Learning Analytics Data Scientist: Student Success Insights

Penn State Lady Lions; State College (Centre County); On-site; USD 91,000 - 137,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tuition discount 75%

Job summary

Penn State IT is seeking a Learning Analytics Data Scientist to join the Data Empowered Learning team. You will build models powering tools like Course Insights and Elevate, handling complex datasets and applying advanced analytics to boost student success and efficiency.

We value experience across the data science lifecycle, strong SQL and Python skills, and the ability to communicate findings to executives and stakeholders across the university.

Qualifications

• Experience with Python data stack for data cleaning and modeling.
• Strong background in regression, clustering, decision trees and experimental design.
• Expertise in writing complex SQL queries for relational databases.
• Ability to translate technical findings into clear narratives for executives.
• Experience with production data and CI/CD workflows.

Responsibilities

• Design, validate, and deploy predictive and descriptive models to inform institutional strategy.
• Architect and maintain data workflows from diverse sources including Canvas, Starfish, and SIS.
• Apply exploratory data analysis and machine learning to generate high-level insights.
• Collaborate with leadership to translate findings into practical tools for faculty and advisors.
• Communicate data and methods to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Partner with developers to deploy models into production used university-wide.

Skills

Python data stack

Statistical modeling

SQL queries

Data storytelling

CI/CD workflows

GitHub Actions

Education

Master's Degree in Data Science

Tools

Plotly

Matplotlib

FastAPI

Plumber (R)

Job description

Penn State IT is seeking a Learning Analytics Data Scientist to join the Data Empowered Learning team. You will build models powering tools like Course Insights and Elevate, handling complex datasets and applying advanced analytics to boost student success and efficiency.

We value experience across the data science lifecycle, strong SQL and Python skills, and the ability to communicate findings to executives and stakeholders across the university.