Hybrid Senior Data Scientist – AI Engineer

at The Richard L. Duchossois Foundation

• Job title: Senior Data Scientist – AI Engineer
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Senior
• Salary: $150,000 - $175,000 per year
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Tech skills: Airflow, AWS, Azure, BigQuery, Cloud, ETL, Python, SQL
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Chicago, United States

About the role

• Senior Data Scientist & AI Engineer advancing RLD Foundation’s data strategy in a collaborative environment. Building data infrastructure and conducting analytics to support social impact initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Play a central part in advancing the foundation’s data strategy in a highly collaborative environment.
• Building and owning RLD Foundation’s core data infrastructure and AI-enabled analytics platform.
• Conducting advanced analytics to generate insights that inform grantmaking strategy and organizational learning.
• Architect the technical systems that enable high-quality data work across the foundation while also serving as a lead analyst who delivers clear, actionable insights to program teams and leadership.
• Contribute to broader data strategy development and selective grantee- and field-facing data capacity building initiatives.
• Report to the Director of Data Strategy & Insights and work alongside a Senior Research and Insights Analyst.
• Shape systems, tools, and analytical approaches within an early-stage data environment.
• Bring technical leadership to the team, with autonomy to architect solutions and make strategic technical decisions.

Requirements

• Typically 7+ years of experience in data science, engineering, analytics, AI, or related role
• Mission alignment: Demonstrated commitment to social impact and the values of the Foundation
• Data infrastructure: Experience with cloud data platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Azure, BigQuery, AWS), data warehouse architecture, and building automated ETL/ELT pipelines (e.g. dbt, Airflow)
• Programming expertise: Advanced proficiency in SQL, and Python and/or R for data analysis, modeling, and automation
• Data analytics and modeling: Strong foundation in statistical methods, predictive modeling, and machine learning; experience applying these methods to real-world problems
• Practical experience with modern AI/ML concepts (LLMs, embeddings, transformers); experience applying AI/ML methods to real problems.
• Communication: Ability to explain complex concepts clearly and patiently, adapting to match individual learning needs
• Technical versatility: Comfortable learning new tools, technologies, and working across the data stack
• Version control: Proficiency with Git/GitHub for collaboration and code management
• Preferred Qualifications: 8-10+ years of experience and/or an advanced degree in data science, engineering, analytics, AI, or related role
• Experience in civic technology, nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, or government
• Exposure to working with vector databases, embeddings, or modern document stores
• Experience integrating structured and unstructured data for analysis
• Familiarity with responsible AI, model evaluation, and human-in-the-loop workflows
• Experience building web-based data products or interactive applications (dashboards, data explorers, mapping tools)
• Experience providing technical assistance or data capacity support to external partners
• Experience strengthening data ecosystems or collaborative data infrastructure across multiple organizations
• Knowledge of data governance, privacy, and ethics frameworks
• Personal Qualifications: Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team and with people who hold diverse perspectives
• Highly developed emotional intelligence and demonstrated ability to use interpersonal skills and political acumen in respectful and collaborative ways
• Flexibility, commitment to teamwork, curiosity, and a sense of humor
• Capacity to work amicably in a small office with high volume of work, as well as a deep sense of responsibility and accountability
• Ability to make decisions, justify recommendations and be responsible and clear with stakeholders
• A record of recognizing and acting on opportunities to continuously improve
• High degree of professional ethics and integrity
• Ability to work autonomously.

Benefits

• RLD Foundation maintains a hybrid work environment where employees are expected to work in the office three days a week with occasional additional days as necessary.