Data Scientist

WHAT IS AVID?

We’re a nationally recognized nonprofit that partners with 7,500 schools across the country and internationally to shift to a more equitable, student-centered approach, closing the opportunity gap so that ALL students are prepared for college, career, and life. And the results? Well, they speak for themselves.

AVID serves more than 2 million students annually, equipping them with the tools to think critically, collaborate, and set high expectations to confidently tackle the challenges ahead. We accomplish this by training over 85,000 educators each year through in-person and virtual professional learning that builds capacity for lasting change.
 

WHAT IS THE JOB?

The Data Scientist is responsible for designing and executing effective data science initiatives, machine learning modeling, and business intelligence analysis across all our operations. This role will work closely with researchers, engineers, developers, and business stakeholders.
 

WHY WORK WITH US?

• Competitive Salary: We've done our research and pay generously to attract the best to join our team. That's why we offer all employees the midpoint right from the start. There are no negotiations and no hassle, and you can be confident that you are being valued and offered an equitable salary. See below for our offer rates based on your geography.
   
• Taking Care of You Allowance: All AVID employees (that’s right, ALL employees) receive an extra $10,000 annually to support them in the most meaningful ways: housing costs, transportation, family expenses— whatever your needs may be.
   
• Retirement Planning: AVID Center provides a 10% salary contribution to a 403(b) retirement plan, beginning after 90 days of full-time employment.
   
• Flexibility in Work Location: This position may work 100% remote in any of the four times zones in the contiguous United States.
   
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO): This position is eligible for 22 days of PTO per year, with 12 paid holidays plus a winter break in between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
   
• Continued education opportunities: All full-time employees with at least 1 year of continuous AVID Center service are eligible for $5,250 per calendar year in tuition reimbursement for qualifying coursework or certification.
   
• Company-Provided Equipment: Our home office set-up includes a laptop, dock, and extra monitor, with other amenities available on request.
   
• Health and Welfare Plans to Support Every Aspect of Your Well-Being: AVID Center offers several benefits plans through our provider, Cigna, and greatly subsidizes the cost of these plans
   
• Connect in Person: A yearly All-Staff gathering will allow you to connect in person with the entire AVID team.

Pay rates for this position:

We bring in all employees at the midpoint of the salary range for your role. Knowing that not all cities share the same cost of labor, we make offers using a tiered approach based on your geographical location. While the majority reside in Zone 1 or Zone 2 areas, we acknowledge variations, even within counties, ensuring fair compensation for all based on their specific location's cost of labor.

For the Data Scientist position, here is what we will offer:

Zone 1 (areas characterized by lower labor costs [e.g., Charleston, WV, Cleveland, OH, Phoenix, AZ, Omaha, NE, etc.]): $95,475 annually

Zone 2 (areas with moderate labor costs [e.g., Syracuse, NY, Ann Arbor, MI, Denver, CO, San Diego, CA, etc.]): $102,636 annually

Zone 3 (areas known for high labor costs [e.g., Washington, D.C., Trenton, NJ, Los Angeles, CA, Seattle, WA, etc.]): $109,797 annually

Zone 4 (areas with the highest labor costs [e.g., Bridgeport, CT, New York City, NY, San Francisco, CA, San Jose, CA, etc.]): $121,731 annually

*The cities listed above are examples only and do not represent an exhaustive list for each salary zone.
 

WHAT WILL YOU DO IN THIS ROLE?

• Develop and implement models, including statistical and machine learning models, to support business decision-making, including predictive models of student and site success and personalized student-level algorithms for college lists, majors, and career exploration.
• Collaborate with engineers, research & data team members, and stakeholders to design, refine, and use data models and analytics processes, and translate business problems into analytical questions.
• Perform exploratory data analysis to identify trends, patterns, and insights in large educational datasets, including CMS/LMS sources, and communicate findings to stakeholders.
• Create and maintain dashboards, visualizations, and reports that communicate complex analyses in a clear and actionable manner using tools like Tableau or other BI platforms.
• Develop and maintain data processing workflows for model training, evaluation, and deployment, and perform A/B tests at scale on learning content.
• Create interactive visualizations to allow users to explore how product decisions may impact metrics.
• Develop and maintain documentation for data science workflows, models, and methodologies that help achieve business goals and support impact measurement.
   

WHO ARE YOU?

• You are a data-driven thinker with a passion for uncovering insights and solving real-world problems through predictive modeling.
• You are fluent in Python and have hands-on experience building, training, and deploying machine learning models using libraries like pandas, scikit-learn, TensorFlow, or PyTorch.
• You are comfortable working with large, complex datasets—cleaning, transforming, and analyzing them to drive decisions and surface patterns that others might miss.
• You are a skilled communicator who can clearly explain complex concepts to technical and non-technical audiences alike, and you enjoy helping others understand the “why” behind the model.
• You are naturally curious and collaborative—eager to learn from your teammates while bringing your own ideas, tools, and expertise to the table.
• You are familiar with tools like Jupyter, Git, and version control best practices, and you understand how to structure code and projects for reproducibility and clarity.
• You are experienced in data visualization and know how to present insights in ways that are compelling and actionable—whether that’s through Tableau, Sigma, or other modern BI tools.
• You are energized by applying your skills in a meaningful context, such as education, and you're excited by the challenge of building models that help drive impact, not just metrics.
• You have experience (internship or professional) working on real-world data science projects—preferably ones that involved time series data, social science or education datasets, or behavioral modeling.
• You are mission-driven and find meaning in supporting work that contributes to the greater good.
• You hold a bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field with 2+ years of relevant experience and familiarity with the K–12 educational ecosystem.
   

*Allowable Substitutions: Any combination of experience, training, or credential certification endorsement that provides the incumbent/applicant with the knowledge, skills, and ability required to perform the work, as determined by AVID Center. Qualifying work experience, as identified by the VP, People Operations, may substitute for the education requirement.

AVID Center is committed to complying with federal, state, and local laws on employee vaccinations, and candidates and employees should be aware that the full vaccination against COVID-19 may be required in the future. Due to some district requirements, AVID Center may not assign employees to an in-person event in schools or districts unless they are fully up to date with all recommended COVID-19 vaccinations. AVID Center is an equal opportunity employer and will provide reasonable accommodation to those unable to be vaccinated where it is not an undue hardship to the company to do so as provided under federal, state, and local law.

AVID Center prides itself on the diversity of our workplace and continuously seeks to recruit individuals who will enhance this diversity and, ultimately, the effectiveness of our organization. To demonstrate this commitment, we encourage all who are truly excited about this role to apply, even if they don’t meet every requirement. We believe that people who are passionate about what they do can succeed in this role or in other roles within our organization.

Qualifications

Education

Required

Bachelors or better in Applied Mathematics or related field.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.