Social Scientist Jobs
Social Scientist jobs are open from entry-level research assistant to senior fellow and principal researcher across government agencies, academic institutions, public health organizations, and policy think tanks, with common specializations in applied research, program evaluation, and behavioral analysis. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
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NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a qualified Data Scientist I to join the Methodology and Quantitative Social Sciences department and support innovative research and analytics. The Data Scientist I works collaboratively with methodologists, researchers, statisticians, software developers, and subject matter experts throughout the research lifecycle, including study design, data collection, quality assessment, quantitative analysis, and dissemination of results. This role combines strong foundations in data management, research methodology, and computational social science to develop methodological and data science solutions that improve research, operational efficiency, and decision-making.
The Data Scientist I will contribute to projects involving structured and unstructured data, survey data, administrative records, commercial data, text data, and other novel data sources. Responsibilities may include developing data pipelines, implementing data management approaches, maintaining analytical workflows, conducting analysis and creating data visualizations, and assisting in the writing and dissemination of results. The ideal candidate possesses strong social science research and data expertise, written and communication skills, R programming expertise, experience building reproducible analytical workflows, and an interest in applying advanced methods to solve complex research and business problems. Data Scientists are expected to manage multiple assignments, contribute to projects and proposals, stay current with emerging analytic tools, and work effectively in a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment.
Location: This is a hybrid role based in our Chicago Loop office, with a minimum of six days per month in the office.
Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.
The Methodology and Quantitative Social Sciences (MQSS) department implements state-of-the-art methodologies and develops innovations to deliver reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business and policy decisions for NORC clients. The department provides leadership throughout the project lifecycle on study design, data collection, assessment of data quality, quantitative analysis, and dissemination of results. The Methodological and Quantitative Social Sciences department also conducts its own research and is a leader in designing and implementing rigorous, efficient methods for gathering, evaluating, and analyzing data from primary and secondary sources. The department provides expertise and leads NORC strategy on the use of a broad range of methods and techniques, including research and experimental design, recruitment and retention, instrument design and testing, assessing data quality, evaluating measurement properties of new measures, causal inference methods, machine learning, analysis of clustered data, data visualization, use of novel data sources and technologies to improve data gathering, and building AI solutions that support NORC’s research. The department collaborates with the Statistics and Data Science Department on areas of synergy and intersection and with all NORC subject matter departments, in addition to leading its own projects.
- Apply computational and machine learning methods to support survey research, evaluation studies, and other social science research initiatives
- Contribute to and review the methodological/analytical sections of reports, tables/graphics, presentations, dashboards, and other deliverables
- Assist with proposal and business development activities related to methodological, analytic, and/or study design tasks.
- Establish reproducible, quality‑assured analytic workflows; implement version control (Git), environment management, peer code review, automated testing, and validation checks.
- Develop robust data pipelines that integrate, transform, and analyze structured and unstructured data from multiple sources to support research and operational objectives.
- Design and implement data products, dashboards, applications, and automated tools that enable data-driven decision making.
- Write and implement R programs to extract/manipulate data, link complex datasets, and execute machine learning and statistical analyses.
- Present research papers at professional conferences and submit articles for publication in journals.
- Work with relational databases, cloud platforms, and large-scale computing environments to manage and analyze complex datasets efficiently.
- Uphold data disclosure limitation and data privacy best practices.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
- Bachelor's degree in computational social science, data science, computer science or a related quantitative field with social science emphasis.
- At least 4 years of relevant experience (graduate research, internships, and applied professional experience may be considered).
- Demonstrated proficiency developing production-quality code in R.
- Strong foundation in areas of social science research, analytic methods, data engineering, machine learning, and scientific methods of inquiry.
- Must be detail-oriented and quality-focused, with demonstrated written and oral communication skills
- Strong interpersonal communication, analytic capability, technical writing, problem identification and resolution, and task management
- Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously, effectively organize and manage time, including ability to set priorities to meet all project, proposal, and administrative needs in a timely fashion
- Experience developing software, data pipelines, or analytical applications.
- Experience conducting statistical analysis and machine learning using real-world datasets.
- Experience working with Git and collaborative development workflows.
- Enthusiasm for teamwork and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries.
Preferred Skills:
- Demonstrated experience programming in Python
- Experience analyzing survey, administrative, or other large-scale observational datasets, and/or working with longitudinal survey data.
- Experience with interactive data visualization and mapping libraries such as R Shiny, D3.js or other JavaScript data visualization libraries and HTML/CSS.
- Experience with large-scale data platforms such as Databricks, Spark, Hadoop, or Hive.
- Experience developing, evaluating, or deploying machine learning and AI solutions, including work with large language models, and cloud environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP).
The pay range for this position is $90,000-$100,000.
This position is classified as regular. Regular staff are eligible for NORC’s comprehensive benefits program. Benefits include, but are not limited to:
Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment
Dental and vision insurance
A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program
Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance
Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, holidays; paid parental leave, bereavement leave, tuition assistance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
NORC is committed to equity and transparency in its pay practices. We publish salary ranges and benefit information for every job. The listed hiring range reflects what we, in good faith, expect to pay at the time of posting, though actual compensation may vary and may be adjusted over time. A candidate’s placement within the range depends on factors such as competencies, education, qualifications, experience, skills, performance, and organizational needs.
NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.
For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.
NORC is an equal opportunity employer. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation, and other legally protected characteristics.
#LI-MS1
NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a qualified Data Scientist I to join the Methodology and Quantitative Social Sciences department and support innovative research and analytics. The Data Scientist I works collaboratively with methodologists, researchers, statisticians, software developers, and subject matter experts throughout the research lifecycle, including study design, data collection, quality assessment, quantitative analysis, and dissemination of results. This role combines strong foundations in data management, research methodology, and computational social science to develop methodological and data science solutions that improve research, operational efficiency, and decision-making.
The Data Scientist I will contribute to projects involving structured and unstructured data, survey data, administrative records, commercial data, text data, and other novel data sources. Responsibilities may include developing data pipelines, implementing data management approaches, maintaining analytical workflows, conducting analysis and creating data visualizations, and assisting in the writing and dissemination of results. The ideal candidate possesses strong social science research and data expertise, written and communication skills, R programming expertise, experience building reproducible analytical workflows, and an interest in applying advanced methods to solve complex research and business problems. Data Scientists are expected to manage multiple assignments, contribute to projects and proposals, stay current with emerging analytic tools, and work effectively in a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment.
Location: This is a hybrid role based in our Chicago Loop office, with a minimum of six days per month in the office.
Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.
The Methodology and Quantitative Social Sciences (MQSS) department implements state-of-the-art methodologies and develops innovations to deliver reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business and policy decisions for NORC clients. The department provides leadership throughout the project lifecycle on study design, data collection, assessment of data quality, quantitative analysis, and dissemination of results. The Methodological and Quantitative Social Sciences department also conducts its own research and is a leader in designing and implementing rigorous, efficient methods for gathering, evaluating, and analyzing data from primary and secondary sources. The department provides expertise and leads NORC strategy on the use of a broad range of methods and techniques, including research and experimental design, recruitment and retention, instrument design and testing, assessing data quality, evaluating measurement properties of new measures, causal inference methods, machine learning, analysis of clustered data, data visualization, use of novel data sources and technologies to improve data gathering, and building AI solutions that support NORC’s research. The department collaborates with the Statistics and Data Science Department on areas of synergy and intersection and with all NORC subject matter departments, in addition to leading its own projects.
- Apply computational and machine learning methods to support survey research, evaluation studies, and other social science research initiatives
- Contribute to and review the methodological/analytical sections of reports, tables/graphics, presentations, dashboards, and other deliverables
- Assist with proposal and business development activities related to methodological, analytic, and/or study design tasks.
- Establish reproducible, quality‑assured analytic workflows; implement version control (Git), environment management, peer code review, automated testing, and validation checks.
- Develop robust data pipelines that integrate, transform, and analyze structured and unstructured data from multiple sources to support research and operational objectives.
- Design and implement data products, dashboards, applications, and automated tools that enable data-driven decision making.
- Write and implement R programs to extract/manipulate data, link complex datasets, and execute machine learning and statistical analyses.
- Present research papers at professional conferences and submit articles for publication in journals.
- Work with relational databases, cloud platforms, and large-scale computing environments to manage and analyze complex datasets efficiently.
- Uphold data disclosure limitation and data privacy best practices.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
- Bachelor's degree in computational social science, data science, computer science or a related quantitative field with social science emphasis.
- At least 4 years of relevant experience (graduate research, internships, and applied professional experience may be considered).
- Demonstrated proficiency developing production-quality code in R.
- Strong foundation in areas of social science research, analytic methods, data engineering, machine learning, and scientific methods of inquiry.
- Must be detail-oriented and quality-focused, with demonstrated written and oral communication skills
- Strong interpersonal communication, analytic capability, technical writing, problem identification and resolution, and task management
- Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously, effectively organize and manage time, including ability to set priorities to meet all project, proposal, and administrative needs in a timely fashion
- Experience developing software, data pipelines, or analytical applications.
- Experience conducting statistical analysis and machine learning using real-world datasets.
- Experience working with Git and collaborative development workflows.
- Enthusiasm for teamwork and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries.
Preferred Skills:
- Demonstrated experience programming in Python
- Experience analyzing survey, administrative, or other large-scale observational datasets, and/or working with longitudinal survey data.
- Experience with interactive data visualization and mapping libraries such as R Shiny, D3.js or other JavaScript data visualization libraries and HTML/CSS.
- Experience with large-scale data platforms such as Databricks, Spark, Hadoop, or Hive.
- Experience developing, evaluating, or deploying machine learning and AI solutions, including work with large language models, and cloud environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP).
The pay range for this position is $90,000-$100,000.
This position is classified as regular. Regular staff are eligible for NORC’s comprehensive benefits program. Benefits include, but are not limited to:
Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment
Dental and vision insurance
A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program
Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance
Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, holidays; paid parental leave, bereavement leave, tuition assistance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
NORC is committed to equity and transparency in its pay practices. We publish salary ranges and benefit information for every job. The listed hiring range reflects what we, in good faith, expect to pay at the time of posting, though actual compensation may vary and may be adjusted over time. A candidate’s placement within the range depends on factors such as competencies, education, qualifications, experience, skills, performance, and organizational needs.
NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.
For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.
NORC is an equal opportunity employer. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation, and other legally protected characteristics.
#LI-MS1
Social Scientist Jobs by Experience Level
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Find Social Scientist JobsSocial Scientist Job Market
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Science & Research
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in social scientist jobs.
- Master's or doctoral degree in sociology, psychology, political science, anthropology, or a related field
- Proficiency in quantitative analysis tools such as SPSS, R, Stata, or Python
- Experience designing and conducting original research studies or program evaluations
- Strong written communication skills for reports, briefs, and peer-reviewed publications
- Familiarity with IRB protocols, research ethics standards, and informed consent procedures
- Experience with qualitative methods including interviews, focus groups, or ethnographic observation
Tips for Your Social Scientist Job Search
Tailor your resume to methods used
Hiring managers scan for specific research methods, so name the exact techniques you've used: mixed-methods design, regression analysis, ethnographic fieldwork, or survey instrumentation. Vague claims like 'quantitative skills' get passed over in favor of candidates who name their tools.
Show your research actually influenced decisions
Social scientist roles are evaluated on impact, not just output. For each project on your resume, state what decision-makers did with your findings. Policy adopted, program redesigned, or budget reallocated all signal the kind of applied value employers pay for.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists social scientist openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Target postings by methodology, not just title
Job titles vary wildly across sectors: research analyst, policy scientist, behavioral researcher, and program evaluator all describe social scientist work. Search by the methods in job descriptions rather than the title alone to surface roles you'd otherwise miss.
Prepare a findings presentation, not a portfolio
Unlike design or writing roles, social scientists are often asked to walk through a past study during interviews. Prepare a five-minute verbal walkthrough of one project, covering your research question, methodology, key findings, and what limitations you'd address if you ran it again.
Negotiate scope before accepting an offer
Social scientist roles vary enormously in whether you design studies or only execute them. Before accepting, clarify whether you'll own research design, have access to primary data collection, and have authorship or publication rights. Scope matters as much as compensation.
Social Scientist Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most social scientists?
National Institutes of Health, CACI International, and INTEROS are hiring the most social scientists right now, with openings concentrated in Maryland, Florida, and Illinois, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Federal agencies, public health contractors, and policy research organizations account for a large share of active postings.
How many social scientist jobs are remote?
About 38% of social scientist openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, with the highest remote share found in quantitative research, survey design, and policy analysis roles. Positions requiring fieldwork, participant interviews, or direct community engagement are more likely to require on-site or regional presence.
How do you become a social scientist?
Most social scientist roles require at least a master's degree in a social science discipline, earned after completing a bachelor's in a related field. From there, gaining research experience through graduate assistantships, internships, or entry-level analyst roles builds the applied skills employers expect. Specializing in a methodology, such as applied econometrics or qualitative fieldwork, strengthens your candidacy for specific roles.
How do you get hired as a social scientist with little experience?
Start by applying to research assistant or junior analyst roles at government agencies, nonprofits, or university research centers, where entry-level hiring is more common. Treat any thesis, capstone, or independent project as professional research experience and describe it using the same language as job postings. Demonstrating familiarity with one or two standard analysis tools, such as R or SPSS, closes a significant gap for candidates without full professional history.
What does the social scientist interview process look like?
Most social scientist hiring processes include an initial screening call, a technical or take-home assessment involving a research scenario or data interpretation task, and a panel interview with researchers and program managers. Expect questions about your methodological choices, how you handle data quality issues, and how you've communicated findings to non-technical audiences. Some roles also include a presentation of past research.
Where can I find and apply to social scientist jobs?
You can find and apply to social scientist jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Search for roles that match your methods, sector, and seniority level, then apply directly to each listing that fits your background.
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