Senior Research Scientist, Learning & Family Engagement

TalkingPoints; Oregon; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401K match

Remote work flexibility

Mission-driven startup culture

Job summary

TalkingPoints is a mission-driven education nonprofit seeking a Research and Learning Scientist to drive rigorous studies on how family–school partnerships improve student outcomes through at-home learning products. You will lead R&D across the research agenda from design to dissemination, collaborating across teams.

We value rigor, rapid iteration, and translating findings for product, partnerships, and fundraising, while leveraging AI tools and public datasets to inform strategy and practice.

Qualifications

• PhD in education, learning sciences, developmental or educational psychology, or related field.
• 8+ years of applied research experience including product, R&D, and funder-facing work.
• Learning science expertise in literacy and/or math, home learning, and families as learning partners.
• Expertise in mixed methods, experimental and quasi-experimental design, and measure validation, with honest communication of tradeoffs.
• A record of translating evidence for non-research audiences and delivering with little oversight.
• Proficiency in R, working knowledge of SQL and/or Sigma, comfort using AI tools, and experience with public education datasets and PII

Responsibilities

• Drive research for at-home learning and personalized recommendation products, and contribute to studies across the research agenda.
• Apply learning science to product R&D by testing features that strengthen family practices and student learning.
• Advise on AI-powered family recommendations, including data signals and mapping to skills.
• Design and run mixed-method studies from rapid-cycle, descriptive, and correlational analyses to quasi-experimental designs and randomized trials.
• Manage, clean, and analyze quantitative and qualitative platform, partner, and public data (e.g., NCES, state systems).
• Develop and administer measures of family and educator outcomes linked to student outcomes.
• Turn findings into impact stories and strategic recommendations for product, partnerships, and fundraising.
• Represent our research with districts, funders, and external researchers; mentor other researchers as needed.

Skills

Applied research experience

Learning science expertise (literacy/m

Mixed methods design

Evidence translation to non-research

R proficiency

SQL/Sigma knowledge

AI tools familiarity

PII/data handling

Education

PhD in education or related field

Tools

R

SQL

Sigma

Job description

TalkingPoints is a mission-driven education nonprofit seeking a Research and Learning Scientist to drive rigorous studies on how family–school partnerships improve student outcomes through at-home learning products. You will lead R&D across the research agenda from design to dissemination, collaborating across teams.

We value rigor, rapid iteration, and translating findings for product, partnerships, and fundraising, while leveraging AI tools and public datasets to inform strategy and practice.