Job Details

Research Data Analyst

Position Number: 7189887
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Position Type: Institutional Research and Planning

Research Data Analyst

Job Summary

Lab Overview
The Prison Education Action Research Lab (PEARL) at the College of Education at the University of Utah is the nation's first center dedicated to advancing research, data, and leadership in postsecondary education in prison. Funded by an $8 million award from Ascendium Education Group, PEARL leverages evidence-based research to change systems and reduce barriers to postsecondary education for people directly impacted by the criminal legal system. PEARL's anchor project, the Prison Education Research Initiative (PERI), is a first-of-its-kind multi-institutional longitudinal study spanning 22+ partner colleges and universities nationwide.

Mission
PEARL does research that advances educational justice for people and communities impacted by incarceration.

Position Summary
The Research Data Analyst will lead the secure acquisition, organization, documentation, preparation, integration, and analysis of complex multi-site administrative and research datasets for PEARL's national longitudinal study, with particular responsibility for multi-institution data management, relational database development, and related data infrastructure.
This position is ideal for a highly skilled quantitative data professional who thrives in a collaborative research environment and enjoys transforming raw data into accurate, well-documented, analysis-ready files and reproducible outputs.

Working closely with Principal Investigators, institutional partners, and research staff, the Research Data Analyst will oversee data workflows that include raw and inconsistently structured administrative corrections, education, employment, and survey data from multiple institutions, agencies, external organizations, and time periods. The successful candidate will build efficient, secure systems for data cleaning, merging, quality assurance, database development, reporting, and documentation while ensuring compliance with data security, IRB, and data-use agreement requirements. The Research Data Analyst will lead the development and ownership of data infrastructure and data products, including relational database management, pipeline development, and reporting tools that support partner-facing communication and research use.

The Research Data Analyst will work under the supervision of project PIs Dr. Erin L Castro and Dr. Jason Taylor at the University of Utah. We strongly encourage applications from individuals directly impacted by incarceration and punishment systems.

Research Data Analysts
Assist with organizing and analyzing research data, ensuring accuracy and integrity. Perform data entry and prepare basic visualizations and reports using software such as Excel or Tableau. Support team efforts by maintaining datasets, performing quality checks, and documenting processes. Collaborate with senior analysts to learn and implement statistical methods for research projects.

Why This Role Matters
This position will help build one of the most important national datasets on prison higher education and student outcomes. The successful candidate will play a central role in producing credible evidence that informs policy, expands opportunity, and improves lives.

Compensation and Terms
This is a grant-funded position within PEARL. The position is full-time and benefitted. Work schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM. Travel, evenings, and weekends may occasionally be required. The Research Data Analyst may work remotely or on-site at the University of Utah with some travel required.

Learn more about the great benefits of working for University of Utah: benefits.utah.edu
The department may choose to hire at any of the below job levels and associated pay rates based on their business need and budget.

Responsibilities
Research Data Analyst II
Perform routine statistical analyses on research datasets and begin to provide insights for research studies. Use software such as Excel or Tableau to manipulate data, create visualizations, and generate summaries. Assist with writing sections of research reports and manuscripts, contributing to the interpretation of results. Work independently on smaller analysis tasks and support more complex projects under supervision.
Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 4 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 2 years of directly related work experience.This is a Developing-Level position in the General Professional track.
Research Data Analyst III
Execute intermediate-level data analyses, including regression and multivariate methods, to inform research objectives. Use software such as R, Python, SAS, or SPSS to manipulate data, create visualizations, and generate summaries. Write significant portions of research reports and contribute to study designs by advising on data collection and analysis methodologies. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure data aligns with project goals.Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 6 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 4 years of directly related work experience.This is a Career-Level position in the General Professional track.
Department Specific Responsibilities

Support development of data collection, data management, and analysis plans.
Develop data collection instruments, tools, and templates for state and institutional administrative data and student and institutional surveys, adjusting tools and instruments for local and state contexts where relevant.
Support development of processes, protocols, and timelines for data collection and data validation.
Coordinate secure receipt of data files from partner institutions and agencies.
Maintain organized folder structures, file naming conventions, and version control practices.
Ensure data storage, access, and handling procedures comply with IRB approvals, University policy, and data-use agreements.
Design, build, document, own, and maintain the project relational database and related data infrastructure.
Develop and manage data pipelines for ingesting, transforming, and integrating multi-institution administrative and research data.
Clean, validate, standardize, recode, integrate, and document raw and inconsistently structured incoming datasets from multiple institutions and external organizations.
Create and maintain data dictionaries, codebooks, variable crosswalks, and workflow documentation.
Use Stata to conduct exploratory analyses, descriptive statistics, and statistical analyses.
Produce reproducible, report-ready tables, figures, descriptive summaries, and statistical outputs.
Create targeted dashboards, data visualizations, and reporting tools as supporting products for partner communication.
Lead scalable data infrastructure planning and implementation in collaboration with project leadership and technical partners.
Communicate data limitations, assumptions, anomalies, and recommendations clearly.
Help strengthen best practices in data governance, reproducibility, and research workflow management.
Support internal reporting, grant deliverables, manuscripts, conference presentations, and ad hoc analytic requests.

Minimum Qualifications
EQUIVALENCY STATEMENT: 1 year of higher education can be substituted for 1 year of directly related work experience (Example: bachelor's degree = 4 years of directly related work experience).
Department may hire employee at one of the following job levels:
Research Data Analyst III: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 6 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 4 years of directly related work experience.

Research Data Analyst II: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 4 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 2 years of directly related work experience.

Preferences

Bachelor's degree in data science, statistics, economics, mathematics, education or a related quantitative field, or equivalent professional experience.
Two years of professional experience in research data management, statistical programming, or quantitative analysis.
Demonstrated commitment to and knowledge about educational equity and justice.
Proficiency in at least one statistical or data programming environment (e.g., Stata, R, or Python) for data cleaning, validation, transformation, and analysis, with the ability to learn new tools as needed.
Experience with SQL, relational database design, and database setup or maintenance in cloud-based or secure data environments.
Demonstrated experience managing raw or inconsistently structured datasets from multiple institutions, agencies, or external organizations.
Strong understanding of data confidentiality, secure data handling, and quality assurance practices.
Excellent organizational skills with strong attention to detail.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Experience supporting social science, education, criminal justice, public policy, or longitudinal research.
Experience working with multi-site administrative datasets.
Knowledge of postsecondary education research and data infrastructure.
Experience with Stata for reproducible workflows and report-ready outputs.
Experience with Python or R for data processing and automation.
Experience creating targeted dashboards or data visualizations that support research workflows, quality assurance, or partner reporting.

Special Instructions
Required Application Materials:

Cover Letter that describes interest in and qualifications for the position. Candidates should include their experience developing and managing databases, data infrastructure, and/or producing quantitative analyses
Resume or Curriculum Vitae
Names and contact information for three references, one of whom can specifically speak to research skills and experience

Requisition Number: PRN45119B
Full Time or Part Time? Full Time
Work Schedule Summary: Work schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM. Travel, evenings, and weekends may occasionally be required.
Department: 00162 - Educational Leadership&Policy
Location: Campus
Pay Rate Range: $80,000-$90,000
Close Date: 7/23/2026
Open Until Filled:

To apply, visit https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/202686