Job Description

Job Description

There are jobs. Then there are careers that foster you to be a force for good in the world. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) is a world-leading safety research center working with vehicle manufacturers, tech companies, suppliers, and government agencies to bring about the safe development and deployment of vehicle technology on our roadways. The world of transportation is under transformation, so every day we are approaching problems differently to make an impact in the world.

VTTI is seeking qualified, ambitious data analysts interested in answering complex questions surrounding mobility. Having personnel that can wear many hats and contribute across the broad spectrum of research projects is critical. In this role, it is anticipated that the incumbent will be capable of working independently and with multidisciplinary teams to improve transportation safety through cutting-edge research. The researcher will be responsible for the management of a diverse portfolio of projects and people and will serve as a technical mentor to junior team members. In addition, the analyst will increasingly serve in a technical role as a U.S. Crash Data expert.

A key responsibility of this role will be to serve as a U.S. crash data technical expert for the institute. This role will include analysis and interpretation of crash data to support traffic safety-related research. The principal data resources will include FARS, NASS-GES, NASS-CDS, CRSS, and CISS; in-depth understanding of those resources will be important to formulate appropriate research hypotheses, conduct suitable analyses accurately and efficiently, and properly interpret the results.

In collaboration with sponsors, the incumbent will develop research questions, examine the feasibility of approaches, propose strategies to develop efficient code, and suggest potential validation strategies, as applicable. The researcher will additionally lead the preparation of a variety of research outputs suitable for all levels of management and sponsors. This output may include monthly or quarterly progress reports, flowcharts, work plans, presentations, as well as interim and final reports.

Required Qualifications

• Graduate degree in related field, such as engineering, epidemiology, computer science, business information technology, mathematics, or statistics. In lieu of an advanced degree significant work experience and capabilities in high performance computing or transportation research will be considered.
• Proficiency with relational database programming such as SQL
• Experience with scientific computing packages such as Python, R, SAS and MATLAB.
• Ability to develop algorithms using written, documented, concise, and reliable code to perform various analysis tasks and subtasks of larger analyses.
• Strong analytic and problem-solving skills
• Ability to manage a broad project portfolio in an unstructured environment.
• Supervisory and project management experience; Ability to lead project teams and oversee project schedule, budgets, and deliverables.
• Experience in preparing and delivering comprehensive presentations and reports suitable for all levels of management.
• Creative, independent, and highly motivated, with excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Strong work habits and the ability to work independently as well as with a team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience doing large-scale data analysis work using different data sets.
• Experience conducting analysis of traffic crash data using SAS, for FARS, NASS-GES, NASS-CDS, CRSS, and CISS.
• Comprehensive knowledge of traffic crash data collection practices, analysis methods, and appropriate interpretation of results.