SAS Data Scientist I – Health Data Research

About the Position

NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a qualified Data Scientist I to join the Health Sciences Department to support hospital discharge data processing across states and harmonizing and packaging files into a uniform format. For this role, proficiency in SAS is a requirement. Experience with R or Python is welcome but not essential. Prior work with healthcare or administrative claims data is preferred, and strong documentation practices are important.

The Data Scientist I supports research, analytics, and data-driven decision-making. This role partners with research teams to collect, manage, analyze, and interpret data to deliver meaningful insights for clients and stakeholders. The position is responsible for importing, cleaning, standardizing, transforming, and validating data, identifying data quality issues, and developing reports and visualizations. The Data Scientist I may also support data management processes, and proposal development activities. This role works collaboratively in a team-oriented environment.

Location: This is a hybrid role based in either our Chicago Loop or downtown DC office, with a minimum of six days per month in the office. Exceptional remote candidates may be considered as well.

Salary: The pay range for this position is $90,000-$104,000 per year.

Responsibilities

• Collect, clean, transform, validate, and harmonize data from a variety of sources.
• Identify trends, patterns, and data quality issues, and communicate findings and recommendations to project teams and stakeholders.
• Develop reports, dashboards, tables, charts, and visualizations.
• Create, document, manage, and maintain databases, data systems, and data dictionaries.
• Support data storage optimization and data management procedures.
• Collaborate with research teams, project leaders, and clients to understand analytical needs and support project objectives.
• Contribute to proposal development activities, including drafting technical or analytical sections.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in one of the following fields: quantitative social sciences, public health, statistics, biostatistics, health informatics, math, data science, or computer science, or related field required. Advanced degree preferred.
• Proficiency with data management and data processing.
• 4 years of experience in positions of increasing responsibility, working with large data sets and conducting statistical/analytic programming, preferably working with large data sets.
• Strong foundation in areas of statistics, mathematics, and data science.
• Advanced programming skills in SAS are required, including experience with SAS macros.
• Additional experience with other statistical packages and database tools such as SQL, Python, R, Tableau, Hadoop, Hive, MapReduce, and/or other large data systems is welcome but not essential.
• Prior work with healthcare or administrative claims data is strongly preferred.
• Strong skills in problem solving and quantitative analysis are required. Able to organize and prioritize work assignments to meet project needs.
• Outstanding interpersonal and critical reasoning skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication including strong technical writing skills.
• Strong data visualization/presentation skills. Able to explain technology, techniques, and approaches to others.
• Proficiency with MS Office software.

We Offer

• Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment.
• Dental and vision insurance.
• A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program.
• Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance.
• Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, holidays; paid parental leave, bereavement leave, tuition assistance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

About the Company

NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.

For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications, and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

EEO Statement

NORC is an equal opportunity employer. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation, and other legally protected characteristics.