Associate Research Scientist

Location: This is a fully remote role. Candidates who live near CB offices have the option of being fully remote or hybrid (Tuesday and Wednesday in office).

Role Type: This is a full-time position

The College Access and Readiness Research Team specializes in designing and conducting research and analyses focused on improving student access to, persistence in, and completion of higher education. We pay particular attention to outcomes of the over one million students who participate in the Advanced Placement Program before graduating high school. The data- and evidence-driven insights we provide drive actions that support all students' college and career success and drive strategic organizational decisions.

The Associate Research Scientist works with members of the College Access and Readiness Research Team, the larger Research team, product owners, and field staff to answer critical research and data analysis questions to advance the mission of the College Board and sustain and grow the Advanced Placement Program. As the Associate Research Scientist, you will contribute to the team's broader research agenda as needed, with a primary focus on research that helps invite more students into AP.

A core focus of this role is building and maintaining a high-quality evidence base on high school course taking: collecting, cleaning, and organizing student transcript data from K-12 districts and partners, building dashboards that make this data usable for stakeholders, and synthesizing findings into published reports that advance our understanding of high-quality advanced course taking and its relationship to longer-term student outcomes. This role also conducts customized research for individual districts, tailoring analyses and deliverables to their specific questions. You will work iteratively and collaboratively with stakeholders to produce high quality learnings, dashboards, visualizations, and deliverables, and will effectively communicate findings to a wide variety of audiences.

Design Research and Communicate Findings (35%)

• Collaborate with program partners, product owners, and field staff to identify research needs and propose studies that support student success through evidence-based claims, particularly around advanced high school course taking and longer-term outcomes

• Design and conduct customized research for individual districts, tailoring questions, analyses, and deliverables to their specific needs

• Present findings directly to district leaders and internal partners, responding to questions and identifying follow-up research

• Synthesize findings into reports, memos, and visuals with clear talking points for both technical and non-technical audiences

• Disseminate findings in a variety of formats (e.g., presentations, College Board Research Reports, peer-reviewed journals)

Collect, Clean, and Manage Transcript Data (25%)

• Acquire, clean, and organize student transcript data from K-12 districts and other partners, building repeatable processes to handle new and varied data sources

• Design and maintain data pipelines that merge transcript data with other institutional and outcomes datasets

• Establish data quality checks and documentation practices so datasets are reliable and usable across projects

• Design and build dashboards that surface trends in advanced high school course taking and related outcomes for technical and non-technical audiences

• Maintain and iterate on dashboards based on stakeholder feedback and evolving data availability

• Lead analyses of educational datasets using advanced statistical methods to answer pressing questions about course taking and outcomes

• Rapidly respond to data analysis questions to advance the mission of the College Board

• Collaborate with other research scientists on the College Access and Readiness Research team to review and support improvement of the team's work

• A Ph.D. or Ed.D. in Education, Psychology, Educational Measurement, Economics, Sociology, Public Policy, or a related quantitative field

• Excellent data coding, manipulation, and analysis skills, with a strong foundation in research methodology and advanced statistical techniques

• Experience collecting, cleaning, and organizing large, messy, real-world datasets (e.g., student transcript or administrative K-12 data) from multiple external sources

• Experience building dashboards or data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau) for varied audiences

• Experience with large, national datasets related to the education industry and the ability to work accurately and quickly with new datasets

• Adept problem-solving skills, including using data to inform decisions and actions

• Adaptability and a willingness to shift approach as work, data sources, and organizational priorities evolve

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with experience presenting to both technical and non-technical audiences, including authoring reports for publication

• Strong organization and prioritization skills and the proven ability to move forward multiple projects in concert, both independently and as a member of the team

• A strong interest in collaborating in a team environment and working agilely with researchers and non-researchers to support organizational priorities

• Ability to travel up to 6-8 times a year

• A passion for expanding educational and career opportunities and mission-driven work

• Curiosity and enthusiasm for emerging technologies, with a willingness to experiment with and adopt new AI-driven solutions and comfort with learning and applying new digital tools independently and proactively.

• Clear and concise communication skills, written and verbal

• A learner's mindset and a commitment to growth: welcoming diverse perspectives, giving and receiving timely, respectful feedback, and continuously improving through iterative learning and user input.

• A drive for impact and excellence: solving complex problems, making data-informed decisions, prioritizing what matters most, and continuously improving through learning, user input, and external benchmarking.

• A collaborative and empathetic approach: working across differences, fostering trust, and contributing to a culture of shared success

• Authorization to work in the United States

• Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days.

• While the hiring process may vary, it generally includes: resume and application submission, recruiter phone/video screen, hiring manager interview, performance exercise such as live coding, a panel interview, a conversation with leadership and reference checks.

At College Board, we offer more than a paycheck- we provide a meaningful career, a supportive team, and a comprehensive package designed to help you thrive. We’re a self-sustaining nonprofit that believes in fair and competitive compensation grounded in your qualifications, experience, impact, and the market.

• The hiring range for this role is $80,000–$135,000.

• Your exact salary will depend on your location, experience, and how your background compares to others in similar roles at the College Board.

• We aim to make our best offer upfront, rooted in fairness, transparency, and market data.

• We adjust salaries by location to ensure fairness, no matter where you live.

You’ll have open, transparent conversations about compensation, benefits, and what it’s like to work at College Board throughout your hiring process. Check out our careers page for more.

Originally posted on Himalayas