The University of Southern California (USC), founded in 1880, is located in the heart of downtown L.A. and is the largest private employer in the City of Los Angeles. As an employee of USC, you will be a part of a world-class research university and a member of the “Trojan Family,” which is comprised of the faculty, students and staff that make the university what it is.

University Advancement is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture in which all advancement staff and our stakeholders have the opportunity to connect, belong, and grow while supporting the University of Southern California’s mission, values, and goals.

University Advancement is seeking a Data Scientist to join our team and create analytical solutions for business problems in fundraising. This position is responsible for generating solutions for existing problems and studying the business to ask (and answer) questions nobody has asked before.

Responsibilities

Data Science (80%):

• Extract data from various data sources using SQL

• Build systems, tools and workbenches for repeatable, reusable and reproducible analyses

• Create and launch data products that improve business outcomes

• Use machine learning to generate leads, upgrade donors, and enhance user experience

• Apply natural language processing and information retrieval techniques for knowledge generation

• Create solutions to capture new sources of information on prospects

• Create interactive applications and visualizations

• Discover insights with data analysis and visualization

• Collaborate and brainstorm on problems with advanced users and experts

Ideation (10%):

• Generate ideas to help solve business problems

• Identify opportunities to apply analytical solutions

• Create rapid prototypes/wireframes of applications, systems, and visualizations

• Stay on top of the latest techniques and innovations in the data science world

Outreach and Other (10%):

• Establish USC as a leader in this space

• Promote data-driven culture

• Conduct other duties as assigned

Who you are

• You demonstrate balanced skepticism and immense curiosity

• You have strong critical thinking and project management skills

• You have a passion to learn and create new things

What you will bring

• Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering or any other quantitative majors

• Work experience in this field: 2 or more years

• Breadth and depth in machine learning: feature extraction and selection, association rules, collaborative filtering, clustering, and classification/regression techniques

• Programming skills in R, Python, SQL, and R frameworks/libraries

• Web application development fundamentals: JavaScript, CSS, HTML, APIs

• Database management skills using SQL Server, Oracle or cloud databases

• Data visualization skills: from Excel to Tableau; from ggplot to D3

• Business understanding that your success is defined by the action your user takes

• Experience with collaborative tools such as Github, SVN.

Nice-to-haves

• Advanced degree in a STEM field

• Knowledge of Salesforce development

• Understanding of principles of effective UI/UX

Required Documents and Additional Information

Resume and cover letter required (may be uploaded as one file). Please do not submit your application without these documents.

The annual base salary range for this position is $83,840 - $113,087. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

USC has excellent benefits, including health benefits for staff & their family with access to the renowned university medical network; eligibility for retirement plans with employer contributions once you meet Program's eligibility; tuition benefits for staff & their family; free professional development online courses; central Los Angeles location with easy access to commuter trains, buses & free tram pick up services; discounts to football, basketball & other campus events.

The University of Southern California values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity in employment.

Minimum Education: Master's degree, Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education Minimum Experience: 2 years, Combined education/experience as substitute for minimum experience Minimum Field of Expertise: Biometry, Biostatistics or Statistics; mainframe computer and PC experience; experience with SAS, Epilog, BMDP, GLIM or SPSS.