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Salary: USD 145,000 - 175,000 / annual
Lemnis, a public charity focused on transformative learning systems, seeks a Principal Learning Scientist to lead the organization's internal research agenda across its portfolio of K-12 and workforce-focused companies.
This is a principal-level individual contributor role reporting to the Vice President of Research. You will own the collective's internal research strategy, identifying evidence gaps across Lemnis companies and building studies, frameworks, and measurement models to fill them. You'll work closely with the Director of Research and the Learning and Impact team to surface unanswered questions about how students engage, belong, and succeed across the learner-to-earner journey.
Key responsibilities include:
• Conducting a standing audit of research gaps across the Lemnis portfolio and partnering with business leads to build a prioritized, portfolio-wide research agenda focused on student engagement, belonging, self-efficacy, and persistence
• Designing and executing applied research studies—RCTs, quasi-experimental designs, longitudinal analyses, social network analysis, and psychometric work—that generalize across companies and product lines
• Building and maintaining measurement models for engagement, belonging, self-efficacy, purpose, and future readiness that hold up across companies, populations, and product types
• Translating research findings into concrete, actionable product and feature recommendations; partnering with teams to embed behavioral science principles into features and user experience
• Equipping Sales and Marketing with research-informed data points, proof points, and ROI narratives; developing reusable evidence assets (one-pagers, slide content, talking points, visualizations)
• Contributing to the Center for Ethical AI (CEAI) by co-authoring frameworks, white papers, and standards that shape ethical AI practice in student engagement
• Mentoring research scientists and analysts as the collective grows; representing Lemnis research at conferences and convenings
You will ensure methodological rigor, ethical execution, and alignment with Center for Ethical AI standards across all research. You'll maintain a shared internal evidence base so findings from one Lemnis company inform strategy at another, and build a theory of change and logic model for the collective.
REQUIREMENTS:
• Doctorate in psychology, learning sciences, education, or a related behavioral science field
• 8+ years designing and executing applied research, including randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental designs, and mixed-methods studies
• Deep expertise in belonging, identity, motivation, and social-emotional development, and how these shape student engagement and persistence
• Fluency in advanced quantitative methods (e.g., structural equation modeling, social network analysis) alongside qualitative methods (interviews, focus groups, narrative and digital storytelling)
• Background in education technology, including assessment and efficacy research or large-scale learning-outcomes studies
• Demonstrated ability to translate research into product decisions, not just publications
• Experience developing evidence assets that support sales, partnerships, or business development
• Familiarity with ethical AI principles, IRB processes, and responsible research practices in education
• Comfort operating across multiple companies or business units, synthesizing evidence into a shared, portfolio-wide narrative
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to move between academic rigor and executive clarity
• Understanding of how K-12 districts and post-secondary institutions make decisions and define success (preferred)
