Job Description

**Overview**

Join AIR as a **Researcher** with ourEducation Statistics ( team. The mission of our team of experts is to provide statistical evidence that is meaningful, timely, accurate, and trustworthy. Our Education Statistics portfolio focuses on the development, collection, analysis, and communication of international, national, and state statistics. Our primary practice hubs are:

+ Measurement and statistics in large-scale surveys

+ Standards and assessment

Our Education Statistics team is driven by our mission to make the world a better, more equitable place.

We are seeking a Researcher with a focus on large-scale assessments. The Researcher would apply quantitative research and data science methods to improve the development, operations, and analyses in large-scale assessments with an emphasis on (1) improving measures of student performance and measures of relevant contextual variables; (2) supporting large-scale operations from framework, item development, data collections, and scoring; (3) turning raw data into meaningful information through programming and advanced analytics; (4) building algorithms and designing experiments to merge, manage, integrate, and extract useful data; (5) exploring human-computer language interactions; (6) using machine learning, text analytics, and statistical techniques to produce solutions for complex data issues; and (7) designing research and/or data analysis reports to disseminate findings, expand the utility of the data through linking extant data sources, and increase audience reach. The Researcher is expected to be part of a team to conduct research and development, utilizing data science methods, to advance the research agenda of a large-scale assessment or survey program.

Candidates hired for the position may work remotely within the United States (U.S.) or from one of ourU.S. office locations. ( This does not include U.S. territories.

**About AIR:**

Established in 1946, with headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, AIR is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to solve some of the most urgent challenges in the U.S. and around the world. We advance evidence in the areas of education, health, the workforce, human services, and international development to create a better, more equitable world.

AIRs commitment to diversity goes beyond legal compliance to its full integration in our strategy, operations, and work environment. At AIR, we define diversity broadly, considering everyones unique life and community experiences.We believe that embracing diverse perspectives, abilities/disabilities, racial/ethnic and cultural backgrounds, styles, ages, genders, gender identities and expressions, education backgrounds, and life stories drives innovation and employee engagement. Learn more about AIR's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy and hear from our staff byclicking here ( .

**Responsibilities**

The responsibilities for the position include:

+ Provide input on the strategic thinking, planning, and execution of developing a reseach agenda;

+ Support the development of analyses plans for research studies and co-lead a research team to conduct such studies; Aspects of research studies may include:

+ contributing to efforts on evaluating new approaches and/or technologies in assessment design or development;

+ working with transactional data (i.e., process data) collected from the students interactions with with assessment;

+ applying advanced knowledge of digital infrastructure, machine learning methods, cloud computing skills, and data mining and their applications in large-scale data sets;

+ developing data quality and quality checking protocols, performing data quality evaluations, and ensuring quality control of deliverables;

+ linking data across sources appropriately;

+ creating new measures or opportunities to extend utility of data;

+ contributing to team efforts to develop and evaluate automated processes intended to meet accuracy and timeliness goals;

+ Additional research study examples related to NAEP can be found here:NAEP Data in Focus: Examining the Research | American Institutes for Research (air.org) (

+ Document methods for internal and external dissemination;

+ Disseminate results of investigations and/or research studies internally (e.g., memos and short oral presentations) and externally (e.g., journal articles, technical reports, and presentations to professional conferences);

+ Manage small to medium-size tasks, including: contributing to client meetings, planning and tracking deliverables, and overseeing junior analysts conducting quantitative analyses;

+ Provide input for technical sections and budget estimates for proposals;

+ Support learning opportunities for junior staff working on large-scale assessment projects.

**Qualifications**

**Education, Knowledge, and Experience:**

+ PhD in fields as education measurement, statistics, economics, psychometrics, psychology, computer science, or other social science related fields

+ Experience in large-scale assessment programs such as the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), or a state assessment program

+ Experience in analyzing large data sets (preferably with process data or response process data, click stream data, log data, or multimodal data)

+ Experience with R and/or Python

+ Experience analyzing complex survey and assessment data, including appropriate handling of plausible values, weights and variance estimation - is a plus but not required

+ Experience with computer based testing and/or computer based adaptive testing - is a plus but not required

**Skills:**

+ Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively communicate complex research methods and findings with individuals at all levels and from diverse backgrounds

+ Strong attention to detail and commitment to rigorous quality control at every stage of data collection, preparation, and analysis

+ Excellent organization and time management skills

+ Ability and willingness to quickly learn new research methods when necessary

+ Strong communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with others in a virtual work environment

**Disclosures:**

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. on a full-time basis. Depending on project work, qualified candidates may need to meet certain residency requirements.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability.

AIR adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo reference and background checks.

AIRs Total Rewards Program , is designed to reward our staff competitively and motivate them to achieve our critical mission. This position offers an anticipated annual salary of $85,000 - $115,000. Salary offers are made based on internal equity within the institution and external equity with competitive markets. Please note this is the annual salary range for candidates that are based in the United States.

AIR maintains adrug-free work environment ( .

**Fraudulent Job Scams Warning & Disclaimer:**

AIR is aware of individuals falsely presenting themselves as AIR representatives.Fraudulent job scams seek to extract sensitive information or money from victims. To protect yourself, please be aware that AIR recruitment will only email you from an @air.org domain. Please take extra caution while examining the email address, for example jdoe **@air.org** is correct and jdoe **@aircareers.org** is not a legitimate AIR email address **.** If you are unsure of the legitimacy of a communication you have received, please reach outto recruitment@air.org .

If you see a job scam, or lose money to one, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov . You can also report it to your state attorney general . Find out more about how to avoid scams at ftc.gov/scams .

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Submit an interest application (

**Please note, each section of the application is required in order for you to be considered for this opportunity. If you do not complete the required screening questions, or if you close your browser before completing each section of the application, your application will not be submitted for this position.**

**American Institutes for Research is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to excellence through diversity. Minorities, women, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply.**

**American Institutes for Researchs commitment to Diversity goes beyond legal compliance to its full integration in our strategy, operations and work environment. Diversity is valued and Inclusion is reflected in all efforts to recruit, develop, and engage the diverse staff needed to accomplish our mission.**

**ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE: If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process due to a physical or mental disability, please send an email to Taliba Boone at** **tboone@air.org** **or call 202.403.5000.**

**Job Location** _US-Remote | US-DC | US-VA-Arlington | US-NC-Chapel Hill | US-Chicago | US-MD-Rockville | US-MA-Waltham_

**Job ID** _13207_

**Job Location** _United States_

**Category** _Research_

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