Data Scientist II: AI-Driven Social Science Analytics

NORC at the University of Chicago; Chicago, Northern (IL, KY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental and vision insurance

Retirement plan

Paid time off

Tuition assistance

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Job summary

NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a Data Scientist II to join the Methodology and Quantitative Social Sciences department and support innovative research, analytics, and AI initiatives in a hybrid Chicago-based role.

The role collaborates with methodologists, researchers, statisticians, and software developers to build AI-powered data science solutions, iterate on machine learning models, and deploy AI systems in secure cloud environments, with a focus on applied social science

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computational social science, data science, computer science or related quantitative field with social science emphasis.
• At least 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 in NORC’s research focus areas.
• 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

SQL

AI agents

RAG frameworks

Software development

Data pipelines

Statistical analysis

Machine learning

Git

Communication skills

Technical writing

Explain concepts

Education

Bachelor's degree (computational social science / data science / CS)

Job description

NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a Data Scientist II to join the Methodology and Quantitative Social Sciences department and support innovative research, analytics, and AI initiatives in a hybrid Chicago-based role.

The role collaborates with methodologists, researchers, statisticians, and software developers to build AI-powered data science solutions, iterate on machine learning models, and deploy AI systems in secure cloud environments, with a focus on applied social science