Education Researcher - Quantitative Analysis Specialist

SRI Education seeks a Education Researcher with strong quantitative training and leadership experience and a commitment to improving education for all learners to lead projects and proposals integrating rigorous quantitative design and mixed methods approaches. In this role, you will guide collaborative project teams to apply an equity lens in designing and conducting research and large-scale program evaluations in K-16 education and communicating findings to diverse audiences. The position requires an advanced degree in social sciences or a related field, training in quantitative and casual methods, and a proven track record in writing successful research proposals for federal agencies, foundations, or commercial clients.

This opportunity is posted at 2 levels of experience, and we will hire one candidate. We are happy to have candidates join us in our office locations. We have offices in Arlington, VA, and Menlo Park, CA. We also have large populations of employees in the Boston area as well as Denver/Boulder, CO. Alternatively, we will also consider 100% remote candidates.

Design and conduct rigorous research and large-scale program evaluations in K-16 education:

Lead quantitative research design, data collection, and analysis tasks to examine impact and implementation, ensuring data quality and security.
• Conduct quantitative impact studies that meet the U.S. Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards.
• Support business development and proposal writing efforts
• Collaborate closely with qualitative, mixed methods, technical assistance providers, and other quantitative researchers on issues of research design, theoretical framing, and interpretation of results
• Apply an equity lens to quantitative design, analysis, and interpretation
• Contribute to development and monitoring of project budgets

Communicate with clarity to diverse audiences:

• Lead discussions of impact study design decisions and trade-offs with clients and non-quantitative staff
• Write reports, policy papers, and articles for clients, policymakers, practitioners, and academic journals
• Present study findings clearly and accurately
• Adapt the presentation of findings to effectively engage diverse audiences
• Support technical writing of junior staff
• Document projects' technical work (e.g., draft technical appendices, document project statistical coding)

Grow professionally through collaboration with and mentorship of colleagues with diverse expertise:

• Develop new skills through ongoing project-embedded mentorship and professional development opportunities
• Mentor junior researchers on evaluation design and research methodology

Required Job Qualifications to be considered for this role:

Training experience:

• PhD in social sciences or related policy fields with strong quantitative methodology training OR a similar master's degree (e.g., statistics, biostatistics) and 3 years relevant research experience
• Coursework in statistical methods for causal inference and other methods commonly used within education research (e.g., experimental and quasi-experimental design, multi-level modeling)

Functional experiences and capacities:

• Experience conducting rigorous experimental or quasi-experimental studies
• Experience obtaining and cleaning complex extant data (e.g., student-level district data sets)
• Proficiency with statistical analysis software (Stata or R)
• Experience generating well-structured, clear, and concise verbal and written communications on research and project activities that communicate the nuances of research design to both quantitative and non-quantitative audiences
• Capacity to support multiple projects simultaneously and change focus as priorities shift through use of strong organizational skills
• Demonstrated ability to problem solve and ensure high quality through attention to detail

Additional requirements:

• A commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion both in research and in the workplace
• An asset orientation towards the capabilities of diverse learners of all ages
• A desire to integrate your quantitative skills into a mixed methods team
• Willingness to work across a range of projects related to K-16 education

Candidates with one or more of the following qualifications preferred:

• Training in data science methods (e.g., statistical methods, data visualization, and machine learning)
• Experience with Institute of Education Sciences' WWC Standards and Standards for Excellence in Education Research, including experience conducting WWC reviews or contributing to the development of WWC Practice Guides
• Training in survey methods (e.g., sampling, validity/reliability analysis)
• Experience or expertise designing and implementing equity-focused educational research
• Professional or volunteer experience in or with the US public PreK-16 education system, including working with Black or African American, Latino, Latinx, or Hispanic students, or students and families with limited financial means
• Prior experience with quantitative design, writing, or budgeting of successful research proposals for federal agencies (e.g., the Department of Education or National Science Foundation), foundations, or commercial clients
• Proximity to SRI's Menlo Park CA or Arlington VA office that enables occasional in-office work

In your cover letter, please include information about your training in quantitative and causal research methods and your experience relevant to the requirements in this posting. Candidates who proceed to the interview process will be asked to provide writing samples and conduct a job talk.

Please note, SRI is planning to hire a researcher with expertise in quantitative social science methods. We are open to hiring either an Education Researcher (this posting) or a Senior Education Researcher (posting #5929).

The salary range is: $95,000-$120,000/annually. Salary ranges will vary and are based on several factors, including geographic location, market competitiveness and equity amongst internal employees in similar roles. Positions may also qualify for SRI's Pay for Outstanding Performance program or the annual Performance Based Compensation program.

SRI also has a competitive benefits package, to view details please go to https://www.sri.com/resources/benefits/. SRI is an independent nonprofit research institute headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., with a rich history of supporting government and industry. We create and deliver world-changing solutions for a safer, healthier, and more sustainable future. For more than 75 years, we have collaborated across technical and scientific disciplines to discover and develop groundbreaking products and technologies and bring innovations and ideas to the marketplace.