Principal Data Analyst

About the role

The University of Pennsylvania is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. The position integrates biostatistics, data science, and data engineering to support and advance the Department of Neurosurgery’s research and data infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with faculty investigators, residents, and fellows on research projects across the full study lifecycle, from study conception through dissemination.
• Provide consultation on study design, cohort definition, feasibility assessments, and analytic strategy.
• Serve as statistical lead and analytic strategist across research projects, including development of analysis plans, selection of appropriate methodology, and communication of findings through written reports and presentations.
• Apply advanced statistical methods, machine learning, and data science techniques to address complex clinical and translational research questions.
• Identify research opportunities aligned with departmental priorities and translate clinical questions into rigorous research designs.
• Conduct and oversee data management and statistical analyses supporting departmental research initiatives.
• Contribute to grant proposals and clinical trial design, including statistical sections, study design consultation, and power/sample size calculations.
• Lead the design, evaluation, and evolution of the department’s centralized research data infrastructure supporting neurosurgical research, scalable analytics, and machine learning workflows.
• Assess existing datasets and workflows to identify inconsistencies, redundancies, and opportunities for improved data organization and accessibility.
• Architect and maintain data pipelines integrating Epic Clarity and other internal or external data sources.
• Govern data integrity, platform lifecycle, and scientific data stewardship for departmental research data assets.
• Develop curated analytic datasets and standardized variable definitions to support reproducible research.
• Enable investigators to access well-structured data resources for research and analytic projects.
• Collaborate with institutional data partners (e.g. Penn DnA) to align departmental data infrastructure with enterprise data strategy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 4 to 6 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

Pay

$83,500.00 - $104,792.00 Annual Rate

Schedule

Not specified

Benefits

Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts, Tuition, Retirement, Professional and Personal Development, University Resources, Flexible Work Hours, Penn Home Ownership Services, Adoption Assistance