Data Scientist and Program Analyst

Role overview

17A is hiring multiple permanent Data Scientist and Program Analyst roles within a Strategy & Analytics team for a Texas-based nonprofit focused on improving economic mobility by reducing child poverty. The team is building a small, senior analytics function that combines analytical rigor with practical judgment and AI-enabled ways of working.

Two tracks are offered:

• Role 1 — Embedded Program Analyst: embed with a specific program team (e.g., housing, maternal health, violence/public safety) to translate program needs into analytical questions and deliver recurring analytical products.
• Role 2 — Strategy Analyst: work across issue areas (housing, economic mobility, (maternal) health, education, public safety), tackling ambiguous questions with imperfect data and unclear problem statements.

Responsibilities (both roles)

• Conduct end-to-end analysis: work with messy data, select appropriate methods, test findings, and thoroughly document sources, definitions, assumptions, and limitations.
• Frame the question first: identify the decision behind requests, challenge flawed assumptions, and define the smallest useful first version.
• Go beyond the literal answer: explain what results mean, surface adjacent insights, and raise questions stakeholders may not have considered.
• Communicate clearly: turn complex analysis into concise briefs, visualizations, and explanations for nontechnical decision-makers.
• Build lasting internal capabilities: contribute to internal standards, peer review, documentation, and shared analytical practices.

Role-specific responsibilities

Embedded Program Analyst

• Participate in daily meetings/work with a specific program team.
• Develop deep understanding of program strategy, stakeholders, data, and recurring decisions.
• Build analyses/prototypes/recurring products aligned with the portfolio’s operating context (not just initial requests).
• Remain a full member of the central Strategy & Analytics team.

Strategy Analyst

• Learn unfamiliar domains quickly (housing, economic mobility, health, education, public safety).
• Work confidently with imperfect data.
• Influence decisions across resource allocation, program design, and organizational strategy.

Requirements

• Early-career experience in consulting or a fast-paced analytical environment (implied).
• Ability to work with imperfect/messy data and handle ambiguity.
• Strong ability to communicate sophisticated ideas to nontechnical audiences.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience embedded in program/service delivery contexts (e.g., housing, health, public safety).
• Familiarity with AI-enabled workflows and building internal analytics capabilities (implied).