Assistant Director, Data Sciences Services | ND Pop

Notre Dame Population Analytics is seeking a strategic, mission-driven, and experienced Assistant Director for Data Sciences Services to help build and steward the unit’s core data and analytic infrastructure.  This role serves as a central technical resource for faculty affiliates and plays a key part in establishing secure, scalable systems that support high-impact demographic and policy research.

This is a four-year, limited-term position. Contingent on funding, the position may be extended. 

About the Position:

Established in 2024, Notre Dame Population Analytics (ND Pop) is the University’s central hub for demographic and population-level research. The Assistant Director for Data Sciences Services combines advanced quantitative expertise with infrastructure development and research support. The position focuses on designing and managing secure data ecosystems, restricted-use data workflows, and analytical pipelines that transform complex administrative and survey data into evidence-based insights.

Working in close partnership with faculty researchers and University technology and compliance offices, this role contributes to the long-term sustainability and scalability of population science at Notre Dame. The Assistant Director supports multidisciplinary scholarship addressing issues such as poverty, inequality, migration, aging, fertility, and health disparities while advancing best practices in reproducible research, data stewardship, and policy-relevant analytics.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead, Restricted-Use Data

• Serve as the unit’s primary point of contact for restricted-use and confidential datasets.
• Design and implement protocols, systems, and center-wide workflows that enable faculty to securely acquire, store, and analyze sensitive demographic and administrative data.
• Collaborate with Notre Dame Research, the Office of Information Technologies, the Center for Research Computing, and other University partners to ensure compliance with data-use agreements and security requirements.
• Act as a bridge between researchers and University IT/compliance partners to streamline secure data access and management.

Research Support & Statistical Consulting

• Provide statistical and computational consultation to faculty affiliates and their students across diverse research projects.
• Advise on research design, statistical methods, programming solutions, and analytic strategies for population research.
• Assist with troubleshooting analytical challenges, improving code efficiency, and implementing reproducible research practices such as replication packages.
• Support both ongoing projects and proposal development with methodological expertise.

Quantitative Research & Data Analysis

• Conduct advanced statistical and computational analyses that inform multidisciplinary, policy-relevant research on demographic and population issues.
• Collaborate with faculty and research teams to design empirical strategies, test hypotheses, and interpret findings using rigorous and transparent methods.
• Contribute to scholarly publications, technical reports, and presentations.

Data Management & Infrastructure

• Develop, clean, document, and maintain complex datasets derived from administrative records, surveys, and public data sources.
• Ensure data integrity, version control, documentation standards, and reproducibility in alignment with funder and institutional requirements.
• Contribute to the creation and maintenance of shared data infrastructure and resources for affiliated researchers.

Investigator-Initiated Research

• Depending on academic background and workload distribution, pursue independent or collaborative research projects that support the academic mission of Notre Dame Population Analytics.

Required:

• A Master’s degree or Bachelor’s degree, or advanced certification beyond Bachelor’s in Economics, Demography, Sociology, Statistics, Public Policy, or a related social science or quantitative field.
• Familiarity with research methods in population sciences to best assist center members. 
• Advanced expertise in statistical and programming tools such as R, Python, Stata, SQL, or similar for data manipulation, linking, and analysis.
• Demonstrated experience managing restricted-use, sensitive, or administrative datasets, including knowledge of security protocols and compliance.
• Experience working with large-scale, complex datasets in an academic, policy, or research-intensive environment.
• Strategic project management skills and a record of executing complex workflows through influence and relationship-building.
• Exceptional ability to translate technical data structures and findings for non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred:

• PhD in Economics, Demography, Sociology, Statistics, Public Policy, or a related social science or quantitative field
• Experience providing statistical consulting or technical guidance to faculty-led research teams.
• Track record of scholarly publication or contributing to high-level policy briefs in a relevant field.
• Demonstrated commitment to mission-driven scholarship and research that promotes human flourishing and evidence-based policy.

Application Deadline: March 9, 2026.

Required Application Materials: Resume and cover letter.

Hiring Pay Range: Up to $122,000 annually.

Location: This position is located in South Bend, IN. Applicants outside of the South Bend area may be considered, provided they are available to work on campus 3 days per week.

Term: This is a four-year, limited-term position. Contingent on funding, the position may be extended.

The University of Notre Dame seeks to attract, develop, and retain the highest quality faculty, staff and administration. The University is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or age in employment. Moreover, Notre Dame prohibits discrimination against veterans or disabled qualified individuals, and complies with 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-300.5(a). We strongly encourage applications from candidates attracted to a university with a Catholic identity.