The Office of Institutional Research & Analysis (IRA) is the central source for information about the University of Denver. We serve the University's vision, values, mission, and goals by analyzing and reporting institutional data to inform University and unit-level planning and development.
The Office of Institutional Research & Analysis performs systematic, objective research and analysis to inform strategic planning, decision making, and policy development at the University. We employ a holistic understanding of the complex interaction between academic and business systems and processes to deliver timely, accurate information and insight to members of the DU community and promote the strategic use of data resources across campus.
Our mission is to advance access, equity, and success in higher education by working in partnership with stakeholders and University leadership to ensure an institutional culture of assessment, data strategy, and data-informed decision making.
Position Summary
The Data Scientist is a full-time, twelve-month staff position that provides expertise in data process automation and quantitative research methods to support institutional research and analysis at the University. The position works with staff within the Institutional Research office, stakeholders across campus, and reports to the Director of Analytics and Senior Data Scientist.
The Data Scientist also supports institutional research duties within the office by responding to ad hoc requests for information, developing dashboards and visualizations to communicate institutional data, and training and reviewing the work of other analysts to ensure the integrity of reporting and research functions. This position leverages multiple data sources to develop automated retrieval and cleaning processes.
The Data Scientist employs scripting, statistics and data management techniques to retrieve, transform, and analyze institutional data and construct exploratory and explanatory data products. The position will be responsible for maintaining existing data products and will support advanced analytical efforts through the creation and maintenance of data pipelines and nuanced backend processes. The position will also identify areas in which analytics and visualization have potential to yield insight about University operations and functions; design and conducts institutional research projects; and interpret research findings and makes recommendations to support planning and development centrally and within academic and administrative units.
Essential Functions
- Design, build and maintain new and existing automated processes/data pipelines predominately using Python and SQL for data retrieval, cleaning, aggregation, supplementation, analysis, visualization and reporting. (40%)
- Consult with University departments on efforts to produce and systematize quantitative reporting and research efforts and respond to research requests from the University’s academic and administrative units. (20%)
- Identify areas of need and develop and prepare studies to support planning and policy development; respond to research requests from the University’s academic and administrative units, representing the IRA office in developing and enhancing collaborative partnerships between the office and these units. (15%)
- Provide leadership and project management on IRA projects, including training analysts on relevant data, analyses and technology to complete their duties related to IRA projects. (10%)
- Identifies emergent reporting and analytics needs at the University and collaborates with stakeholders to leverage opportunities for growth, development, automation, and standardization by developing reports, dashboards, models, and visualizations. (10%)
- Other duties as assigned. (5%)
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Knowledge
- Python
- SQL
- Statistical analysis, hypothesis testing, forecasting, predictive analytics, machine learning and probability theory
- Data visualization and dashboard development, preferably using Tableau
- Version control
Abilities
- Automate data retrieval, cleaning and aggregation processes using open source tools
- Replicate analytic projects and research findings
- Independently explore, validate, merge and leverage information from multiple data sources
- Visually convey data-based findings to internal and external audiences
- Identify and apply appropriate analytic approaches (e.g., classifiers, estimators, hypothesis testing procedures, unsupervised models, etc.) within a given context
- Conduct reproducible research
- Work collaboratively on data science projects
- Comfortable familiarizing oneself with APIs and new data sources
Skills
- Quickly able to learn and apply new technologies and techniques to work efficiently and effectively
- Writing complex and extensible data pipelines using SQL and open source technologies to ensure reproducibility of results
- Proficient at visualizing data using both open-source and proprietary tools
- Facility with a command line interface
- Web scraping
- Effective utilization of version control software
Required Qualifications
- Education
- Masters degree in computer science, information technology, mathematics, statistics or related quantitative discipline.
- Work Experience
- Four years of professional experience in data science, data management or analytics position.
- Project management experience.
- Experience querying relational databases.
- Experiences automating data processes using open source tools.
- Experience with modeling, evaluation, and assessment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced degree
- Doctorate in computer science, information technology, mathematics, statistics or related quantitative discipline.
- Additional years of experience or expertise in a particular field of work
- Experience in a central institutional research office at a college or university.
- Five years of professional quantitative research and analytics experience in higher education or related social science field.
- Experience with the collection, preparation, analysis, and reporting of data in higher education or related social science field.
Working Environment
- Standard office environment.
- Unexpected interruptions occur often and stress level is moderate to high.
- Noise level is quiet to moderate.
Physical Activities
- Ability to work in front of a computer for extended periods of time.
- Occasionally required to move about the office/campus.
Work Schedule
Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
In accordance with the University’s flexible work policy, this position is eligible to be considered for partial remote work. Further details regarding this plan will be determined with the hiring manager and are dependent on the division and team specific needs.
Application Deadline
For priority consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) August 5, 2025. Applications will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. on August 12, 2025.
Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.
Salary Grade Number
The salary grade for the position is 12.
Salary Range
The salary range for this position is $80,000 - $88,615.
The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.
Benefits
The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver.
Please include the following documents with your application:
- Resume
- Cover Letter
The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Worker's Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement.
All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.