Manager, Data Science & Analytics

Manager, Data Science & Analytics

Reports to: Chief Product Officer

Location: Remote, Atlanta preferred (~quarterly travel + occasional customer visits)

Comp: $175-200K base + 10% bonus

About RethinkFirst

Rethink First is on a mission to inspire hope and power potential. We are a market leader in behavioral and mental health technology, serving employers, schools, government agencies, behavioral health providers, clinicians, and families worldwide. RethinkFirst is transforming the behavioral health landscape by inspiring and empowering individuals with behavioral health challenges and those who support them. We continue to invest in data science, analytics, and technology that improve outcomes and enable value-based care.

Role Overview

• RethinkFirst is seeking a curious, impact-oriented Manager, Data Science to lead data science strategy across RethinkBH, RethinkCare, and RethinkEd.
• Sits within Product to keep data science strategic.
• Player-coach: makes the key technical calls (modeling approach, clustering, etc.) and stays hands-on until work is stable enough to hand to Engineering to operationalize.
• Leads 1 full-time direct report and 2 contractors, who own dashboard building and execution once work is defined.
• Ideal for a data science leader who blends analytical rigor with product intuition, and who has managed people.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a small team (1 FTE, 2 contractors). Set goals, define work, and unblock execution.
• Set the vision and strategy for data science and for how BI/reporting is structured. Direct the team that builds; don’t build dashboards yourself.
• Make hands-on technical decisions on modeling approach, clustering, and methodology, then hand off to engineering to operationalize.
• Clean, process, and explore data from multiple sources.
• Develop models and algorithms that quantify user needs, draw insights from user-centered data, and tailor the product experience to individual users.
• Partner with the CPO, CTO, COO, and with Product, Engineering, research, UI/UX, and curriculum teams to incorporate advanced analytics, ML, and AI into RethinkFirst’s products.
• Identify, evaluate, and support adoption of promising third-party data science and AI solutions.
• Develop, evolve, and integrate new metrics, advanced analytics, ML, and AI into products.
• Give data warehouse and engineering teams clear recommendations on pipelines and data architecture that improve analytics and AI performance.
• Communicate findings, tradeoffs, and recommendations to technical and executive audiences.

Qualifications

• M.S. or Ph.D. in a relevant field (data science, computer science, statistics, cognitive science, psychology, psychometrics, education, behavior analysis, economics, public health). [Confirm with Rachel: Ph.D. preferred vs. required]
• 8+ years of relevant professional experience.
• 2+ years of direct people-management experience in data science or analytics.
• Expertise in statistical modeling, predictive analytics, or psychometrics (e.g., item response theory).
• Proficiency in SQL and Python or R.
• Experience creating scalable, production-level code, or partnering with engineering to operationalize models.
• Experience analyzing behavioral, social science, healthcare, or education data.
• Familiarity with visualization tools (Tableau, Power BI, or similar).
• Ability to balance scientific rigor and creativity with fast-paced, practical delivery.
• Sample of work (research report, dissertation, publication, conference presentation, or business case).

Preferred

• SaaS, healthtech, edtech, or behavioral health experience.
• Strong affinity with education, student learning, or behavioral health.