Data Scientist, NLx Research Hub

Data Scientist, NLx Research Hub

Background on NASWA

The National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) is the national organization representing all 50 state workforce agencies, D.C. and U.S. territories. These agencies deliver training, employment, career, and business services, in addition to administering unemployment insurance (UI), veteran reemployment, and labor market information programs. NASWA provides policy expertise, shares promising state practices, and promotes state innovation and leadership in workforce development.

The National Labor Exchange (NLx) is the only nonprofit national labor exchange system in the United States. Established through a partnership between NASWA and DirectEmployers Association (DE) in 2007, the NLx is a workforce system tool providing the most accurate and comprehensive collection of real, online job openings for state workforce agencies, employers, and jobseekers. In 2021, publicly launched the NLx Research Hub to provide historical and real-time NLx data and derived insights to states, researchers from academic, nonprofit, and private organizations predicting the future of work and education as well as employers, training providers, digital solution developers and policymakers.

Background on the NLx Research Hub

The NLx Research Hub is a research and data team focused on real-time and historical labor demand information from the NLx. This dataset provides a source of labor demand that is often missing in labor market research organizations and resources. The demand data maintained by the NLx Research Hub serves as the foundation for its research, product development, and partnerships. The Research Hub collects, processes, disseminates, and analyzes job posting data from across the country to help workforce agencies, policymakers, and researchers better understand labor market trends, employer demand, and job seeker needs. Our work sits at the intersection of data science, workforce policy, and public service, with a focus on lowering barriers to access, fostering collaboration throughout the workforce and education system, and improving workforce and education outcomes.

Position Overview

The NLx Research Hub is looking for a curious, collaborative, and technically skilled Data Scientist to join our growing team. This role supports the technical foundation behind the Research Hub’s research and products by maintaining and improving ETL pipelines, data infrastructure, and engineered datasets. The Data Scientist will also apply machine learning and NLP techniques to extract insights from job postings and integrated labor market data, including sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Technical questions that drive this work include:

• How might the Research Hub's data infrastructure be modernized to reduce the time it takes for users to access, understand, and analyze the data – making it faster, cleaner, and more accessible to a broad range of users?
• How can jobs data be reliably linked with other datasets (e.g., workforce program data, education and training data, employer data, and administrative records) to enable richer analysis, longitudinal insights, and policy-relevant research while maintaining strong data governance and privacy protections?
• How might machine learning and NLP models be built and refined to extract richer signals such as in-demand skills from large-scale, unstructured job posting data at scale?
• What scalable data products and APIs might be developed to put reliable labor market intelligence directly in the hands of state agencies and workforce partners?

Working closely with the Research Hub Senior Manager, Economist, and external partners, this role ensures data is reliable, accessible, and analytically powerful. The ideal candidate is comfortable working with complex technical systems, managing multiple projects, and translating technical concepts for non-technical audiences.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Maintain and build on the NLx Research Hub's ETL pipelines, data infrastructure, and cloud-based data architecture to ensure reliability, scalability, and accessibility of NLx data
• Maintain Research Hub Github repositories of public-facing technical repositories
• Design and implement ML models and NLP techniques to extract insights from large volumes of structured and unstructured job posting data
• Engineer and maintain high-quality datasets and data products that power research, visualizations, and partner-facing tools developed by the Hub
• Develop data quality monitoring systems, automated validation pipelines, and documentation to support transparency and reproducibility across the Hub's technical stack
• Collaborate with the Research Hub Economist, Hub Senior Manager, and occasionally with external stakeholders to translate research questions into scalable technical solutions
• Collaborate with external technical partners to inform, develop, and refine the NLx Research Hub’s data infrastructure and technical offerings
• Build and maintain data visualizations, dashboards, and technical reports
• Support state workforce agency partners and external researchers by troubleshooting data access issues, advising on data use, and contributing to user engagement efforts

Required Competencies and Experience

• 4\+ years of professional experience in data science, data engineering, or a closely related field
• Proficiency in Python and/or R for data analysis, modeling, pipeline development, and automation
• Demonstrated experience using GitHub for collaborative development, including creating and reviewing pull requests, managing branches, and resolving merge conflicts as well as maintaining reproducible data science workflows (notebooks, scripts, configuration files, and README documentation)
• Experience applying artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, including machine learning and large language models (LLMs), to real‑world data problems, such as natural language processing, information extraction, classification, or entity resolution.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate model performance, document limitations, and responsibly operationalize AI‑driven outputs in production or research environments
• Demonstrated experience with machine learning methods, statistical modeling, and NLP techniques applied to large, real-world datasets
• Hands-on experience designing, building, and maintaining ETL pipelines and working within cloud-based AWS data environments
• Strong SQL skills and experience working with relational databases and/or data warehouse platforms (e.g., Amazon Aurora Serverless, MotherDuck)
• Experience with data quality assessment, validation, and documentation practices
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders

Relevant Experience Preferred

• Experience working with labor market data, job posting data, or workforce development programs data
• Familiarity with distributed version control platforms such as GitHub for managing and sharing code and open-source resources
• Preferred experience with or knowledge of data collection and sourcing processes for large‑scale datasets, including an understanding of how upstream data acquisition decisions (e.g., sourcing methods, validation, deduplication, and refresh cycles) affect downstream storage, processing, and analytical use
• Experience developing data products, APIs, or researcher-facing data tools
• Knowledge of occupational classification systems such as O*NET, SOC codes, or similar taxonomies
• Experience working in a policy, government, nonprofit, or applied research setting

Education

Bachelor's degree in Data Science or Data Engineering, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related quantitative field required; Master's degree or specialized certifications in Data Science preferred, or commensurate professional experience.

Job Details

Location:                   Remote/U.S. Based

Reports to:                Senior Manager, NLx Research Hub

Position Type:

Full Time

Salary Range:

$105,000-$125,000

commensurate with experience

Please Note: NASWA is funded, in part, by multi-year grants. This position is currently funded through October 2028\. While many grant-funded roles are tied to the duration of funding, this position has the potential to transition into an ongoing role, subject to organizational needs

Benefits:

NASWA offers competitive benefits including a generous health care package and 401(k), educational assistance, personal time off/sick leave and other great options

Travel:

5% - 10% annually

How to Apply

:          Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter to

[email protected]

by 5/22/2026 for preference.

Employment Opportunity Statement

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

NASWA is an equal opportunity employer. NASWA does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, military status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, political affiliation or any other characteristic protected by federal or District of Columbia law. Our non-discrimination policy applies to all facets of employment, including recruiting, hiring, employment, promotion, demotion, dismissal, compensation, and training opportunities.