Title: Director, Data Science & AI
Location: Remote
Compensation: $120-140k base + bonus
Contact: Lindsey Bartlett - lbartlett@smithhanley.com
This one is a little different.
I’m partnering with a highly respected, independent research consultancy looking for the person everyone turns to when the methodology gets complicated.
They need someone who can design a conjoint, pressure-test a segmentation, explain why the methodology is right to a skeptical client... and then turn around and get into R, troubleshoot a data pipeline, or figure out how AI can make the research process smarter.
In other words: advanced statistician meets curious builder.
What you'll be doing:
- Own advanced quantitative methodology across the firm
- Design conjoint/CBC, MaxDiff and segmentation studies
- Lead complex statistical analysis in R
- Advise research teams on methodology and study design
- Translate complicated methods into language clients actually understand
- Mentor analysts without formally managing a team
- Improve and extend internal research and reporting tools
- Explore practical applications of AI and LLMs within the research process
- Build smarter workflows across survey data, analytics and reporting
- Partner across teams on evolving research capabilities
What they're looking for:
The methodology piece is important here. They need someone with real, hands-on advanced quantitative analytics experience, ideally from market research, insights, consulting or another client-facing research environment.
You should be able to point to experience with:
- Conjoint / discrete choice
- MaxDiff
- Segmentation and clustering
- Advanced survey methodology
- R and applied statistics
- Data pipelines, APIs or lightweight tool development
- AI / LLM tools and a genuine curiosity around where they can improve research
You don't need to be a software engineer.
You do need to be technically curious and comfortable getting under the hood. They want someone who understands what is happening behind the output and doesn't treat AI, statistics or technology as a black box.
The environment
This is a small, smart, collaborative research firm known for taking on complicated, non-cookie-cutter work.
The culture is low-ego and non-hierarchical. You'll have a lot of independence, but you'll also become a go-to resource for analysts and researchers working through difficult methodological questions.
This is an individual contributor role with no direct reports today, although there could be an opportunity to build out capabilities around the role as the firm continues to evolve its internal tools and AI use.
Compensation & benefits:
- $120K–$140K base + bonus
- Profit-sharing bonus historically around 10–13%
- 100% employer-paid health insurance
- 401(k) + company match
- Paid parental leave
- Paid holiday closure between Christmas and New Year's
- Flexible remote work environment
- Company-wide in-person gatherings approximately twice per year
If you're the kind of analyst who genuinely enjoys figuring out the hard stuff, building something better, and then helping everyone else understand how it works, I'd love to talk.
