Career Center

The Office of Institutional Research, part of the Office of the Provost, supports Harvard's senior leadership through the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on issues of institutional importance. This position will report to the Associate Director of Institutional Research for Analytics. We are seeking a Data Scientist to be a key contributor and collaborate with other team members to help realize the Office's goals of presenting important institutional data to diverse audiences and executing research projects that address strategic questions for the University.

The role is expected to serve as a technical lead within the team and will be responsible for developing and deploying data-driven applications for analytic projects. The position is also expected to lead and contribute to analytic projects, including working with clients to scope and define analyses and communicating findings to audiences across the University. The ideal candidate will have detailed knowledge of statistical methods, the ability to communicate both the findings and limitations of statistical analyses, as well as experience in building and maintaining data-driven applications to support the effective use of institutional data, working with technical consultants, and evaluating data tools.

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Collaborating with team members to produce descriptive and inferential analyses;
• Designing and deploying interactive applications (e.g., dashboards and storyboards) to make analyses and findings available to internal Harvard audiences;
• Developing, maintaining, and documenting data pipelines to support analytic and reporting projects;
• Managing, reporting on, and integrating data from a variety of sources (e.g., data warehouses, specialized systems, and survey data);
• Developing internal tools, packages, and other materials to streamline internal team processes.

We are looking for a candidate who possesses the following attributes:

• Self-motivated, with high standards for rigorous and detailed work;
• High level of independence, judgment, and technical skills;
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines;
• Strong customer service orientation, initiative, and ability to anticipate and plan for customer needs;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively on a team;
• Strong analytical, written, and oral communication skills;
• Curious, patient, and with a sense of humor; and
• Ability to work with highly confidential data.

A candidate will be comfortable independently scoping, designing, and leading projects. Possible project topics include Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), student outcomes, faculty trends, scholarly collaboration, and research funding, among others.

This position may start hybrid (some on-campus/some remote work), with the transition to a full-on campus in Cambridge if required by the department. Work options for this role will be discussed during the interview process.

PLEASE NOTE: The University requires all Harvard community members to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and remain up to date with COVID-19 vaccine boosters, as detailed in Harvard's Vaccine & Booster Requirements Individuals may claim exemption from the vaccine requirement for medical or religious reasons. More information regarding the University's COVID vaccination requirement, exemptions, and verification of vaccination status may be found on the University's

• Advanced degree required, preferably in a quantitative field
• A minimum of 7 years of experience in analysis within an academic or business setting. Education may count toward years of experience.
• Extensive knowledge of at least one programming language (preferably R) and comfort working in and integrating a variety of languages and frameworks
• Familiarity with administering and deploying applications in a cloud environment (preferably AWS and Heroku)

The ideal candidate will also display strengths in several or all of the following areas:

• Statistical and empirical analysis: Quantitative methods for policy and program evaluation; survey design; statistical packages such as R or Stata;
• Programming: Strong background in programming and the ability to navigate multiple programming languages and ecosystems. Familiarity with modern cloud infrastructure.
• Data management: SQL and relational database design; data warehousing; process automation;
• Data visualization: Advanced design of static and interactive visualizations in statistical software packages such as R/Shiny; JavaScript-based visualization; Observable JS and Quarto
• Office productivity software: Successful candidates will have to experience with the Microsoft Office suite and the ability to collaborate effectively with others on the platform

Candidates may be asked to submit a sample of their work

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER: We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.