Senior data scientist

Department: Technology

Reports to: Senior Director, Data Science and Machine Learning

Location: Remote; hybrid to NYC office highly preferred

Travel: < 10%

Salary Range: $99,800 - $132,300

Vibrant Emotional Health’s groundbreaking solutions have delivered high quality services and support, when, where and how people need it for over 50 years. Through our state-of-the-art technology-enabled services, community wellness programs, and advocacy and education work, we are building a society in which emotional wellness can be a reality for everyone.

Position Overview: The Senior Data Scientist is a hands-on analytical role responsible for building, deploying, and maintaining models and reports that drive evidence-based decision-making across Vibrant’s programs and operations. This role supports the full data science lifecycle—from exploratory analysis and model development through deployment, monitoring, and stakeholder communication. The ideal candidate is technically strong, communicates clearly with non-technical audiences, and is motivated by the opportunity to apply data science in service of mental health and crisis care.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, validate, and deploy predictive models and analytical reports that address core business and programmatic objectives.
• Ensure models and reports are explainable, well-documented, and accompanied by clear articulation of assumptions, opportunities, and limitations.
• Monitor deployed models for data drift, performance degradation, and quality issues; lead remediation efforts as needed.
• Translate complex analytical findings into accessible insights for program staff, leadership, and external partners.
• Champion data literacy across the organization—partnering with business users to build understanding of how models and reports inform Vibrant’s work.
• Develop and deliver training materials and workshops on data literacy, analytical thinking, and model interpretation.
• Collaborate with data engineers and analytics teams to ensure data pipelines and infrastructure meet modeling and reporting needs.
• Apply statistical and machine learning methods rigorously—selecting appropriate techniques, validating assumptions, and assessing uncertainty.
• Contribute to Vibrant’s data science infrastructure, including model registries, version control, and deployment pipelines on AWS.
• Support ad hoc analytical requests from program and operational teams.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Strong proficiency in Python and/or R for data analysis, modeling, and reporting; familiarity with relevant libraries (scikit-learn, pandas, tidyverse, etc.)
• Experience with model development, validation, deployment, and ongoing quality control in a production environment.
• Hands-on experience with AWS data science services, including SageMaker for model training and deployment.
• Advanced statistical knowledge—including regression, classification, clustering, causal inference, and experimental design.
• Experience working with large, complex datasets in cloud-based data warehouse environments (Redshift, Snowflake, or similar).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills—able to present findings clearly to technical and non-technical audiences alike.
• Strong analytical curiosity, attention to detail, and ability to work independently on ambiguous problems.
• High level of influencing ability.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a quantitative discipline (statistics, computer science, epidemiology, public health, applied mathematics, or related field), or equivalent applied experience.
• 4+ years of applied data science experience, including AI/ML model development and code-based analysis and reporting.
• Experience in public health, behavioral health, social services, or a mission-driven organization a strong plus.
• Prior experience as a team lead or similar helpful.
• Familiarity with equity-centered data practices and considerations for algorithmic fairness a plus.

Physical Requirements: Must be able to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time. Will constantly operate a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a calculator, copy machine, and computer printer. Will frequently communicate over video calls with internal and external stakeholders.

We determine base pay through a comprehensive review of skills, experience, education, certifications, geographic location, and other relevant factors. The range listed reflects the compensation parameters for the role and does not represent the full compensation package. A complete overview of compensation and benefits will be provided by the Talent Acquisition team during the hiring process. Full time employees will be eligible for excellent comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, vision, supplemental income insurance, employer paid disability insurance, employer paid life insurance, pre-tax FSA for medical and dependent care, and 401K available.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they are able to perform every task in the job description. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background. Vibrant will consider any equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role. Vibrant Emotional Health is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are considered for positions without regard to veteran status, uniformed service member status, race, creed, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, citizenship status, national origin, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, caregiver status or any other category protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

Please be aware that fictitious job openings, consulting engagements, solicitations, or employment offers may be circulated on the Internet in an attempt to obtain privileged information, or to induce you to pay a fee for services related to recruitment or training. Vibrant does NOT charge any application, processing, or training fee at any stage of the recruitment or hiring process. All genuine job openings will be posted on our careers page and all communications from the Vibrant recruiting team and/or hiring managers will be from an @vibrant.org email address.