NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a Data Scientist I to support hospital discharge data processing across states and help harmonize, standardize, and package files into a uniform format. This hybrid role is focused on end-to-end data work, including importing, cleaning, validating, and transforming data, along with producing reports and visualizations to support project teams and stakeholders.
Role overview
You will collect, clean, transform, validate, and harmonize data from multiple sources, then identify trends, patterns, and data quality issues. The work includes communicating findings and recommendations to project teams and stakeholders, building analytical outputs, and supporting database and data system maintenance through strong documentation practices.
Responsibilities
- Collect, clean, transform, validate, and harmonize data from a variety of sources.
- Identify trends, patterns, and data quality issues, then communicate findings and recommendations to project teams and stakeholders.
- Develop reports, dashboards, tables, charts, and visualizations.
- Create, document, manage, and maintain databases, data systems, and data dictionaries.
- Support data storage optimization and data management procedures.
- Collaborate with research teams, project leaders, and clients to understand analytical needs and support project objectives.
- Contribute to proposal development activities, including drafting technical or analytical sections.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in quantitative social sciences, public health, statistics, biostatistics, health informatics, math, data science, computer science, or a related field (required).
- Advanced degree preferred.
- Proficiency with data management and data processing.
- 4 years of experience in positions of increasing responsibility, working with large data sets and conducting statistical or analytic programming (preferably with large data sets).
- Strong foundation in statistics, mathematics, and data science.
- Advanced SAS programming skills required, including experience with SAS macros.
- Additional experience with other statistical packages and database tools (welcome but not essential): SQL, Python, R, Tableau, Hadoop, Hive, MapReduce, and/or other large data systems.
- Prior work with healthcare or administrative claims data strongly preferred.
- Strong problem solving and quantitative analysis; ability to organize and prioritize work assignments to meet project needs.
- Outstanding interpersonal and critical reasoning skills.
- Strong written and verbal communication, including strong technical writing skills.
- Strong data visualization and presentation skills; ability to explain technology, techniques, and approaches to others.
- Proficiency with MS Office software.
- Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.; visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
Technologies
- SAS
- SQL
- Python
- R
- Tableau
- Hadoop
- Hive
- MapReduce
- MS Office
Benefits
- Generously subsidized health insurance effective on the first day of employment
- Dental and vision insurance
- A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program
- Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance
- Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off and holidays; paid parental leave and bereavement leave; tuition assistance; and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Work location and schedule
This is a hybrid role based in either the Chicago Loop or downtown DC office, with a minimum of six days per month in the office. Exceptional remote candidates may be considered.
Salary and classification
The pay range for this position is $90,000 to $104,000 per year. The role is classified as regular, which makes the position eligible for NORC’s comprehensive benefits program.
Apply
Please include a Resume and Cover Letter when applying. Candidates should be prepared to provide professional references upon request.
Department context
NORC’s Health Sciences staff produce rich data on social priorities including child development and healthy aging, the uses of electronic clinical data in research, and applications and effectiveness of health information technology. The Health Sciences team is experienced in data acquisition, management, technical assistance, and analysis, with expertise in health care information technology and numerous data collection methods.
