SAS Data Scientist I - Health Data Research

National Opinion Research Center - NORC; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 104,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k)/403(b)

Paid time off

Dental and vision insurance

Employee assistance program

Job summary

NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a qualified Data Scientist I in the Health Sciences Department to support hospital discharge data processing across states and harmonize files into a uniform format. Proficiency in SAS is required, with experience in healthcare data preferred.

This role analyzes data, develops reports and visualizations, and collaborates with research teams to meet analytic needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in quantitative fields; advanced degree preferred.
• 4 years of progressively responsible experience with large data sets and statistical/analytic programming.
• Advanced SAS programming including macros.
• Experience with SQL, Python or R and data visualization tools a plus.
• Healthcare or administrative claims data experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Collect, clean, transform, validate, and harmonize data from diverse sources.
• Identify trends and data quality issues; communicate findings to teams.
• Create reports, dashboards, tables, charts, and visualizations.
• Create and maintain databases, data systems, and data dictionaries.
• Support data storage optimization and data management procedures.
• Collaborate with research teams to meet analytical needs.
• Contribute to proposal development and drafting technical sections.

Skills

Data management

Statistics

Quantitative analysis

Technical writing

Data visualization

MS Office

Healthcare data

Education

Bachelor's degree in quantitative fields

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

SAS macros

SQL

Python

R

Tableau

Hadoop

Hive

MapReduce

MS Office

Job description

JOB SUMMARY

NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a qualified Data Scientist I to join the Health Sciences Department to support hospital discharge data processing across states and harmonizing and packaging files into a uniform format.

For this role, proficiency in SAS is a requirement.

Experience with R or Python is welcome but not essential. Prior work with healthcare or administrative claims data is preferred, and strong documentation practices are important.

The Data Scientist I supports research, analytics, and data-driven decision-making. This role partners with research teams to collect, manage, analyze, and interpret data to deliver meaningful insights for clients and stakeholders.

The position is responsible for importing, cleaning, standardizing, transforming, and validating data, identifying data quality issues, and developing reports and visualizations. The Data Scientist I may also support data management processes, and proposal development activities. This role works collaboratively in a team-oriented environment.

Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.

Location: This is a hybrid role based in either our Chicago Loop or downtown DC office, with a minimum of six days per month in the office. Exceptional remote candidates may be considered as well.

DEPARTMENT: Health Sciences Research

NORC's Health Sciences staff produce rich data on social priorities including child development and healthy aging, the uses of electronic clinical data in research, and the applications and effectiveness of health information technology.

The Health Sciences team is versatile and experienced in data acquisition, management, technical assistance, and analysis; the use of information technology in health care; and numerous data collection methods. Our track record of leadership and innovation includes the design and management of large-scale surveys, including extensive experience collecting biomeasures.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Collect, clean, transform, validate, and harmonize data from a variety of sources.
• Identify trends, patterns, and data quality issues, and communicate findings and recommendations to project teams and stakeholders.
• Develop reports, dashboards, tables, charts, and visualizations.
• Create, document, manage, and maintain databases, data systems, and data dictionaries.
• Support data storage optimization and data management procedures.
• Collaborate with research teams, project leaders, and clients to understand analytical needs and support project objectives.
• Contribute to proposal development activities, including drafting technical or analytical sections.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Bachelor's degree in one of the following fields: quantitative social sciences, public health, statistics, biostatistics, health informatics, math, data science, or computer science, or related field required. Advanced degree preferred.
• Proficiency with data management and data processing.
• 4 years of experience in positions of increasing responsibility, working with large data sets and conducting statistical/analytic programming, preferably working with large data sets
• Strong foundation in areas of statistics, mathematics, and data science.
• Advanced programming skills in SAS are required, including experience with SAS macros
• Additional experience with other statistical packages and database tools such as SQL, Python, R, Tableau, Hadoop, Hive, MapReduce and/or other large data systems is welcome but not essential.
• Prior work with healthcare or administrative claims data is strongly preferred.
• Strong skills in problem solving and quantitative analysis are required. Able to organize and prioritize work assignments to meet project needs.
• Outstanding interpersonal and critical reasoning skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication including strong technical writing skills.
• Strong data visualization/presentation skills. Able to explain technology, techniques, and approaches to others.
• Proficiency with MS Office software.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The pay range for this position is $90,000-$104,000

This position is classified as regular. Regular staff are eligible for NORC's comprehensive benefits program. Benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment
• Dental and vision insurance
• A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program
• Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance
• Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, holidays; paid parental leave, bereavement leave, tuition assistance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

NORC is committed to equity and transparency in its pay practices. We publish salary ranges and benefit information for every job. The listed hiring range reflects what we, in good faith, expect to pay at the time of posting, though actual compensation may vary and may be adjusted over time. A candidate's placement within the range depends on factors such as competencies, education, qualifications, experience, skills, performance, and organizational needs.

WHAT WE DO

NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.

WHO WE ARE

For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we're known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

EEO STATEMENT

NORC is an equal opportunity employer. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation, and other legally protected characteristics.