Data Scientist II
ACT
Get a reply from this employer
Your resume and cover letter, tailored to exactly what they’re hiring for.
Job summary
ACT is seeking a Data Scientist II to help build a new pathway navigation experience for high school students, enabling personalized college and career recommendations. You will work across product, engineering, research, and design to move data models from prototype to production with a focus on transparent and fair AI.
The role is remote within the United States, offering a salary range of $95,000 to $105,000 and benefits.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in data science, computer science, statistics, applied mathematics, economics, operations research, or a related quantitative discipline
- At least 3 years of applied data science experience, including building statistical or machine-learning models and analyzing product experiments, pilots, or user studies
- Proficiency in Python and SQL, with experience developing scalable data pipelines and moving data products or models from prototype toward production
Responsibilities
- Design, prototype, and evaluate models that generate personalized college, career, and pathway recommendations
- Apply statistical modeling, machine learning, and generative AI to rapidly test and improve product capabilities
- Evaluate model performance, fairness, bias, and appropriate use
- Design data collection strategies that capture student behavior, performance, and engagement while supporting rapid product development
Skills
Education
Job description
Looking for a challenging and rewarding career? ACT offers just that. Search our open positions and apply today.
Data Scientist II Iowa City IA Posted 1 week ago
At ACT, Your Work Makes a DifferenceEducation has power – a power that changes lives forever. It creates opportunities that lift up individuals, their families, and sparks societal change that echoes through generations to come. From our grassroots we have fought the good fight for equity in education, and we remain devoted to helping anyone who struggles to access that power. This is what matters to us and we must do better -- we’ve never been more sure of our purpose.
ACT team members are part of an organization dedicated to a mission that has never been more important: Helping people achieve education and workplace success. Advancing that mission within our organization, by helping our team members achieve education and workplace success of their own, is core to our values. ACT values a diverse workplace and is committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable environment in which every team member has an opportunity to grow.
We want our team members to have the well‑being and confidence they need to do their best work, in an environment where both they and ACT thrive. To support this, our total rewards include company paid life insurance, medical, dental, vision, flexible health and dependent spending accounts, 401(k) retirement savings with company match, paid holidays, paid time off, and so much more. You can find a comprehensive list of our benefits here .
We are seeking a Data Scientist II to help us fulfill that mission.
ACT is seeking a Data Scientist II to help build a new pathway navigation experience that helps high school students explore, plan, and take confident next steps toward college and career. This role will design, test, and validate the data models that power personalized college, career, and pathway recommendations. You will work cross‑functionally with product, engineering, research, design, and business partners to combine student, education, assessment, interest, skills, and career data into relevant, explainable, and actionable recommendations. You will move quickly from early experimentation to production implementation while ensuring that models are accurate, transparent, fair, and appropriate for use with students and families.
The finalist will be hired at the salary and level commensurate with their qualifications. For this position, we anticipate offering an annual salary in the range of $95,000 to $105,000. ACT manages salaries within the range based on relevant factors including, skills, experience, and internal equity.
Location: This is a remote position, based in the United States.
Visa: Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for visa sponsorship.
Please Note: This is a Fixed Term Position that will last 6 months, with the possibility of an extension.
What you will be working on:
Data Science and AI Development:
- Design, prototype, and evaluate models that generate personalized college, career, and pathway recommendations
- Apply statistical modeling, machine learning, and generative AI to rapidly test and improve product capabilities
- Evaluate model performance, fairness, bias, and appropriate use
Product Data and Experimentation:
- Design data collection strategies that capture student behavior, performance, and engagement while supporting rapid product development
- Analyze pilot and user‑study data and translate findings into actionable product recommendations
- Define metrics and experiments to evaluate recommendation quality and product impact
Data Architecture and Production:
- Partner with engineers to build scalable cloud‑based data pipelines and move models from prototype into production
- Integrate data from student, education, assessment, skills, career, and labor‑market sources
- Establish reliable processes for data security, model documentation, deployment, monitoring, and maintenance
Student‑Centered Personalization:
- Develop approaches that produce useful recommendations when student data is incomplete and adapt as new information becomes available
- Use behavioral and performance data to support personalized and adaptive product experiences
- Make model outputs understandable and actionable for various stakeholders
Cross‑Organizational Collaboration:
- Collaborate across teams to align data, modeling, research, and product requirements
- Translate research and business needs into data collection plans and technical solutions
- Communicate analytical findings, assumptions, risks, and tradeoffs to technical and nontechnical stakeholders
This could be the job for you if you have (minimum requirements):
- Bachelor’s degree in data science, computer science, statistics, applied mathematics, economics, operations research, or a related quantitative discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and abilities can be acquired
- At least 3 years of applied data science experience, including building statistical or machine‑learning models and analyzing product experiments, pilots, or user studies
- Proficiency in Python and SQL, with experience developing scalable data pipelines and moving data products or models from prototype toward production
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- A hands‑on, product‑oriented data scientist who can move from analysis and rapid prototyping to production implementation
- Strong in statistical modeling, machine learning, experimental design, and model evaluation
- Experienced in scalable data pipelines, cloud environments, and integrating complex data sources
- Skilled at using behavioral and performance data to develop personalized product experiences
- Thoughtful about responsible AI, including fairness, bias mitigation, transparency, privacy, and appropriate use
- An effective cross‑functional communicator who translates research and business needs into actionable technical solutions
It’s a plus if you have (preferred requirements):
- Master’s degree in data science or related field
- Experience with recommender systems, generative AI, natural language processing, or personalized and adaptive systems
- Experience with education, assessment, career, workforce, labor‑market, occupational, or skills data
When ACT was founded in 1959, it disrupted the assessment industry with a new approach to helping students better understand their readiness so they could take steps to improve it. By leveraging our expertise and authority in assessment and research, we will again disrupt the industry—helping more people learn, better measure their progress, and improve their navigation through life’s transitions.
More than ever before, ACT is fulfilling its mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success. We’re doing it by pushing the boundaries of learning innovation through the work of our people, who we call team members because we’re all in this together.
We know transformation does not come without challenge. That’s why ACT invests in a variety of experiences for team members to strengthen their connections, explore ideas, learn from customers, and celebrate success.
Learn more about working at ACT at act.org!
ACT is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. ACT participates in E‑verify. ACT's online position announcements are intended only to provide general descriptions of employment opportunities; none of the information provided for any position should be interpreted as a commitment by ACT to specific terms and conditions for employment.
Completion of the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate is recommended. Find a testing site near you to register for the WorkKeys assessments. Finalists for this position will be subject to a criminal background check as a condition of employment.
**If you have received an ACT employment‑related communication from an email address that is not affiliated with @act.org and/or that requests personal or financial information, please do not reply. Instead, reach out to us at careers@act.org with the details. ACT's recruitment team appreciates your interest in working with us to transform college and career readiness pathways for all learners and wishes you the best of luck in your career journey.**
ACT team members are part of an organization dedicated to an important mission: Helping people achieve education and workplace success. We offer career opportunities at every experience level and are looking for people to join our team who are passionate about making a difference!
Help us create a world where everyone can discover and fulfill their potential. Our mission is to help people achieve education and workplace success, and that includes you.
We believe that fairness in education and learning can deliver success on an unlimited scale. The enthusiasm for this challenging, rewarding, and essential work is unwavering among our team members. As a purpose‑led organization with an important mission, we are big enough to effect real change - yet small and flexible enough for you to personally have an impact.
We are evolving our organization while staying true to the strong foundations on which we were built over 60 years ago. Our research informs and inspires us and we apply it to real world issues, using technology and ingenuity to unlock opportunities to meet the changing needs of those we serve.
ACT is proud to offer our a comprehensive, competitive, and flexible suite of benefits that are market competitive. We work closely with our various plan providers to ensure team members have access to the best resources available when it comes to taking care of themselves and their families. Our guiding principles for team member benefits include providing market‑competitive core programs alongside offerings designed to create benefits that are specific to ACT and its mission. Our package includes some of the benefits listed below. Read more details here.
Medical, dental, and vision insurance, flexible spending accounts
Unlimited and free access to LinkedIn Learning and curated career development resources
Life assistance program, caregiving program, wellness center, health & nutrition
Free ACT, tuition reimbursement
401(k) with company match
Opportunity to work on campus, hybrid, or remote
Options to work part‑time or full‑time
Up to 6 weeks PTO per year, separate leave time for parental leave, family caregiver leave, and bereavement leave
Financial wellness program, legal insurance and identity theft protection
Our values are a clear statement of who we are and how we show up.
The driving force behind everything at ACT is care.
Learn More About Our North Star
Champion
Inclusion
Together, deliver on ACT’s mission and North Star. Open doors to increase inclusion, access, and success.
Understand, then
Act Quickly
Listen to those you serve, learn about their needs and how we can help. Be nimble. Take the lead and seek to be led. Build and maintain their trust. Delight our customers.
Strive for
Better
Use data and insight to continuously improve, innovate, and create sustainable value. Move swiftly with a relentless sense of urgency. Create confidence in our solutions and success in our delivery. Be accountable, trust others, and know when to step back and cheer them on.
Be All into
Help Others
Embrace your own power to create opportunities for others to thrive. Be passionate and persevere, come with solutions, and hold up the bridge to get it done.
Our mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success aligns perfectly to our internship opportunities. We believe our internship program is a great opportunity to help students gain the knowledge and experience they will need when entering the workforce for the first time because it is dedicated to projects that align the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for work in their field of study.
Learn more about our Summer Intern program as well as other opportunities, including non-traditional internships on our Student Programs page:
Learn More about our Student Programs
ACT, Inc. works closely with educators and practitioners on development, delivery, and review projects spanning a range of disciplines and a continuum of customers (e.g., 6–12, postsecondary, workforce). External experts support multiple dimensions of ACT assessment and learning products and services, including content, fairness, and universal design/accessibility consulting.
Learn More About Freelance Opportunities at ACT
ACT’s managers actively recruit, hire, train, retain, and promote employees on the basis of their qualifications and without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
ACT is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Disabled.
- Notice of Availability of Aff qitive Action Plan - Veterans and Disability (AAP)(PDF)
- Pay Transparency Notice (PDF)
- State of Ohio Equal Employment Opportunity and Aff-plan Statement (PDF)
Applicants have rights under Federal Employment Laws.
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (PDF)
- Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Know Your Rights (PDF)
- Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) (PDF)
Accessibility Assistance for Applicants:
ACT is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and ensuring an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you are a qualified individual and require a reasonable accommodation to complete your application, please contact us at careers@act.org.
Transparency in Coverage Rule
Follow Us on LinkedIn word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M101.744%2012.4726L102.894%2016.1947L99.0021%2013.2201L101.744%2012.4726ZM105.3%208.40937H100.488L99.0026%203.59473L97.5116%208.41047L92.7%208.40385L96.5965%2011.3834L95.1055%2016.1942L99.0021%2013.2196L101.408%2011.3834L105.3%208.40992V8.40937Z'%20fill='white'/%3e%3cdefs%3e%3clinearGradient%20id='paint0_linear_5593_1381'%20x1='90'%20y1='9.44471'%20x2='99'%20y2='9.44471'%20gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3e%3cstop%20stop-color='%2300AD70'/%3e%3cstop%20offset='0.998594'%20stop-color='%2300B67A'/%3e%3cstop%20offset='1'%20stop-color='%23DCDCE6'/%3e%3c/linearGradient%3e%3c/defs%3e%3c/svg%3e){kind=small}
