Learning Analytics Scientist: Elevate Student Success

The Pennsylvania State University; University Park (TX); On-site; USD 91,000 - 137,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

75% tuition discount

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Job summary

The Pennsylvania State University is seeking a Learning Analytics Data Scientist to join the Data Empowered Learning team. You will craft models and insights powering Course Insights and Elevate to boost student success and institutional efficiency.

You will handle data from Canvas, SIS, and related systems and translate findings into practical tools for faculty and advisors. You will collaborate with leadership, ensure ethical data use, and deploy production-ready models in a university-wide

Qualifications

• Master's degree required or equivalent combo of education/experience.
• 6+ years of relevant experience in data science for higher education or similar environment.
• Proven expertise with Python data stack for cleaning, feature engineering, and modeling.
• Strong SQL skills for complex data extraction from relational databases.
• Experience communicating complex findings to executive stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Design, validate, and deploy predictive/descriptive models (e.g., student-at-risk indicators).
• Build and maintain data workflows from Canvas, Starfish, and SIS sources.
• Use EDA and ML to derive trends and actionable recommendations.
• Translate findings into intuitive tools for faculty and advisors.
• Communicate methods to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Collaborate with developers to productionize models for campus-wide use.

Skills

Python

Pandas

NumPy

SQL

Regression

Clustering

Experiment design

CI/CD

GitHub Actions

Data visualization

Education

Master's Degree

Data Science/CS/Information Science degree

Tools

FastAPI

Plumber

Plotly

Matplotlib

Canvas/SIS data sources

Starfish

GitHub

Job description

The Pennsylvania State University is seeking a Learning Analytics Data Scientist to join the Data Empowered Learning team. You will craft models and insights powering Course Insights and Elevate to boost student success and institutional efficiency.

You will handle data from Canvas, SIS, and related systems and translate findings into practical tools for faculty and advisors. You will collaborate with leadership, ensure ethical data use, and deploy production-ready models in a university-wide