Senior Data Scientist - Special Projects Lead
About The Position
The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to lead special projects for external partners and modernize internal operational analytics. The role designs and deploys advanced analytics and mixed-methods research frameworks for public program evaluation, combining data engineering, machine learning, and policy research. It transforms complex government datasets into predictive models, prescriptive insights, and methodologically defensible evidence to inform statewide accountability and public policy. The successful candidate will design scalable statistical models, conduct literature reviews, and defend empirical findings to varied stakeholders. The position also leads cross-functional project teams evaluating complex public programs and provides technical direction to junior and mid-level analytics staff. The role is based at one of OSA’s Boston, Lawrence, Quincy, Brockton, Marlboro, or Chicopee offices. It is supervised by the Director of Data Analytics.
Requirements
- Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Data Science, Statistics, Economics, Computer Science, Public Policy/Public Administration with a quantitative focus, or a related empirical research field.
- 5–7 years of professional experience conducting end-to-end data science or mixed-methods research projects.
- Mastery of Python, SQL, and Git/DevOps version control practices in a collaborative engineering environment.
- Experience applying advanced machine learning, including regression, classification, and clustering, and statistical causal inference to large, messy administrative datasets.
- Ability to explain complex mathematical or structural findings to non-technical audiences.
- Proficiency in Power BI, Tableau, or a similar visualization tool, with demonstrable prior work.
- Experience working with large, complex datasets.
- Critical-thinking ability and tested experience addressing complex research problems.
- Commitment to public service, ethical standards, and continuous improvement.
- At least 3 years of experience formally managing, supervising, or functionally leading technical teams of data scientists, statisticians, research methodologists, or quantitative policy analysts.
- Ability to mentor and develop technical staff in Python, advanced SQL, predictive modeling, and cloud-based data engineering such as Azure.
- Track record directing complex end-to-end research projects and vetting, critiquing, and defending qualitative and quantitative research designs.
- Exceptional communication skills, including translating technical architectures and statistical findings into clear strategic narratives for non-technical leadership and external partners.
- Experience establishing team or unit protocols for version control, data governance, and reproducible research.
- Ability to apply mixed-methods research, including reviewing relevant literature and combining qualitative and quantitative approaches to produce rigorous, tested findings.
Nice To Haves
- Experience supporting performance audits or program evaluations in a government setting.
- Familiarity with government data systems, administrative records, and regulatory frameworks.
- Experience with data governance, privacy, and security practices in public-sector environments.
Responsibilities
- Formulate rigorous, testable hypotheses about complex public-sector domains.
- Design and execute end-to-end research methodologies integrating qualitative policy analysis with quantitative empirical modeling for audit topics.
- Design, validate, and deploy advanced statistical and machine-learning architectures, including supervised and unsupervised learning, clustering, and specialized anomaly detection.
- Architect and maintain reproducible data pipelines and enterprise analytics solutions using Python, SQL, and Microsoft Azure services.
- Research academic journals, domain publications, and historical administrative data to select and defend appropriate statistical and non-statistical methodologies for audit scenarios.
- Evaluate public-sector data completeness, provenance, and relevance; work with IT partners on data taxonomy and classification frameworks.
- Translate modeling results into interactive visual evidence and reports for auditors and state decision-makers.
- Collaborate with audit teams to turn program goals into data-driven methodologies and tools.
- Oversee and improve the technical work of junior and mid-level analytics staff; translate statewide accountability goals into research sprints, pipeline architecture, and defensible methodology designs.
- Manage cross-functional teams evaluating complex public programs and ensure research quality, data integrity, and pipeline reproducibility.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
