Research Director: Data‑Driven Media & Democracy Tools

University of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania; On-site; USD 95,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Tuition benefits

Retirement plans

Job summary

University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia seeks a Research Director for the Penn Center for Media, Technology, and Democracy (Penn MEDIATED). You will build data pipelines, analytics tools, dashboards, and visualizations based on Penn faculty research to inform public discourse and policy.

You will lead a small team, mentor data engineers and research analysts, and collaborate with the Center's executive director and co-directors to set strategic direction.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree plus at least seven years of relevant experience or
• PhD with at least three years of relevant experience.
• Ability to conceptualize and execute projects translating research into continuously operating tools and analyses for public impact.
• Excellent data science and data analytical skills including deploying ML models for analytics tools and dashboards.
• Experience in data visualization and communicating computational results to broad audiences.

Responsibilities

• Develop data infrastructure, analytical tools, dashboards, and visualizations based on Penn MEDIATED research.
• Supervise and mentor a small data team (1–2 employees) and part‑time student data engineers or research analysts.
• Support ongoing programmatic functions such as grant‑making and scholars program.
• Collaborate with Executive Director and co‑Directors to steer strategic direction of Penn MEDIATED.

Skills

Data science

Data engineering

Data visualization

Computational social science methods

Communicating results to broadaudience

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

PhD in a relevant field

Job description

University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia seeks a Research Director for the Penn Center for Media, Technology, and Democracy (Penn MEDIATED). You will build data pipelines, analytics tools, dashboards, and visualizations based on Penn faculty research to inform public discourse and policy.

You will lead a small team, mentor data engineers and research analysts, and collaborate with the Center's executive director and co-directors to set strategic direction.