[Hiring] Senior Data & Systems Analyst @Education Resource Strategies

Role Description

SPEND is seeking a Senior Data & Systems Analyst to support the development, validation, and analysis of the next generation of education finance data. The Senior Data & Systems Analyst will serve as a cross-cutting team member contributing to SPEND’s:

• Data continuity and enrichment efforts
• Cutting-edge machine learning (ML) pilot model through the development and execution of quantitative analyses

The ideal candidate will have previous experience in both data analytics and education to ensure organization strategy and methods properly account for the current data landscape, the perspectives of data providers, and the needs of data users.

Key Responsibilities

• Enhancing the Present
  • Focus: Dataset Curation, Organization, Standardization and Process Validation
  • Lead on QA/verification, support on statistical alignment & process work
  • Support internal data systems and ingestion processes through data pipelines
  • Support the Senior Associate Data Scientist to enhance current federal school finance data collections through data product development
  • Build and maintain quality assurance processes that identify anomalies and outliers in district- and state-level financial data
  • Deepen current data by incorporating long-term obligations such as pension and facilities expenditures
  • Implement processes to incorporate contributions from sub-contractor subject matter experts
  • Support development and release of data products (datasets, interactive web tools)
• Building the Future
  • Focus: Data System Management, Dataset Improvement and Alignment
  • Support creation and maintenance of training data for machine learning models
  • Manage the manual validation of the ML outputs
  • Evaluate model outputs and conduct error analysis in collaboration with the technical team
  • Perform deep-dive analysis on finalized datasets to identify and resolve anomalies before public release
• Cross-Cutting Contributions
  • Document analytical methods, assumptions, and validation results clearly and reproducibly
  • Contribute to development, maintenance, and improvement of cloud infrastructure
  • Develop internal and public-facing methodological documentation
  • Regularly collaborate with team members and external stakeholders

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Data Science, Computer Science, Public Policy, or a related field
• Working knowledge of Python, SQL, and familiarity with modern cloud data infrastructure such as Google Cloud Platform
• Experience with version control through git in a professional setting
• Demonstrated experience working as part of a high-performing technical team
• Experience translating analytical models and findings into clear policy insights
• Experience working with messy and inconsistently structured datasets

Requirements

• Must be available for core working hours of 10 AM – 5 PM ET
• Ability to travel 4–6 times per year for in-person team collaboration
• Ability to operate a computer and other office productivity machinery for extended periods
• Access to a quiet, professional remote work environment with a reliable, high-speed internet connection
• Must be authorized to work for an employer in the United States

Preferred

• Advanced degree (Master's or PhD)
• Experience with public sector data systems or education finance reporting structures

Compensation and Transparency

The salary for this role is $90,000-110,000 annually. Salaries will be adjusted for geography based on the candidate's primary work location.

ERS equivalent job tier for benefits purposes: Level II