Overview Join AIR as a Principal Researcher with our Education Statistics team. The mission of our team of experts is to provide statistical evidence that is meaningful, timely, accurate, and trustworthy. Our Education Statistics portfolio focuses on the development, collection, analysis, and communication of international, national, and state statistics. Our primary practice hubs are: * Measurement and statistics in large-scale surveys * Standards and assessment Our Education Statistics team is driven by our mission to make the world a better, more equitable place. We are seeking a Principal Researcher with a focus on measurement and statistical, data science, and psychometric methods to oversee the design and implementation of methods across projects. Important aspects of the role will be to serve as a mentor and advisor to staff of various levels in their development and growth related to technical and methodoligcal skills and to support quality of technical work products and service. Principal Researchers at AIR provide leadership, mentorship, and technical advice in support of AIR research and evaluation projects to ensure research integrity, appropriate design and application of methodologies and analytical techniques, and development of accurate conclusions. In addition, they proactively participate in business development and eminence building activities. The Principal Researcher would oversee and build the application of quantitative research and data science methods to improve the development, operations, and analyses in large-scale surveys and assessments with an emphasis on (1) improving measures of student performance and measures of relevant contextual variables (2) development of new measures to support federal and state surveys and data collections across a range of content domains; (3) designing research and/or data analysis reports to disseminate findings, expand the utility of the data, and increase audience. Candidates hired for the position may work remotely within the United States (U.S.) or from one of our U.S. office locations.This does not include U.S. territories. About AIR: Established in 1946, with headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, AIR is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to solve some of the most urgent challenges in the U.S. and around the world. We advance evidence in the areas of education, health, the workforce, human services, and international development to create a better, more equitable world. AIR's commitment to diversity goes beyond legal compliance to its full integration in our strategy, operations, and work environment. At AIR, we define diversity broadly, considering everyone's unique life and community experiences. We believe that embracing diverse perspectives, abilities/disabilities, racial/ethnic and cultural backgrounds, styles, ages, genders, gender identities and expressions, education backgrounds, and life stories drives innovation and employee engagement. Learn more about AIR's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy and hear from our staff by clicking here. Responsibilities The responsibilities for the position include: * Provide strategic thinking, planning, and execution of measurement and assessment research and development tasks. Examples include: * leading efforts on new approaches and/or technologies in assessment or survey item types, field operations, and measurement and how changes will impact overall assessment or survey program(s); * working with transactional data (i.e., process data) collected from the students' interactions with with assessment to support improvements in operations; * leading efforts on measurement for longitudinal studies, vertical scaling, and linking studies across assessments. * Mentor others through the development of analyses plans for research studies or evaluations and oversee a research team to conduct such studies; * Provides strategic thinking, planning, and execution of dissemination and eminence building activities such as investigations and/or research studies internally (e.g., memos and short oral presentations) and externally (e.g., journal articles, technical reports, and presentations to professional conferences); Serve as and industry leader in measurement; * Lead technical components for proposal efforts and/or provides quality review of proposals for sound practices, methods, and techniques; * Effectively coach and manage others to promote their development and growth; * Foster an environment that embraces diverse perspectives, abilities, racial/ethnic and cultural backgrounds, ages, gender identities and expressions, educational experiences, and life stories; * Manage medium-size tasks and projects, including: liaising with clients, reviewing deliverables, tracking costs, resource allocation, and overseeing junior analysts conducting quantitative analyses. Qualifications Education, Knowledge, and Experience: * PhD with a minimum of 7 years experience in such fields as education measurement, statistics, economics, psychometrics, psychology, computer science, or other social science related fields. * Experience in large-scale assessment programs such as the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), or a state assessment program; and/or experience in federal large-scale surveys. * Experience analyzing complex survey and assessment data, including appropriate handling of plausible values, weights and variance estimation. * Experience working with federal statistical agencies, preferred but not required. Skills: * Excellent interpersonal skills to ensure effective communication regarding complex research methods and findings with individuals at all levels and from diverse backgrounds. * Strong attention to detail and commitment to rigorous quality control at every stage of data collection, preparation, and analysis. * Excellent organization and time management skills * Ability and willingness to quickly learn new research methods when necessary. * Ability to collaborate with others in virtual/dispersed work environment. Disclosures: This position is open to U.S. citizens only. Upon hire, incumbent will be required to obtain clearance through the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) system. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability. AIR adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo reference and background checks. AIR's Total Rewards Program, is designed to reward our staff competitively and motivate them to achieve our critical mission. This position offers an anticipated annual salary of $160,000 - $180,000. Salary offers are made based on internal equity within the institution and external equity with competitive markets. Please note this is the annual salary range for candidates that are based in the United States. AIR maintains a drug-free work environment. Fraudulent Job Scams Warning & Disclaimer: AIR is aware of individuals falsely presenting themselves as AIR representatives. Fraudulent job scams seek to extract sensitive information or money from victims. To protect yourself, please be aware that AIR recruitment will only email you from an "@air.org" domain. Please take extra caution while examining the email address, for example jdoe@air.org is correct and jdoe@aircareers.org is not a legitimate AIR email address. If you are unsure of the legitimacy of a communication you have received, please reach out to recruitment@air.org. If you see a job scam, or lose money to one, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also report it to your state attorney general. Find out more about how to avoid scams at ftc.gov/scams. #LI-DC1 #LI-Remote