Research Scientist

Job Title:

Research Scientist Department:
Research and Evaluation

Reports to:

Lead Research Scientist

Location:

Remote

Schedule:

Full-time, 9am - 5pm EST Monday - Friday Salary Grade: $69,000K - $105,000K

Formerly the Mental Health Association of New York City (MHA-NYC), Vibrant Emotional Health’s groundbreaking solutions have delivered high quality services and support, when, where and how people need it for over 50 years. Through our state‑of‑the‑art technology‑enabled services, community wellness programs, and advocacy and education work, we are building a society in which emotional wellness can be a reality for everyone.

Position Overview Under the supervision of the Lead Research Scientist, the Research Scientist supports applied research, evaluation, and evidence synthesis for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and other Vibrant research and evaluation activities as applicable. This role designs and conducts independent and collaborative studies, develops and refines data collection tools and methods, and conducts quantitative and qualitative analyses to assess practices, outcomes, and the quality of evidence in crisis service settings.

The Research Scientist supports 988 departments in evaluation design and implementation, contributes to literature reviews, and prepares analytic summaries, reports, manuscripts, and other research products. Specific assignments align with the scientist’s area of expertise and organizational priorities to support the continuous improvement of the 988 Lifeline.

• Design and conduct independent and collaborative research and evaluation studies that support 988 Lifeline priorities, in coordination with the Lead Research Scientist.
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses using 988 Lifeline data, survey data, pilot data, and other relevant sources.
• Analyze crisis service data to assess practices, outcomes, and opportunities for service improvement.
• Design and support research, pilot studies, and evaluation activities using methods appropriate for crisis service settings.
• Develop, refine, and evaluate surveys, measurement instruments, and other data collection tools to support reliable and meaningful findings.
• Apply appropriate research frameworks and methods to assess the effectiveness, feasibility, and quality of practices, interventions, and measures.
• Support 988 departments in evaluation design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation of findings, with guidance from the Lead Research Scientist as appropriate.
• Maintain and update the biannual literature review, including evidence searches, study summaries, citation tracking, and synthesis of findings.
• Prepare analytic summaries, reports, manuscripts, conference abstracts, presentations, briefs, and other dissemination materials.
• Collaborate with Research and Evaluation colleagues, Lifeline departments, Data Analytics, Data Governance, and other internal partners to support coordinated research and evaluation work.
• Interpret findings considering operational context, research design, data quality, methodological limitations, and implications for practice.
• Maintain transparent documentation of methods, analytic decisions, limitations, and findings.

• Strong understanding of applied research, evaluation design, quantitative and qualitative methods, and evidence synthesis.
• Familiarity with research frameworks, study design, measurement approaches, and the application of findings to practice.
• Ability to design studies, data collection tools, and analytic approaches that are feasible in crisis service or public health settings.
• Proficiency in statistical software such as RStudio or comparable tools for quantitative analysis and data visualization.
• Ability to conduct or…