NORC at the University of Chicago seeks a talented Senior Data Scientist I to join our Health Care Evaluation Research Department. The Senior Data Scientist I will play a strategic role in working with our research teams to produce valuable insights for our clients.

This position supports the development of the strategy and vision for large data analysis projects; may manage both the activities and the work product of data analysts and/or data scientists;  provide input and guidance to task leaders especially regarding data  acquisition, questionnaire content, data analysis, and overall data dissemination; design, develop, and deploy algorithms, models, and work flows to discover valuable information in large volumes of data from various sources; bring structure to large data sets; evaluate the data, construct models, create business applications, and work closely with organizational leaders to provide input into strategic business implications for the organization. The Senior Data Scientist I work collaboratively with the project team.

NORC recognizes that talented and skilled researchers live throughout the U.S. and actively supports remote work arrangements.

As a condition of employment, all NORC employees and contractors – including those working remotely - must be fully vaccinated (as defined by current CDC guidance) against COVID-19.

NORC’s expertise and ongoing work in health care delivery and financing — including access to insurance, payment and delivery-system reform, benefit design, and quality measurement — advance stakeholders’ understanding of policies and programs, facilitate implementation, and contribute to important improvements in cost and quality.

NORC’s expert staff has extensive knowledge of all aspects of health care delivery, from private marketplaces and employer-sponsored insurance to Medicare and Medicaid; from large health care systems to small clinics; and from the needs of children to those of older adults, people with disabilities, and ethnic and racial minorities. Our expert team includes social scientists that acquire, collect, and analyze data from health care organizations and patients; evaluators; health services researchers; health-policy analysts; and professionals with first-hand experience running and supporting health care programs.

• Work with terabytes of health and administrative data, and create analytic data products therefrom to support various healthcare research and technical assistance projects.
• Implement specifications for rigorous study designs, and measures of performance such as cost and quality, to evaluate the impact of health care programs and policies.
• Identify data from multiple sources, perform analysis and recommend applications to add value to project and corporate initiatives;
• Develops the platforms and tools to enhance the organization's analytic capabilities.
• Work closely with project leaders on implications of the data for processes and decisions.
• Recommend methodology for data management, merging, cleaning, transforming and harmonizing data.
• Using a degree of creativity and latitude, develop hypotheses, design experiments and test feasibility of proposed initiatives.
• Engage in business development activities including authoring various sections of technical proposals.
• Manage contracts and work closely with clients to ensure that contractual requirements (deliverables and timelines) and client expectations are met using the highest standards of quality and collegiality.
• Train and supervise staff on specific protocols and tasks.

• Bachelor’s degree in Math, Statistics, Computer Science, Data Science, or Social Science related field. Masters Degree or higher strongly preferred.
• At least 6 years experience (at least 9 years experience if Bachelor's degree) in positions of increasing responsibility, working with large datasets and conducting statistical and quantitative modeling, melding analytics with strong programming, data mining, clustering and segmentation.
• Experience working with health care datasets and working directly with federal or states health data.
• Working knowledge of different types of data and of the methodologies and technologies for integrating data.
• Strong data programming skills in statistical packages and database tools such as SAS, SQL, Python, R, Tableau, Hadoop, Hive, MapReduce and/or other large data systems.
• Strong technical writing skills, strong verbal skills; and data visualization/presentation. 
• Ability to explain technology, techniques and approaches to others.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and aptitude in leading and working with project teams, coordinating multiple projects.
• Strong problem solving skills, ability to organize and prioritize work assignments to meet project needs.
• Occasional travel to client sites and business meetings may be required. 

NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.

For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

NORC is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer that values and actively seeks diversity in the workforce. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other legally- protected characteristics.