Data & Society Research Institute - Senior Researcher, AI Civics

• Graduate degree or equivalent required. • Expertise in one or more sectors of interest to the program: K-12 education, labor, faith groups, or another institutional pillar of civic life as it relates to data-centric technologies and AI. • Minimum of 7- 10 years experience in research organizations or research environment within organizations (university, public policy, advocacy, government, etc), inclusive of graduate work. • Expertise in participatory research methods and strong research skills required. • Strong track record of seeing research through to publication. • Public profile and ability to connect with non-academic audiences via writing and speaking. • Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated experience working with colleagues to see research through to successful outcomes. • Ability to coordinate and conduct in-depth qualitative research. • Comfort with a fast-paced work environment at a rapidly evolving organization. • Strong organizational, analytic, and writing skills, and familiarity with academic literature in their discipline. • Ability to coordinate with other team members and the D&S community. • Doctoral degree in information science, education, social sciences, or similar field. • Established contributions to and/or relationships with relevant organizations within a theme of interest to the program, such as K-12 education, labor, faith groups, advocacy groups, or similar. • Experience with civic engagement, organizing, or similar activities, ideally in a nonprofit, labor, advocacy, research, or public interest technology context. • Experience in education, research, design, program evaluation, and/or policy applied in organizational contexts. • Familiarity with relevant academic literature across several areas, developing or deep mastery in one or two areas. • Willingness to dedicate a full-time level of effort to the AI Civics program for the duration of the program. • Core Competencies • Core Competencies • Strong communication skills; exhibits good listening and comprehension, as well as outstanding writing and editorial ability. • Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects with inter-organizational dependencies • Familiarity with issues around the intersection of technology and public power. • Strong analytical, reasoning, organizational, argumentation, and problem-solving skills. • Confronts difficult situations, adapts to changes in the work environment, maintains objectivity, able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events, changes approach or method to best fit the situation. • Leadership ability to make timely decisions, includes appropriate people in decision-making process, exhibits sound and accurate judgement. • Displays ability to facilitate groups to come to consensus. • Inspires respect and trust, exhibits confidence in self and others. • Organizational Values and Participation • Commitment to advancing organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion. • Actively participate in programs and professional development opportunities that work to ensure we continue our commitment to being an anti-racist and anti-discrimination organization. • To attend, where able, whole-organization activities such as staff meetings, retreats, town halls, listening sessions, workshops, training, and social events. • To participate, where able and appropriate, in contributing to the culture of D&S by participating in working groups and committees (e.g. DEIA Working Group). • To Apply, please submit the following items by July 30, 2026: • To Apply, please submit the following items by • July 30, 2026 • A cover letter explaining your interest in this role and why you would be a good fit for this position. • An academic CV is required. • The names, affiliations, and contact information for three (3) references. Please include the name, title, email addresses, and phone numbers for each reference. Only candidates who reach the final round of interviews may have their references contacted. • Applications will be reviewed beginning July 31, 2026.  Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] should you have any questions about the role. Questions about the opportunity or process will not reflect negatively on your application. • Practical Considerations • Data & Society has committed to safety requirements to protect our staff from the COVID-19 pandemic. We require that prospective employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before joining our organization. Please note that any reasonable accommodation request is not guaranteed to be approved, and we will comply with ADA-related requirements to evaluate the accommodation against business needs. • This is currently a full-time, remote position in the AI Civics program with an expected start date in September 2026 and an end date of May 31, 2028. This is a 2-year position, with no expectation for extension. Data & Society is based in New York City, and will for the foreseeable future operate as a Remote-First organization. The role may involve occasional onsite meetings in the future. • The salary range for this position is noted within this job posting. Where a prospective employee or employee is compensated within this salary range is dependent upon, among other factors, actual compensation for current/former employees in the subject position; market considerations; budgetary considerations; tenure, and standing with the organization (applicable to current employees); as well as the employee’s/applicant’s overall qualifications: knowledge, skills, pertinent experience, and abilities.