Research Analyst 1/2 (PCN 20-7208)

The Alaska Department of Corrections promotes public safety through secure confinement, reformative programs, and offender management planning. The Research Analyst 1/2 will design and conduct research, query and analyze correctional data using databases and Python, apply machine learning and AI methods, support data quality in ACOMS, and produce recurring reports and responses to data requests.

What you'll do:

• Design, plan, and conduct research projects on Alaska’s correctional population—collecting data from primary and secondary sources and building the datasets behind the Department’s reporting
• Query relational databases (T-SQL) and develop analyses in Python—using Jupyter notebooks, Quarto, and VS Code—to combine, clean, analyze, and report data drawn from multiple systems
• Apply modern methods, including machine learning, generative AI, and agentic engineering, to help modernize and expand the Department’s research and reporting
• Support the integrity of the Alaska Corrections Offender Management System (ACOMS)—running quality-control reports, documenting discrepancies, and helping correct data so the Department’s numbers can be trusted
• Produce recurring products and respond to data requests—including the annual Offender Profile, agency performance measures, and queries from internal and external partners such as the Bureau of Justice Statistics

What they're looking for:

• Reasoning: Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions
• Quality Assurance: Knowledge of the principles, methods, and tools of quality assurance and quality control used to ensure a product fulfills functional requirements and standards
• Attention to Detail: Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail
• Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in * **Analysis and Assessment:** Uses information technology in accessing, collecting, analyzing, maintaining, and disseminating data and information. * **Problem Solving:** Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations. equivalent to those typically gained by: Education and/or experience which included research or statistical analysis
• Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in * **Analysis and Assessment:** Uses information technology in accessing, collecting, analyzing, maintaining, and disseminating data and information. * **Problem Solving:** Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations. * **Technical Competence:** Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues. equivalent to those typically gained by: Education and/or progressively responsible experience which included investigative research or statistical analysis
• A security clearance issued by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) is necessary to use APSIN

Benefits:

• Health coverage, including employer contributions toward medical, vision, and dental insurance; for General Government employees, coverage is provided through a union health trust.
• Employer-paid Basic Life insurance, with additional coverage available depending on bargaining unit.
• Group-based insurance premiums for term life insurance covering the employee, spouse or qualified same-sex partner, and dependents.
• Group-based insurance premiums for long-term and short-term disability insurance.
• Group-based insurance premiums for Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance.
• Group-based insurance premiums for long-term care insurance for the employee and eligible family members.
• Group-based insurance premiums for Supplemental Survivor Benefits.
• Employee-funded flexible spending accounts for eligible health care or dependent care expenses.
• Membership in the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)/Teachers' Retirement System (TRS).
• Matching employer contribution into a defined contribution program for new employees.