Data Scientist - Head Engineer

About the position / About the job

Applications are invited for a full-time one-year position as Data Scientist with genuine interest for Artificial Intelligence and Education in the project "Learning Analytics Infrastructure (LAI): Infrastructure for data-driven research in Higher Education and profession-oriented learning". 

The position is located at the Department of Education, at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo. The LAI project is a two-year infrastructure pre-project funded by the Research Council of Norway, from seed funds intended to support the development of research infrastructure. 

The project is a collaboration between three major universities in Norway (Univiversity of Oslo, University of Bergen and NTNU) and will establish the foundation for infrastructure for data-driven research in educational research. The project will map and pilot the conditions of how to build a full-scale infrastructure to facilitate sharing and reuse of research data in established formats supporting FAIR principles, and set the baseline for the development of expertise to enable fundamental and applied data-driven research in HE.

Duties related to the position 

The data scientist is expected to contribute to the LAI project by supporting the development of a ‘proof-of-concept’ to facilitate technical trials of an infrastructure that enables researchers to collect, transfer and store digital data (including multi-modal data) from various digital learning environments, and support the analyses and visualisations of such data in a research ethical manner using data science and AI. This includes using and developing API's that support data communication and infrastructure development between various settings at the three universities and secure storage locations at Univ. of Oslo. In addition, the data scientist is expected to support the researchers’ development of learning analytics concepts, models and measurable constructs that will lay the groundwork for the infrastructure architecture. The work requires the data scientist to have skills to harvest, harmonize, store, analyse and visualise educational data using state-of-the art tools, some research experience to collaborate with educational researchers, and developer experience to utilize and build infrastructural resources in collaboration with partners at the three universities.

 Qualification requirements

• Relevant university education, with a minimum of a bachelor's degree. Master´s degree is desirable. Applicants are holding a combination of degree in data science, computer science, applied AI, Learning Analytics and/or related to fields to Educational Sciences.
• Knowledge of research infrastructure such as TSD and Educloud, and container technologies (e.g., Docker, Singularity).
• Experience with data engineering, including data pipelines, storage solutions, and management of structured and unstructured data. 
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English. Reasonable communication skills in a Scandinavian language are acceptable.

Desired qualifications

• Familiarity with cloud services and high-performance computing (HPC).
• Proficiency in backend development (e.g., Python, Node.js) and use of APIs for data access and integration (e.g., RESTful, xAPI, LTI).
• Experience with data analysis and visualization using relevant tools (e.g., R, Python, Tableau, or JavaScript-based libraries)
• Awareness of data privacy, GDPR, research ethics, FAIR principles for research data, and experience in collaborating with academic researchers
• A genuine interest in educational technologies, learning analytics, and multimodal.
• Research skills in educational sciences or social sciences are preferred. 

 What are we looking for in you? 

• Good analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work focused, independently and in collaboration with researchers
• Good communication skills and ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders

Personal suitability will be emphasized in the recruitment process.

Why should you choose us?

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development.
• A professianlly stimulating working environment.
• Good welfare schemes.
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities. 
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes.
• Salary in position as Over Engineer, position code 1087 in salary range NOK from 650 000 to 720 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.

Read more about the benefits of working in the public sector at Employer Portal.

Inclusive worklife and diversity at UiO

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

We hope that you will apply for the position. 

How to apply:

Your application should include:

• Cover letter (statement of motivation)
• CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work)
• Copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only)
• List of reference persons: 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number)

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for the position".

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we cannot, you will hear from us.