Principal Data Scientist at Ellucian

Together we are powering the future of Higher Education
Here at Ellucian, we are motivated by a mission ~ the power of education to transform lives and change the world.  We are the global market leader in EdTech for Higher Education, serving more than 2,900 customers and reaching over 26 million students in 50+ countries.  We are dedicated to helping Higher Ed thrive by transforming their institutions to agile, digitally connected campuses that enable student success.
About the Opportunity
As the Principal Data Scientist, you will accelerate Ellucian's efforts to apply modern machine learning and predictive analytics to the challenges facing higher education institutions around the world.  You will help shape Ellucian's next generation platform and ethical oversight that harnesses large scale data sets from Ellucian customers to help them efficiently achieve the best possible student outcomes.
Where you will make an impact
Evangelize the opportunities and benefits of using machine learning in Higher Ed to leaders at Higher Ed institutions around the world. Collaborate with internal product, marketing, and sales leaders to shape and amplify this message.
Educate and partner with internal stakeholders to shape strategy and governance around the expanded use of AI/ML throughout our products.
Collaborate with multiple product teams to understand the needs of customers in domains (student, financial aid, etc) that can be accelerated with AI/ML or predictive analytics. Understand their strengths and opportunities related to customer data.  Build POCs to support these use cases and assist various product teams with productization. Create frameworks, best practices, and training to ensure teams are successful at productizing these models.  Projects may include: 

Predictive statistical models for areas such as student enrollment, student success, student wellness, donor giving, and job market trends
Natural language business intelligence capabilities leveraging LLMs
Benchmarking tools to enable institutions to quantify and analyze their performance relative to similar institutions


What you will bring
10+ years related work experience developing, designing and architecting enterprise-scale solutions
5+ years related work experience with data science and AI/ML
Experience evangelizing and implementing common architectural patterns, design patterns and best practices related to data science, AI, and machine learning in a multi-tenant SaaS environment
Passionate advocate for innovation and the ethical use of AI/ML and it's ability to transform higher education
Ability to bridge gaps across business areas, operational business units, infrastructure team, and development teams
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Comfortable presenting to technical and non-technical audiences both internally and with clients and business partners.
Ability to rapidly learn new technologies and practices, mentor and coach others and foster a culture of innovation
Demonstrated ability of strategic planning and tactical execution
Results oriented with relentless focus on successful customer adoption of innovative capabilities
Desired Skills/Knowledge/Experience
Strong expertise in machine learning, statistical modeling, and predictive analytics.
Experience in designing and implementing end-to-end machine learning pipelines, including data preparation, feature engineering, model selection, training, evaluation, and deployment.
Understanding of the associated ethical and privacy risks associated and experience shaping solutions accordingly
Deep understanding of common machine learning algorithms and techniques, such as regression, classification, clustering, deep learning, reinforcement learning, and natural language processing.
Proficiency in Python, SQL, and JavaScript, and familiarity with relevant libraries and frameworks, such as scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Spark, and LangChain.
Experience working with large and complex data sets, both structured and unstructured, and knowledge of data management best practices, such as data governance, data quality, data security, and data privacy.
Familiarity with AWS and ability to leverage cloud services for scalable and cost-effective data processing, storage, and analysis. 
Proficiency with tools such as SageMaker, AutoML to accelerate machine learning
Knowledge of (or passion to learn about) the higher education domain and the challenges and opportunities facing institutions, such as student enrollment, financial aid, student success, student wellness, and fundraising.
What makes #Ellucianlife
Comprehensive health coverage: medical, dental, and vision 
Flexible time off  
Thrive Flex Program that allows you to contribute towards your health, financial or learning interests
401k w/ match & Bright Plan - to help you save for the future
Maternity & Paternity Leave 
Charitable leave – 40 hours/year
Telemedicine
Wellness

Ginger (mental health)
Wellbeats (virtual fitness classes)


Rethink & Wellthy– caregiver support
Diversity and inclusion programs which provide access to internal employee resource groups 
Tuition Reimbursement Assistance 
Professional development opportunities
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