family and educator outcomes linked to student outcomes.
• Translate findings into impact stories and strategic recommendations for product, partnerships, and fundraising.
• Represent research with districts, funders, and external researchers; lead long-term district research partnerships; and informally mentor other researchers as needed.

Benefits

• 401K match
• Flexibility to work remotely
• Opportunity to work with a mission-driven, rapidly growing startup tech nonprofit
• Fun, smart, dynamic, motivated team focused on transforming family engagement

What This Job Offers

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