“The Opportunity:
The Senior Research Associate (SRA) generates rigorous, actionable research that demonstrates and deepens TalkingPoints’ impact on student outcomes through family-school partnerships. They apply mixed methods research skills to a variety of studies including both causal and correlational designs. This person thrives on doing the work: building the research plan, getting into the data, and seeing a project through from design to dissemination with rigor, care, and follow-through. They manage timelines, drive work forward independently, and translate complex findings for varied internal audiences (product, engineering, philanthropy, partner success) and district partners. Reporting to the Director of Research, the SRA works cross-functionally within a fast-paced team that values both rigor and rapid iteration.
In this role, you will:
- Research Design & Project Ownership: Execute research studies from rapid descriptive analyses to quasi-experimental designs
- Develop and maintain clear research plans: defining questions, selecting methods, setting timelines, and tracking deliverables from kickoff through dissemination
- Data Management & Analysis: Manage, clean, and analyze data from TalkingPoints’ platform, partner datasets, and public sources (e.g., NCES, state data systems)
- Apply methods appropriate to the question, from exploratory and descriptive analyses to advanced approaches including quasi-experimental design, hierarchical linear modeling, and natural language processing
- Use R/Python for data analysis and visualization, SQL and tools like Sigma for data exploration, and AI tools (including coding assistants) to accelerate work from analysis to research communications
- Research Translation & Communication: Turn findings into clear, compelling impact stories — presentations, reports, and publications — for district partners, internal teams, and senior leadership
- Generate insights that inform product development and partnership strategy
- Internal & External Collaboration: Collaborate closely with cross-functional partners to connect research to organizational priorities and support revenue generation
- Engage with external district contacts in coordination with the Senior Research Manager and Director of Research
- Co-develop study questions and approaches with internal and external partners
Who You Are:
- Master’s degree in social science, education, public policy, or related field with strong research methods training
- 5+ years applied research experience focused on K-12 education, in nonprofit/edtech/mission-driven settings (academic-only or district-only backgrounds unlikely to be a fit)
- Expertise in mixed methods design and data analysis, including comfort with proxy measures and honest communication of methodological tradeoffs
- Strong project management and follow-through, with minimal need for oversight
- Excellent communicator who can tailor research findings to diverse non-research audiences through clear writing and data visualizations
- Strong cross-functional collaborator
- Experience with public education datasets (e.g., NCES, state longitudinal systems)
- Proficiency in R or Python; working knowledge of SQL and self-service data tools (e.g., Sigma)
- Comfort using AI tools in research workflows
- Experience handling PII/sensitive data appropriately
Nice to Haves:
- PhD with quantitative/mixed methods focus
- Background in family engagement, attendance, early math, and/or early literacy research
- Experience with Snowflake or similar cloud data warehouses”
