Head of Research & Impact / Lead Researcher

🌐 Remote | Global⏲️ Full-time, flexible schedule (40+ hours per week)💰 Competitive compensation based on experience and skills🗣️ English proficiency required🔥 This is a rare opportunity to serve as the scientific and analytical engine of a fast-growing AI education nonprofit. You will lead the effort to rigorously prove and improve the learning outcomes of hundreds of thousands of students in Jordan, India, and Nigeria, with millions more to come.🔥 You will immediately begin generating insights from a large-scale J-PAL RCT (May 2026 endline) and the millions of data points collected by our platform every day.About Darsel🔢 Darsel is a global education technology nonprofit focused on improving math learning outcomes for primary and secondary school students in low- and middle-income countries.💻 We build accessible AI-powered learning tools, such as WhatsApp chatbots, that help students learn math and provide support to teachers. We partner closely with governments and school systems to scale our solutions and reach the world’s most vulnerable learners.🎓 Darsel has helped 400,000+ students learn math since launching from Harvard and Stanford in 2021, largely as a result of government partnerships in Jordan, India, and Nigeria. We’re on track to meaningfully impact millions of students in the coming years.📏 We take impact measurement very seriously. We’ve already conducted three internal RCTs and a large-scale RCT is currently underway in partnership with J-PAL. Our robust data infrastructure processes millions of daily data points, allowing us to continuously test, learn, and optimize our products at scale.The Role🔎 Darsel is seeking a Head of Research & Impact / Lead Researcher* to design, execute, and oversee our global research agenda. This is a high-impact, “full-stack” research role, effectively serving as an entire research department. You will be the strategic architect and driver of our research agenda while personally performing the technical data analysis required to generate actionable insights.* The expected title is “Head of Research & Impact,” but this unique role is flexible and can be adapted based on the candidate’s skills and preferences (e.g., Lead Researcher / Data Scientist / Economist).🤝 The Head of Research & Impact will report directly to Darsel's founder/CEO and work closely with the entire leadership team (including engineering, content, and program leaders), fostering a culture of research and experimentation across the organization.🌐 The role is remote-first with no geographic requirement, although we hope you’ll be able to attend key events periodically (e.g. research conferences).⚠️ This is a dynamic role in a lean team. You will need to have the seniority to make strategic decisions and represent Darsel at the highest levels, and you must also be a hands-on practitioner who is excited to run your own regressions and manage raw datasets.What You’ll Work On1. 🚀 Research Strategy, Design and ImplementationLeading the end-to-end design and implementation of Randomized Control Trials (RCTs), in close partnership with program teams and external research partners.Designing and implementing internal rapid A/B tests across product features, program delivery models, and content strategies to continuously optimize student adoption and learning outcomes.Designing pragmatic and scalable monitoring and evaluation protocols that integrate real-time data for continuous assessment and learning.Developing a comprehensive research roadmap that balances long-term impact evaluations with rapid-cycle A/B testing for product optimization.2. 📊 Technical Execution & Data AnalysisDriving the end-to-end technical research process, including cleaning, structuring, and integrating large-scale data and conducting advanced statistical and causal inference analysis (e.g., running regressions and models) to precisely identify what works, for whom, and why.Building, strengthening, and automating analytical workflows and internal research tools to maximize the efficiency and rigor of data processing and analysis (in partnership with Darsel’s backend engineers).Transforming complex statistical findings into clear, actionable product and program recommendations and intuitive internal dashboards for key stakeholders.3. 🎤 Research Dissemination & AdvocacyAuthoring high-quality research papers, evidence briefs, and impact reports for government partners, donors, and the broader education community.Representing Darsel in academic and policy circles, including presenting research findings at premier global conferences (e.g., CIES, WISE) and owning relationships with research partners.Providing technical "proof points" to support engagements with governments, donors, and other stakeholders.About YouMission-Driven: You are deeply motivated by Darsel’s goal to improve learning outcomes for millions of students in low- and middle-income countries.Full-Stack Researcher: You have the gravitas to present at a global conference, but you are equally happy to dive deep into a dataset. You are a self-sufficient hands-on executor who doesn't need external analytical support.Methodologically Rigorous: You have meaningful experience with RCTs and a deep understanding of causal inference. You are committed to scientific integrity even in fast-paced startup environments.Data-Fluent & Code-Ready: You have expert proficiency in Stata, R, or (preferably) Python for statistical analysis is essential. You are comfortable working with large datasets and automating your analytical workflows.Strategic Communicator: You can translate p-values and effect sizes into compelling narratives for donors, government officials, and non-technical teammates.Action-Oriented "Builder": You thrive in small teams and are excited by the prospect of building Darsel’s entire research and impact infrastructure from the ground up.Note: We anticipate that successful applicants will have a PhD or rigorous Master’s degree (e.g. MPA/ID) as well as relevant and significant real-world experience.ProcessInterested candidates should apply through the following link:https://airtable.com/appS7o2XlGcxgkJGE/pag5Xrs41BXLr0sUp/formInterviews are conducted on a rolling basis. Questions about the role can be sent to hiring@darsel.tech.We look forward to receiving your application, and hope you'll join us on our journey to improve math learning outcomes for millions of students worldwide.