Survey Scientist

Survey 160 seeks a full-time survey scientist to help advance our internal research agenda and manage survey projects with high-sophistication clients. Survey 160 is a research company that builds and uses proprietary software to conduct live interviewer SMS and text-to-web surveys on elections, public policy, and other topics. Survey 160 is an industry leader in the use of text messaging for survey research, regularly presenting research at national conferences.

This survey scientist will work with the Chief Research Officer and Director of Survey Operations to conduct quantitative research both in support of client projects and company-wide services. This work will involve managing and analyzing ongoing internal research projects, creatively contributing to our internal research agenda, using R to clean/sort/maintain survey data, and assist with ongoing client data-collection operations on an as-needed basis. We anticipate that this position will be about a 50-50 split between internal research and client-facing work. This survey scientist will also be responsible for externally presenting our research in a variety of venues, including writing for both scholarly journals and less formal outlets, as well as presenting at industry and scholarly conferences. 

The survey scientist role is fully remote and can be based anywhere, conditional on being authorized to work in the United States. For this role, we are looking for someone willing to work Eastern time hours or earlier. This position is ideal for candidates with advanced training (MA or higher) in a quantitative social scientific field (including but not limited to political science, sociology, economics, or survey methodology) looking for a role outside of academia that allows them to contribute to the research literature and make a difference in the our world through data collection. This is a permanent role as we seek to grow our team.

We are looking for candidates who are passionate about survey research, methodological innovation and advancing progressive values. Through this work, you will help Survey 160 achieve its mission of providing accurate and actionable public opinion research at affordable costs.

RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Manage internal research projects, including iterative A/B testing and full execution of internal surveys (including sampling, fielding, weighting, and analyzing survey data).

  • Manage high-sophistication client projects.

  • Develop presentation materials for internal research for both mass and scientific audiences.

  • Represent internal research and/or represent the company at select events.

REQUIREMENTS

  • Demonstrated experience in managing data collection, including but not limited to programming surveys, performing quality control checks, and/or managing projects for clients.

  • Prior academic or industry experience with survey design and/or survey data analysis, especially including list-based sampling, weighting, and preparation of toplines and crosstabs.

  • Ability to draw on scholarly research literature in order to creatively contribute to internal research to develop best practices for live SMS and text-to-web surveys.

  • Ability to communicate clearly and professionally, especially in writing, appropriate to be delivered to a client or other external audiences

  • Demonstrated fluency with R for cleaning and analyzing data; proven ability to debug own code and the code of others. 

  • Ability to collaborate well with remote colleagues.

  • Problem-solving, critical thinking & communication skills.

  • Highest degree of integrity, specifically with respect to access to sensitive client information/data.

  • A bachelor’s degree in a quantitative social science field plus at least two years of experience fielding and/or analyzing surveys.

  • Ability to travel for conferences and client meetings (about 5%)

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

  • Familiarity with Python, SQL databases, and/or Stata

  • Demonstrated ability for writing about research for both scholarly and mass audiences.

  • Demonstrated interest in advancing progressive values.

  • Master’s degree or Ph.D. in quantitative social science field

LOCATION

Survey 160 is a fully remote company, though all applicants must be eligible to work in the United States and be able to virtually meet with other team members during US time zone working hours. Willingness to work Eastern Time hours, or earlier, is preferred for this role. Occasional travel is required for this position.

COMPENSATION

The salary range is between $80,000 and $100,000, commensurate with experience. Survey 160 also offers health insurance benefits and paid time off.

CONTACT

For information about the position or to apply, contact Kevin Collins at kcollins[at]survey160.com. Applicants should submit a cover letter explaining their interest and qualifications for this role, a CV or resume, and a sample of their past quantitative research output that is relevant to this position and shows their skills for effective written communication. This writing sample can be either academic course work, scholarly publication, or more informal writing for non-technical audiences (e.g. research memos or blog posts).   

We will begin reviewing applications on November 3, 2025.  

Are you a great problem solver who takes pride in your work and in making a difference? This is a chance to gain experience building for scale and seeing impactful work in production. Please apply! Candidates of color, women and non-binary candidates, and LGBTQ candidates are especially encouraged. Survey 160 recruits, employs, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law. Survey 160 celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.