Staff Data Scientist

Department

PSD Data Science Staff

About the Department

The Data Science Institute (DSI) at the University of Chicago was established to support the development of emerging efforts in data science across the University. The staff in the Data Science Institute support the University’s community of scholars, their shared ideals, and the core values that make the University a singular intellectual destination. Together with the University's deans and department chairs, the Data Science Institute provides the opportunities, infrastructure, and resources that encourage our faculty and other scholars to pursue their finest work. We are part of the Physical Sciences Division which includes departments and several interdisciplinary research institutes and centers.

Job Summary

Working in collaboration with UChicago Data Science Institute faculty and staff and The Schmidt Family Foundation 11th Hour Project (“11th Hour”), the Data Scientist will increase the data capacity of 11th Hour program staff and grantees. This role will consult on 11th Hour grantee data collection and modeling as well as the long-range goals of advancing scientific discovery, developing open source resources, innovative technical consulting, development and delivery of workshops and training, and other activities designed to advance the research and practice of data-driven and data intensive discovery across 11th Hour grantee areas.

Responsibilities

• Work with nonprofit and social impact partners to design and execute data science projects for social good across multiple verticals including climate, energy, food, agriculture, and human rights.

• Write high quality code (Python) using modern dev ops tools (docker, etc.).

• Conduct workshops and trainings to build 11th Hour Project program staff and grantee data capacity.

• Review and evaluate potential joint 11th Hour-UChicago DSI projects for technical merit and feasibility.

• Develop open source data science resources to support the data literacy and capacity for environmental nonprofits and companies to use.

• Conduct an independent research program in their area of expertise; disseminate and publish these results.

• Engage with other research initiatives at the UChicago DSI including establishing external collaborations across multiple disciplines.

• Support the ongoing education, training and consulting programs at the UChicago DSI.

• Mentor and support graduate and undergraduate students in the UChicago Data Science Clinic.

• Support grant writing activities to support ongoing initiatives in data science.

• Contribute to the life of the UChicago DSI environment through service and participation in UChicago DSI activities, including public lectures, blog posts, contributing to open source technologies, etc.

• Develop materials communicating significant results, best practices and case studies with specific technologies, and documentation for significant software.

• Demonstrate a deep understanding of methods to analyze complex data sets for the purpose of extracting and purposefully using applicable information. Develop and maintain infrastructure that connects data sets.

• Design and evaluate statistical models and reproducible data processing pipelines using expertise of best practices in machine learning and statistical inference. Provide expertise for high level or complex data-related requests and engage other IT resources as needed. Partner with other campus teams to assist faculty with data science related needs.

• Guides staff or faculty members in defining the project and applies principals of data science in manipulation, statistical applications, programming, analysis and modeling.

• Perform other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Graduate degree in statistics, data science, machine learning, mathematics, computer science, or related computational field, or equivalent work experience.

Experience:

• At least seven (7) years of professional experience in advanced statistical modeling and machine learning.

• At least seven (7) years of professional experience writing code in Python.

• Experience with advanced statistical modeling and machine learning strongly preferred.

• Experience working with stakeholders to understand their goals and identify tractable solutions strongly preferred.

• Experience communicating results through writing, data visualizations, and presentations strongly preferred.

• Experience building data science projects from the ground up, working with stakeholders to understand their goals and identify tractable solutions.

• Experience communicating results through writing, data visualizations, and presentations.

• Knowledge of software development best practices and commonly used tools (Docker, cloud computing platforms, version control, etc.).

• Hands-on experience with deep learning models (e.g. CNN, RNN, transformer, GNN, GAN), especially for image analysis or generative language models (NLP).

• Experience participating in open source software development and significant contributions to open source projects are also highly valued in this role.

Application Documents

• Resume (required)

• Cover Letter (preferred)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Research

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Pay Rate Type

Salary

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FLSA Status

Exempt

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Pay Range

$101,000.00 - $129,000.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement
 

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

 

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

 

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