Lead Data Scientist is responsible for leading and conducting research and analysis to evaluate, enhance, or create products and services. Collaborates with internal colleagues across the organization and external partners throughout research and development to achieve significant impact. Leads the design, application, and oversight of methodological frameworks, including advanced statistical modeling, analytic strategy, and evaluation plans; ensures rigor, reproducibility, and alignment with strategic research objectives. Analyzes data, prepares data visualizations and summarizes results and delivers reports describing results and recommendations for technical and non-technical audiences. Queries, extracts, and transforms data from various AAMC databases and repositories, such as the data warehouse and data mart; sets coding standards and develops reusable analytical assets and automation tools. Collaborates cross-functionally and provides scientific leadership, consulting on research direction, mentoring analysts, and partnering with stakeholders to shape products, dissemination strategies, and research roadmaps that advance organizational priorities.

​Supportand ConductResearch to Improve Residency Selection:

• ​​Lead the design, execution, and scientific direction of research portfolios focused on residency selection, applicant behavior, and the evaluation of new selection tools; ensure methodological rigor, psychometricsoundness, and clear research pathways from concept to implementation.

• ​Identifyresearch questionsandhelp to define research priorities and analytic strategy at scale, developing conceptual frameworks, research questions, methodological approaches, and statistical models to evaluate tool performance and policy impacts.

• ​Serveas a primary scientific liaison with internal teams, external vendors, advisory committees, and specialty stakeholders,anticipatingrisks, makingmethodological recommendations, and resolvingcomplex technical issues.

• Overseeevidencesynthesis and knowledge integration, guiding literature reviews, environmental scans, and validity frameworks to inform adoption and responsible use of emerging assessment and selection tools.

• ​Leadresearch governance and compliance processes, including IRB compliance, DUAs, NDAs, and legal agreements, ensuringethical data use, risk mitigation, and alignment with organizational policies and relatedguidelines.

• ​Lead dissemination of findings through manuscripts, technical briefs, and presentations, ensuring transparent documentation ofmethodologyand results, andmentorjunior staff in scholarly writing and publication standards.​

​Data Management​:

• ​​Provide strategic direction for data architecture and management processes, developing and refining standards, governance frameworks, and workflows that support large-scale residency selection research and product development.

• Lead complex dataextraction, integration, and transformation from AAMC repositoriessuch as the data warehouse and data mart,optimizingquery performance, automatingrepeatable workflows, and ensuringscalability and traceability across projects.

• Serve as primary data liaison withinternal teams and/or external partners to align on data formats, schedules, and security considerations.

• ​Oversee operational and research data exchanges, including recurring and ad-hoc transfers, andensure timeliness, accuracy, and compliance.

• ​Lead quality assurance, validation, and risk mitigation processes for incoming and outgoing data, proactivelyidentifyinganomalies and directing resolution with technical teams and stakeholders.

• ​Develop and reproducible analytical workflows, including dataset production, documentation standards, code versioning, and transparent lineage tracking.

• ​Perform data validation for data displayed in products or tools (e.g., Residency Explorer, Careers in Medicine) to ensure dataisrenderedaccurately and in compliance with data display rules.

• ​Conduct quality assurance checks of data toidentifyred flags and coordinate with AAMC colleagues to investigate and resolve issues.

• ​Clean data, document syntax, and analyze external analytic data sources in collaboration with research partners and constituents.

• ​Analyze qualitative and quantitative data to answer questions about residency selection or assessments, as needed (e.g., advanced analytics and AI, regressions and multilevel modeling,correlationsand descriptive analyses).

• ​Synthesize findings for leadership and external audiences, preparing executive-ready summaries, technical reports, and presentations, andmentor junior analysts in analytical reasoning and communication.​

​​Develop Resourcesand Deliverablesfor External and Internal Audiences​:

• ​​Lead the definition of project scope, researchobjectives, and deliverables, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities, scientific rigor, and operational feasibility.

• ​Facilitate meetings, take notes, and follow up on action items.Facilitate and guide cross-functional collaboration, setting agendas, driving decision-making discussions, ensure action items translate into measurable research progress, and delegate tactical tasks where appropriate.

• ​Design and overseecreationof compelling data visualizations and evidence-driven narratives, ensuring accuracy, methodological transparency, and effective translation of complex analytical findings for varied audiences.

• ​Develop high-quality presentations, reports, and leadership materials forleadershipbriefings, advisory committees, and external stakeholders,coachingteam members on evidencecommunication and messaging strategy.

• ​Serve as lead on manuscripts, conference submissions, and scholarly products, ensuring methodological clarity, alignment with publication standards, and dissemination of findings to the medical education community.​

​​Relationship Management:​

• ​​Cultivate and steward high-level collaborations across ASRD, the Services, and other clusters aligning research priorities with enterprise strategy and enabling coordinated delivery of high-impact solutions. 

• ​Establish relationships with constituents and colleagues in external organizations to co-create high-impact products and servicesthat deliver meaningful value to the community.

• ​Represent the research portfolio in cross-organizationaldiscussions, providing thought leadership, negotiating research scope and expectations, and ensuring stakeholder alignment throughout the project lifecycle.​

What you will bring to the role

Required Qualifications:

• MinimumEducation:​Master’sdegree in Psychologyor related field​

• Preferred Education:​Mastersdegree in industrial-organizationalpsychology, educationalmeasurement, economics, datascienceor related fields

Required Experience:

• 8-10 years of related work experience.​

• 1-3 years of supervisory experience.

Preferred Experience:

• ​​​Research Experience: Hands-on research experience in selection, admissions, educationalmeasurement