Learning Scientist- Early Literacy

Job Title: Learning Scientist, Early Literacy

Location: Remote (Can work from anywhere in Unites States)

Who We Are

NWEA is a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that supports students and educators through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy services, professional learning and school improvement services that fight for equity, drive classroom impact and push for systemic change in our educational communities. For nearly 50 years, NWEA has developed innovative pre-K-12 assessments, including their flagship interim assessment, MAP Growth and their reading fluency and comprehension assessment, MAP Reading Fluency. For more information, visit NWEA.org to learn more.

What You'll Do

The Learning Scientist, Early Literacy brings together deep expertise in how young children learn to read and develop as readers and writers with rigorous research methods to design and evaluate theoretically coherent products. The immediate focus of this role is early learning, where you will help build substantive models of how early literacy develops, capturing the skills and understandings students acquire and how they build on one another. These models are encoded as ontologies and knowledge graphs that underpin product development, and you will carry out studies to understand whether those products work for students and teachers in the early grades (PreK-5). While early literacy is the immediate focus, the role offers room to contribute more broadly as priorities evolve, whether across other areas and grade-bands of ELA such as comprehension and writing.

As an Individual Contributor, the Learning Scientist will think flexibly and creatively about research applications within specific product constraints, roll up their sleeves for hands-on work, and clearly communicate ideas and findings to non-experts.

Responsibilities

• Model Development: Apply educational research to develop and refine models of early student learning in early literacy, supporting the design, implementation, and validation of those models, including investigating early-grade learning attributes and their functional relationships.
• Research & Validation: Operationalize quantitative and/or qualitative research methods to design and execute studies that validate products and make explicit the cognitive models of early student learning.
• Hands-on Analysis: Provide hands-on support that benefits from a learning-expert perspective, including learning-focused user research and data analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of specific product features and understand student learning outcomes.
• Team Collaboration: Work closely with other learning scientists, engineers, UX researchers, product managers, and subject matter experts to develop and iteratively refine products that help early-grade teachers make instructionally relevant decisions.
• Documentation: Create clear, detailed documentation of your work, including white papers, internal memos, technical reports, and standard operating procedures.

What You'll Need

Education & Experience

• A PhD or EdD in literacy/reading education, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, curriculum and instruction, educational leadership, learning sciences, or a related field.
• Experience as an early-grades classroom teacher a plus.
• Deep expertise in early literacy, grounded in the science of reading, including foundational skills and how reading difficulties such as dyslexia emerge, paired with broad working knowledge across ELA such as comprehension and writing.

Research & Analytical Skills

• A strong background in qualitative or quantitative research methods applied to learning sciences studies:

• Quantitative track: Experience applying and interpreting quantitative methods, including classical statistical methods, regression, and latent variable models (e.g., longitudinal, multilevel, or item response data), with proficiency in tools such as R or Python.

• Qualitative track: Experience conducting, coding, and interpreting qualitative methods (e.g., cognitive interviews, grounded theory, design-based research), with proficiency in tools such as ATLAS.ti, MAXQDA, or NVivo.

• Detailed familiarity with content learning standards and learning models/learning trajectories in early literacy.

• Familiarity with interpreting student performance data.

• Experience applying learning sciences to the design or revision of educational environments for diverse student populations.

• Proficiency with spreadsheet and productivity software (e.g., Microsoft 365), and a willingness to learn new tools and take an AI-first approach to the work.

Communication & Collaboration

• Stakeholder Engagement: Communication skills (oral, written, and business) necessary to function effectively as a primary contact with internal project teams and to translate research findings for non-experts.
• Project Management: Project management skills necessary to lead all learning-science aspects of a small-to-medium project, or a portion of a large and complex project.
• Process: Comfort following existing processes, including agile processes and tools.

Personal Attributes

• Drive: Willing to dig into hands-on, individual-contributor work, including less glamorous stretches, with efficiency and a positive attitude.
• Flexibility: Comfortable pivoting as priorities shift and moving between projects and grade bands as needed.
• Bridge-building: Curious about other teams and able to build connections across groups to see and serve the bigger picture.
• Imagination: Demonstrates imagination by looking for new ways of seeing, thinking, and working.
• Inclusivity: Listens, encourages, and respects differences; treats all people fairly, with honesty and transparency, and encourages open communication and feedback.

Physical Requirements

• Might be in a stationary position for a considerable time (sitting and/or standing).
• Constantly operates a computer.
• Must be able to collaborate with colleagues via conference calls and online meetings.

Salary range: 95k - 105k.

Application Deadline: The application window for this position is expected to close on August 2, 2026. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. The posting may be available past this date but is not guaranteed.

HMH is fully committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to attracting, retaining, developing and promoting the most qualified employees without regard to race, gender, color, religion, sexual orientation, family status, marital status, pregnancy, gender identity, ethnic/national origin, ancestry, age, disability, military status, genetic predisposition, citizenship status, status as a disabled veteran, recently separated veteran, Armed Forces service medal veteran, other covered veteran, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. We are dedicated to providing a work environment free from discrimination and harassment, and where employees are treated with respect and dignity. We actively participate in E-Verify.