Principal Research Scientist: Human Capital & AI Readiness

Educational Testing Service, Inc.; Lincoln (NE); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Volunteer PTO

Total Rewards Package

Job summary

Educational Testing Service, Inc. seeks a Principal Research Scientist to lead a research program on human capital development, readiness for education and work, and economic mobility in an AI-enabled world.

The role focuses on measuring skills, competencies, and pathways that influence attainment and earnings across diverse populations. The successful candidate will guide a collaborative team, advance competency-based education and workforce development research, and partner with policymakers

Qualifications

• Expertise in research on educational attainment and workforce readiness.
• Familiarity with labor market dynamics and job analysis at regional or national level.
• Knowledge of educational and workforce assessment including measurement development and fairness.
• Experience with competency-based education (CBE), career and technical education (CTE), apprenticeships, or credentialing.
• Strong quantitative skills including longitudinal data, predictive modeling, and causal inference.

Responsibilities

• Lead and refine a multi-year research agenda on readiness and workforce pathways.
• Advance the science of readiness for education, work, and upward mobility in AI contexts.
• Investigate how skills, credentials, and experiences predict attainment, employment, and earnings.
• Advance measurement across CBE and CTE and translate into opportunities for education and work.
• Design and validate measures that translate evidence into signals of readiness and mobility.
• Lead proposals, publications, and partnerships to fund the research agenda.
• Mentor junior staff and interns to foster a collaborative research culture.

Skills

Research leadership

Quantitative methods

Educational measurement

AI/workforce research

Statistical modeling

Education

PhD in a relevant field

Tools

R

Python

SAS

Job description

Educational Testing Service, Inc. seeks a Principal Research Scientist to lead a research program on human capital development, readiness for education and work, and economic mobility in an AI-enabled world.

The role focuses on measuring skills, competencies, and pathways that influence attainment and earnings across diverse populations. The successful candidate will guide a collaborative team, advance competency-based education and workforce development research, and partner with policymakers