Research Data Analyst

Position Summary The Research Data Analyst will support the annual data cleaning, ingestion, and management workflows that underpin SC TEACHER’s longitudinal educator records and reporting infrastructure. Working closely with the Research Lead for Data Infrastructure and Analytics, this position plays a central role in preparing, structuring, and maintaining data assets that support workforce analytics, district‑facing dashboards, and applied research. Minimum Qualifications Requires a bachelor’s degree in a job‑related field and 2 or more years of job‑related experience. Equivalent combinations of certification, training, education, or experience may be substituted. Proficiency in SQL for writing, optimizing, and maintaining queries in cloud‑based environments, particularly Amazon Athena. Working knowledge of R and/or Python for data cleaning, transformation, validation, and documentation of analytic workflows. Familiarity with AWS cloud services including S3, Athena, Glue, EC2, and QuickSight. Knowledge of ETL (extract, transform, load) processes and best practices for data pipeline management. Ability to work with large, complex, restricted administrative datasets, including longitudinal educator workforce records and district‑level data. Knowledge of data governance practices, including metadata documentation, data classification, and confidentiality protocols. Strong attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate, version‑controlled scripts and data preparation logs. Clear communication skills, both oral and written, and ability to work independently and collaboratively within a research team. Preferred Qualifications Experience working in AWS environments (S3, Athena, Glue, QuickSight, EC2). Familiarity with education data or other administrative/government datasets. Experience building data visualizations or dashboards for non‑technical audiences. Master’s degree in a relevant field. Job Duties Clean, validate, and transform raw data files using R and/or Python, maintaining data preparation logs and adhering to SC TEACHER’s data quality standards. Build and maintain data tables, views, and queries in Amazon Athena to support analysis and reporting workflows. (40% of time) Support annual ingestion of data files received from the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) and other data providers, following documented intake and validation procedures. Support the development of data visualizations and contribute to dashboard reporting using Amazon QuickSight. (30% of time) Conduct data validation checks against lookup tables, SCDE documentation, district‑submitted records, and prior‑year files to identify inconsistencies, duplicate records, and missing fields. Assist in developing and updating derived variables, recode logic, and suppression rules in accordance with the data dictionary and data governance policy. (20% of time) Collaborate with research team members on analytic data preparation for annual reports, legislative deliverables, and district products. (10% of time) Benefits The University of South Carolina (UofSC), through the State of SC and Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA), offers employees a valuable benefits package, including health and life insurance, generous paid leave, and retirement programs. Research grant or time‑limited positions may be eligible for all, some, or no benefits, based on the grant or project funding. EEO Statement The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in educational or employment opportunities or decisions for qualified persons on the basis of age, ancestry, citizenship status, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender (including transgender), gender identity or expression, genetic information, HIV/AIDs status, military status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other basis under federal, state, local law, or regulations. #J-18808-Ljbffr University of South Carolina