Stanford

NOTE: This position has been deemed critical/has specific funding, has been approved by the Law School for posting, and is exempt from the hiring freeze.

The Regulation, Evaluation, and Governance Lab (RegLab) at Stanford University is looking for a Senior Data Scientist to help drive forward a diverse research program focused on public sector artificial intelligence (AI) applications and policy. We are looking for someone who has excellent technical skills, strong research expertise, good communication skills, and is motivated by the mission of the lab. Experience with computer vision and data in one or more of the following areas is desirable: assessing emissions, monitoring land use, or evaluating the environmental impacts of industrial agriculture and aquaculture. We are particularly interested in work that advances mitigation and strengthens environmental governance.

About Us: Stanford RegLab is a social impact lab that partners with government and nonprofits to use AI and data science to modernize the public sector. We are an interdisciplinary team of lawyers, data scientists, social scientists, and engineers who are passionate about building high impact demonstration projects for the future of governance. Our work includes the development of AI and data science to strengthen environmental regulation, improve the implementation and delivery of benefits, and solve intractable problems faced each day by state and local governments. Recent work includes work on machine learning and demographic disparities in IRS audits (New York Times story), an award-winning collaboration for pandemic preparedness and public health (description here and Wall Street Journal story), pioneering work on satellite imagery for environmental protection (Scientific American story), modernization of social safety net systems (Department of Labor background here), and extensive policy work on AI governance (Senate testimony here).

As Senior Data Scientist, you will:

• Work closely with the Faculty Director, research leadership, and the rest of the RegLab team to explore, identify, and implement research projects. You will report directly to the Research Director.
• Lead the design and development of multiple projects using state-of-the-art AI models, algorithms, statistical models, and other programs designed to improve the public sector.
• Work with large untapped data sets, such as: health and environmental enforcement data, mass adjudication records, high-resolution satellite imagery, and the largest publicly available corpus of legal text.
• Mentor and/or manage other data scientists and junior researchers.
• Have the opportunity to receive co-authorship on research papers.

Core Duties:

• Collaborate with interdisciplinary research teams and external stakeholders to identify high-impact opportunities for applied data science in the public sector.
• Engage with partners to understand their data environments, help shape project goals, and ensure that technical outputs align with real-world needs and constraints.
• Adapt and refine existing AI models to align with the constraints and ethical considerations of public sector use cases, including fairness, transparency, and interpretability.
• Develop and test prototype software and participate in the approval and release process for new software.
• Prioritize and extract data from a variety of sources such as reports, legal documents, notes, survey results, and satellite imagery, and maintain its accuracy and completeness.
• Determine additional data collection and reporting requirements.
• Create complex charts and databases, perform statistical analyses, and develop graphs and tables for publication and presentation.
• Serve as a resource for non-routine inquiries such as requests for statistics or surveys.
• Provide documentation based on audit and reporting criteria to investigators and research staff.
• Communicate findings and technical insights clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences through reports, visualizations, presentations, and academic publications.

Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree (MS or Ph.D. preferred) in a scientific or analytic field (e.g., data science, computer science, statistics, engineering, mathematics, economics, or a related field) and three years of (a) relevant professional experience or (b) combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• Knowledge of key data structures algorithms, and techniques pertinent to systems that support high volume, velocity, or variety datasets (including data mining, machine learning, NLP, data retrieval).
• Experience with database systems and data modeling, structured and unstructured.
• Experience in scripting languages and experience in debugging them, experience with high performance/systems languages and techniques.
• Knowledge of benchmark software development and programmable fields/systems, ability to analyze systems and data pipelines and propose solutions that leverage emerging technologies.
• Ability to use and integrate security controls for web applications, mobile platforms, and backend systems.
• Experience deploying reliable data systems and data quality management.
• Ability to research, evaluate, architect, and deploy new tools, frameworks, and patterns to build scalable data platforms.
• Ability to document use cases, solutions and recommendations.
• Demonstrated excellence in written and verbal communication skills.

Application Instructions: We invite you to apply by clicking on the "Apply for Job" button. To be considered, please submit the following items along with your online application:

• CV
• Cover Letter
• Project and code samples or Github
• Transcript (if graduated within 3 years)

Salary and Benefits: This position is for an initial one-year fixed term period with the opportunity for extension and/or transition to ongoing status based on performance and budget.

The expected pay range for this position is $104,358 to $128,038 per annum.

Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs.

At Stanford University, base pay represents only one aspect of the comprehensive rewards package. The Cardinal at Work website (https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/benefits-rewards) provides detailed information on Stanford’s extensive range of benefits and rewards offered to employees. Specifics about the rewards package for this position may be discussed during the hiring process.

• Note: The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.
• Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of the job.
• Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
• Stanford Law School seeks to hire the best talent and to promote a safe and secure environment for all members of the university community and its property. To that end, new staff hires must successfully pass a background check prior to starting work at Stanford University.

Additional Information

• Schedule: Full-time
• Job Code: 4752
• Employee Status: Fixed-Term
• Grade: I
• Requisition ID: 106705
• Work Arrangement : Hybrid Eligible, On Site