Senior Data Scientist

Today, 67% of students and 82% of low-income students can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade. That’s when students are supposed to go from learning to read to reading to learn. It’s America’s number one education crisis and we know how to fix it.

Ignite Reading delivers one-to-one virtual tutoring that teaches every student the foundational skills they need to become a confident, fluent reader. We pair students who need extra support with expert reading tutors who provide daily, 15-minute, Science of Reading-based instruction that rapidly closes their decoding gaps. We focus on the foundational reading skills—phonics, phonemic awareness, and sight words—kids need to master so they can decode a sentence. Students in Ignite Reading’s program achieve over 2 weeks of reading skills growth per week of instruction, and notably all students achieve the same outstanding results including students with IEPs, multilingual learners, students of color and those receiving free or reduced-price lunch.

Ignite Reading is a mission-driven public benefit corporation. We believe we can do well for our team members and shareholders while we solve one of the nation’s biggest challenges. We believe we will be more successful with a diverse team and are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Your Role

Ignite Reading's mission is to teach every kid to read — and turning data into decisions is one of the most powerful ways the organization advances that work. In service of that goal, the Senior Data Scientist supports our partner-facing teams (Partnerships/Sales, Marketing, CX) as the Data & Analytics team's primary practitioner of advanced analytics, statistics, predictive modeling, and machine learning. This role is a senior individual contributor who applies DS/ML to generate actionable insights for the business, directly shaping how the organization acquires, retains, and grows partnerships with school districts nationwide.

This person brings meaningful AI fluency to the team, using Claude, Cursor, and related tools to accelerate analytical workflows and build agentic workflows and Skills that extend the team's capacity. This role reports to the Senior Manager of Partner Analytics and works in close partnership with the broader Data & Analytics team. It is an exceptional opportunity for someone who wants to see their work make a real difference that changes lives.

Key Responsibilities

Advanced Analytics & Statistical Modeling

• Design and deliver end-to-end predictive models (including partner churn prediction, lead scoring, and partner health scores), translating complex business questions into rigorous, production-ready analytical solutions.

• Develop and maintain attribution, marketing mix models and other marketing analytics frameworks that inform resource allocation and campaign strategy.

• Apply statistical methods to identify leading indicators, drivers, and patterns across partner data; communicate findings and trade-offs clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Data Science & Machine Learning

• Own the full ML lifecycle, from problem framing and feature engineering through model training, validation, deployment, and monitoring, ensuring models remain accurate, interpretable, and maintainable over time.

• Establish and uphold repeatable standards for model development, documentation, and validation that enable consistent, trustworthy DS/ML output across the team.

• Identify opportunities to apply ML and data science techniques to new business problems and proactively surface recommendations to leadership.

AI Engineering & Agentic Workflows

• Build and deploy agentic workflows and Claude Skills that automate analytical and modeling tasks, accelerate DS/ML development, and extend the team's capacity.

• Evaluate and recommend emerging AI tools and techniques relevant to data science and analytics.

• Act as an AI resource and mentor for the broader analytics team, modeling effective AI-assisted development practices and actively contributing to a shared culture of AI literacy.

Collaboration & Communication

• Partner closely with Sales, Marketing, and CX stakeholders to understand business context, identify and execute high-value analyses, and translate complex model outputs into clear, actionable insights and business narratives that directly shape organizational strategy and operations.

• Bring structure, documentation, and process discipline to ambiguous technical domains, ensuring work is reproducible and knowledge is shared.

Qualifications

Required:

• 6-8+ years of demonstrated on-the-job experience across the entire ML lifecycle, building and deploying in production the kinds of models this role requires: churn prediction, propensity/upsell scoring, health scores, lead scoring, media mix modeling, or closely analogous work.

• Strong quantitative foundation: proficiency in statistical modeling, experimental design, and analytical methods applied to real business problems.

• Highly proficient in SQL and Python for data manipulation, analysis, and modeling.

• Meaningful hands-on experience building agentic workflows, Claude Skills, or LLM-based automations using Claude, Cursor, or equivalent generative AI tools to accelerate analytical and ML workflows on the job.

• Familiarity with AI operational practices (prompt libraries, guardrails, output validation) that enable consistent and reliable AI-assisted work.

• A natural mentor and collaborator; a strong communicator who can explain complex technical concepts clearly to varied audiences.

• A self-starter who works independently, persists until the job is done, and stays calm and resourceful in a high-growth, startup-like environment.

• Passionate about our mission to teach kids to read.

Preferred:

• Experience with student or education data and familiarity with PII handling requirements.

Compensation & Benefits

At Ignite Reading, we embrace transparent compensation for a few reasons: to promote fairness and equity, to reduce pay discrimination based on gender, race, or negotiation skill, and to build trust within our team. The same role receives the same compensation — no negotiation.

Salary: $174,000

We also ensure you have the tools you need to thrive both in and out of work.

📈 Employee Stock Options - we want our success to be yours too

🩺 Medical, Dental, and Vision plans to support you and your well-being (80% employee coverage, 70% dependent coverage)

🏥 Short-term Disability (100% employer paid)

🏦 401(k) retirement plans with company contribution

👶 12-weeks paid parental leave

🌴 Unlimited vacation days (+ 12 paid holidays)

💻 Technology Stipend

🧘 Wellness Stipend

🛟 Voluntary Life Insurance

👩‍💻 Professional Development Stipend

We believe in building and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace environment. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where all applicants are considered for employment without attention to color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. Research shows that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds often don't apply for roles if they don't meet all the criteria – unlike majority candidates meeting significantly fewer requirements. We strongly encourage you to apply if you’re interested!

We are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are a virtual organization with headquarters in the California Bay Area.