Data Scientist I

Job Summary:

The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) seeks a Data Scientist to contribute to research agendas set by research teams to further our research goals. Our mission is to advance the understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality by producing rigorous research, training scholars, engaging with policymakers and practitioners, and widely disseminating evidence.

As a Data Scientist at IRP, you will develop expertise in the content, structure, and idiosyncrasies of project-specific data by understanding the origin and interpretation of variables, as well as learning about policy issues related to the data. The Data Scientist will consult with research teams consisting of IRP affiliates, staff, graduate students, state agency workers, as well as other data professionals on campus and nationwide to provide customized datasets from our collection of administrative data on health and social service systems. We anticipate that this position will work with Wisconsin administrative, health, and/or social services data. This position will primarily provide data programming services, data pipeline construction and maintenance, and data management tasks such as: retrieving, cleaning, transforming, restructuring, merging, storing, and documenting large administrative data sets from various differing sources using programming languages (SAS, SQL). From this work, the Data Scientist will then construct longitudinal analytic datasets for the research teams to analyze.

We aim to hire a Data Scientist with experience programming in SAS and using Wisconsin administrative, health, or social services data; however, IRP values diversity and recognizes that experience can be gained in many ways. Therefore, if you are excited about this position, we encourage you to apply even if your experience may not be an exact match. We welcome your candidacy and invite you to share more in your cover letter about how your unique experiences and skills could contribute to our team. IRP is committed to providing experiences for professional development and career advancement.

Responsibilities:

Contributes to a research agenda set by a lead researcher by preparing data sets, analyzing them using data science techniques, and presenting the results. Works as part of a team under general supervision.

• 65% Prepares data sets for analysis including cleaning/quality assurance, transformations, restructuring, and integration of multiple data sources
• 10% Implements appropriate data science techniques under the guidance of other Data Scientists, statisticians, and/or other researchers to find data patterns and answer research questions chosen by the lead researcher including data visualization, statistical analysis, machine learning, and data mining
• 5% Organizes and automates project steps for data preparation and analysis
• 5% Composes and assembles reproducible workflows and reports to clearly articulate patterns to researchers and/or administrators
• 5% Documents approaches to address research questions
• 10% Serves as a subject matter expert by understanding the origin, interpretation, content, structure, and idiosyncrasies of the data, and by learning about policy issues related to the data

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

Education:

Bachelor's Degree is required. Preferred focus in social science, public/population health, computer science, data science, or related field.

Master's Degree is preferred. Preferred focus in social science, public/population health, computer science, data science, or related field.

Qualifications:

Work Type:

Full Time: 100%
This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location.

Appointment Type, Duration:

Ongoing, full-time appointment.

Salary:

Minimum $47,857 ANNUAL (12 months)
Depending on Qualifications

The typical starting salary for experienced candidates is between $60,000 and $80,000. Salary is negotiable based on experience and qualifications. Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. Benefits information can be found at: https://hr.wisc.edu/benefits/

How to Apply:

Please click on the "Apply Now" button to start the application process.

For questions on the position, contact: Krista Bryz-Gornia at bryzgornia@wisc.edu or 608-890-3897.

To apply for this position, you will need to upload a cover letter and resume. Contact information for at least three professional references including your current or most recent supervisor will be requested if you are selected as a finalist for the position. References will not be contacted without advance notice. Your cover letter should address your qualifications as they pertain to the qualifications listed above.

Contact:

Krista Bryz-Gornia
bryzgornia@wisc.edu
608-890-3897
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Official Title:

Data Scientist I(RE020)

Department(s):

A48-COL OF LETTERS & SCIENCE/INST RESEARCH ON POVERTY

Employment Class:

Academic Staff-Renewable

Job Number:

294816-AS

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply.
Employment will require a criminal background check. It will also require you and your references to answer questions regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment.
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.