Senior Research Scientist, Executive Engagement & Insights

Syndio • Home, WV

14d • $164,000 - $184,000 • Remote

About The Position

Syndio is seeking a Senior Research Scientist to lead studies from question to published finding. This role involves combining Syndio's proprietary pay-decision data with external labor-market data to produce research that influences executives, product teams, and account teams. The individual will also engage directly with CHROs and CFOs to interpret findings and their implications for business decisions. The role is designed to be broad, requiring the ability to design studies, write analysis code, and present findings to senior leadership. The ideal candidate will have a PhD or equivalent depth in a related quantitative field and a proven track record of applied research leading to tangible impact.

Requirements

• A PhD or equivalent depth in industrial-organizational psychology, behavioral or decision science, labor economics, statistics, or a related field.
• A track record of following applied research through to impact (e.g., changing a product, a decision, or a business outcome), not solely a publication record.
• Hands-on quantitative skills: causal and quasi-experimental methods, psychometrics and survey design.
• Working fluency in Python or R and SQL on large, messy, real-world data.
• Comfort presenting to senior customers (CHROs, CFOs), handling difficult questions, and clearly articulating the scope of evidence.
• Ability to work across diverse environments, from data warehouses to boardrooms, and to manage projects end-to-end.
• Strong judgment regarding data, including strict adherence to data-use and privacy boundaries.

Nice To Haves

• Domain depth in compensation, total rewards, pay equity, or people analytics.
• Experience with labor-market or compensation benchmark data (posted-pay data, salary surveys, or workforce data sets).
• Consulting or customer-facing analytics experience.
• Published thought leadership or a public research voice.
• Experience in a startup, an applied research lab, or a research-to-product environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead studies end to end: frame the question, design the measurement, run the analysis, and write the finding.
• Shape flagship research reports and partner studies.
• Combine Syndio's pay-decision data with external labor-market, survey, and benchmark data to answer complex questions.
• Build reusable methods to improve the efficiency of subsequent studies.
• Build outcome and ROI models that connect pay governance to attrition, cost, risk, and performance, ensuring they meet CFO-level financial standards.
• Join executive conversations at strategic accounts, translating findings for CHROs and CFOs.
• Bring back customer questions to shape future research.
• Partner with product and data science teams to integrate research findings into product features, benchmarks, and reporting.
• Co-author reports, articles, and executive briefings, ensuring all external claims are traceable to a source.
• Advance the science and its application through external communication.

Benefits

• Competitive Compensation: $164,000 - $184,000 per year
• Syndio Equity
• Flexible Vacation Policy
• Paid sick & safe time
• Compassion leave
• Voting leave
• Paid parental leave
• Medical, Dental, Vision insurance (Syndio pays 90% of employee premiums, 50% for dependents)
• Life Insurance & Disability (Syndio covers the full premium)
• 401(k)

What This Job Offers

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