Data Scientist II: AI-Driven Social Science Analytics

National Opinion Research Center - NORC; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Paid time off

Job summary

NORC at the University of Chicago seeks a Data Scientist II in the Methodology and Quantitative Social Sciences department to advance research, analytics, and AI initiatives. The role combines data management, statistical modeling, machine learning, and computational social science with emerging AI capabilities.

Based in Chicago with hybrid work, you will collaborate with methodologists, researchers, and software developers to build AI-powered solutions, fine-tune models, and deploy analyses

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computational social science, data science, computer science or a related quantitative field with social science emphasis.
• Minimum 6 years of progressive relevant experience with large datasets, statistical analysis, predictive modeling, and data mining.
• Advanced proficiency in Python.
• Strong experience with SQL and relational databases.
• Familiarity with AI agents, RAG and workflow orchestration frameworks.
• Experience developing software, data pipelines, or analytical applications.
• Experience conducting statistical analysis and machine learning using real-world datasets.
• Knowledge of supervised and unsupervised machine learning methods.
• Experience working with Git and collaborative development workflows.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and technical writing skills.
• Ability to explain technical concepts to diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with methodologists and subject matter experts to design, develop, evaluate, and deploy AI-enabled applications that support research and operational objectives.
• Fine-tune, adapt, or customize machine learning and language models for domain-specific tasks.
• Build and evaluate retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solutions using vector databases and semantic search techniques for data and analysis projects.
• Develop prompt engineering strategies and evaluation frameworks for generative AI systems.
• Implement model monitoring, testing, validation, and performance optimization processes.
• Apply natural language processing techniques for text classification, information extraction, summarization, and content analysis.
• Support experimentation with AI agents, tool calling, and workflow automation.
• Develop reports, visualizations, dashboards, and presentations to communicate insights and recommendations.
• Partner with project leaders and stakeholders to support data-driven decisions and evaluate business impacts.
• Support the development of analytical tools and platforms to enhance organizational capabilities.
• Collaborate on hypothesis development, experiment design, and feasibility analysis for new initiatives.
• Contribute to business development and proposal writing activities.
• Train, mentor, and provide technical guidance to staff on data processes, tools, and analytical methods.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Python

Statistical analysis

Machine learning

SQL

Data management

AI / LLM concepts

Git

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in computational social science / data science / computer science with social science emphasis

Tools

Git

Jupyter

AWS

GCP

Azure

Vector databases

Job description

NORC at the University of Chicago seeks a Data Scientist II in the Methodology and Quantitative Social Sciences department to advance research, analytics, and AI initiatives. The role combines data management, statistical modeling, machine learning, and computational social science with emerging AI capabilities.

Based in Chicago with hybrid work, you will collaborate with methodologists, researchers, and software developers to build AI-powered solutions, fine-tune models, and deploy analyses