Research Analyst

AEM Corporation; Reston (VA); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

AEM Corporation in Reston, Virginia is seeking a Research Analyst to advance federal and state agency data ecosystems. You will analyze large administrative data, develop thorough analytical plans, clean data, and identify quality challenges to inform strategic decisions.

You will craft clear tables and visuals (Power BI/Excel) and deliver insights to both technical and non-technical audiences, supporting research and operations.

Qualifications

• Ability to obtain a Public Trust security clearance.
• Bachelor's degree in mathematics, statistics, data analytics, engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of professional data analysis experience (or 3+ years with a related advanced degree).
• Proficiency with ingestion, cleaning, linking, and analyzing large datasets.
• Advanced Excel (Power Query, PivotTables, complex formulas); strong visualization skills.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand data requirements and translate into analytical strategies.
• Design and execute complex analyses using Excel (Power Query, PivotTables) or statistical tools to quantify issues and measure impact.
• Diagnose and improve data quality; define rules, profiling checks, and remediation workflows.
• Tell the story with data using clear visuals and narratives that support quick decisions.
• Contribute to reports and visualizations that communicate findings to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Conduct literature reviews and national scans to support policy needs.
• Design and program surveys using Qualtrics or other cloud collection tools.
• Share knowledge, templates, and automation patterns to increase velocity.

Skills

Data analysis

Communication

Collaboration

Analytical planning

Policy understanding

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in mathematics, statistics, data analytics, engineering, or related field

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

Python

Excel

Power Query

SAS

Stata

R

Job description

Desired skills/certifications (any additional skills desired but not required to be considered for the position):

Location: Reston, Virginia or possibility for remote (U.S.)

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly motivated Research Analyst to join our team and play a pivotal role in advancing federal and state agency's understanding of their data ecosystems. In this position, you will become a trusted expert on the agency's data sources, structures, and quality challenges, helping to identify key areas for improvement. You will work closely with client subject matter experts to quickly develop a comprehensive understanding of the agency's most critical data domains and top data quality concerns.

As a Research Analyst, you will be responsible for developing clear and well-structured analytical plans and conducting in-depth analysis of datasets, with a primary focus on large administrative data. Your work will involve cleaning and preparing data, designing and adapting code to detect data quality issues, identifying trends, and producing outputs that support research and operational use. You will also lead complex statistical analyses to validate findings, highlight risks, and inform strategic decision-making.

About AEM Corporation

AEM is a recognized market leader in helping education clients improve the programs, systems, processes, and data used to advance student learning. AEM is more than a successful company, it is an engaging and empowering organization with a strong culture of meaningfully supporting all staff. We are looking for team members who are ready to engage and become an integral part of our team as we continue to push to impact the field of education in powerful ways.

What you'll do as a Research Analyst

• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand data requirements, and translate those requirements into actionable analytical strategies
• Design and execute complex analyses using Microsoft Excel (advanced functions, Power Query, PivotTables) or similar statistical tools (e.g., Stata, SAS) to quantify issues, test hypotheses, and measure impact
• Diagnose and improve data quality: define and operationalize rules, profiling checks, and remediation workflows; monitor results and close the loop with business owners
• Tell the story with data: build clear, consumable tables, visuals, and narratives (e.g., Power BI/Excel) that help stakeholders make quick, confident decisions
• Contribute to the development of reports, presentations, and visualizations that communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Conduct literature reviews and national scans to support client policy needs
• Design and program surveys and other small data collections to collect one-time and longitudinal data via Qualtrics or other cloud collection tools
• Contribute to team excellence: share knowledge, patterns, templates, and how-to guides; propose automation and standards that increase velocity and reduce error

Required Qualifications (What You'll Bring to the Role)

• Ability to obtain a security clearance via a Public Trust background investigation
• Bachelor's degree in mathematics, statistics, data analytics, engineering, or a related field
• 5+ years of professional data analysis experience (or 3+ years with a related advanced degree, such as a Masters in Public Policy or Masters in Education Research)
• Experienced with ingesting, cleaning, linking, and analyzing large datasets
• Advanced Microsoft Excel (Power Query, PivotTables, complex formulas) skills
• Proficiency with at least one of the following tools: Power BI, Tableau, or Python
• Proficiency with at least one of the following tools: Stata, SAS, or R
• Quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills; able to design a data analysis, integrate structured/unstructured sources, and apply appropriate analytic method
• Demonstrated experience turning ambiguous questions into clear analytic plans and delivering insights that stand up to scrutiny
• Data quality definition and analysis skills; hands‑on experience defining rules, measuring quality, and leading remediation with program and IT partners
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills; comfortable facilitating working sessions with government SMEs and presenting to both technical/non‑technical audiences

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in program evaluation, statistical testing, causal inference, or experimental design
• Experience with education data (e.g., longitudinal surveys, administrative data, etc.)
• Exposure to data governance and metadata/lineage tooling (e.g., Microsoft Purview) and to privacy/security controls in government contexts
• Experience with qualitative and quantitative research including design of data collection tools/protocols and analysis of data
• Experience working in a Scrum/Agile delivery model
• Relevant certifications (e.g., Microsoft Data Analyst Associate, Azure Enterprise Data Analyst)

How We Work

• Agile-aligned: We collaborate tightly with product owners / project leads and clients, write clear and specific acceptance criteria, and provide non-technical demonstrations to ensure interim and final outputs meet client needs.
• Team-first: We check our resources, seek help early, offer help often, and raise the bar through pairing, peer reviews, and shared playbooks.
• Outcome driven: We focus on key metrics that matter, including quality trends, timelines, and decision impact. We are always learning to iterate and deliver value faster.

AEM and its affiliates are equal opportunity employers, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. - AA M/F/Vet/Disability

Federal law requires AEM and its affiliates to verify identity and employment eligibility with information from your Form I‑9. The E‑Verify system is used.

The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) imposes specific obligations on businesses processing personal information of California residents. Pursuant to the CCPA, AEM and its affiliates are required to provide applicants who are California residents a notice, used at or before the point of collection of such personal information, which identifies the categories of personal information that may be collected and why AEM and its affiliates collect such information. Applicants can find information about AEM's privacy policy and CCPA here.