California, United States · Remote OK
$120k–$135k/yr
Sown To Grow (STG) is a K12 education technology platform that empowers schools to improve student social, emotional, and academic health through an easy and engaging check-in and reflection process. In a short weekly ro…
Skills: Python, Machine learning, Natural language processing, LLMs, Pandas
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Build and refine NLP/ML models using both classical and modern LLM-based techniques to extract insights from student and educator text. Partner with product and engineering teams to deploy these models into user-facing features that support educators and students.
Requires a bachelor's degree or higher in a quantitative field and at least 2 years of experience in data science or machine learning. Candidates must have strong Python skills and experience with the full machine learning lifecycle, including NLP and LLM implementation.
Sown To Grow (STG) is a K12 education technology platform that empowers schools to improve student social, emotional, and academic health through an easy and engaging check-in and reflection process. In a short weekly routine, students check in on how they are feeling and reflect on the strategies that are working best for them (or new ones to try), and teachers respond with support and coaching. School leaders and student support staff use real-time reporting on students' emotions and reflections to proactively intervene to support student needs. The system also includes built-in screeners, supporting curriculum, and powerful artifacts of growth.
At the heart of STG is a natural language and machine learning system that turns unstructured, deeply human reflection text into structured, trustworthy insights - reading the quality of student reflection and the strength of the student–educator relationship, and surfacing insights that help educators prioritize the kids who need support most. Built on research-validated models and extended with modern AI, our work serves one guiding philosophy: make this routine lasting and sustainable for all users by making it more engaging, meaningful, and efficient.
We've spent years turning these insights into real-time, user-facing features and hardening the technical backbone to serve millions of students at low latency. Now we're pushing that foundation further with the latest in AI - building richer, more contextual, AI- and expert-guided support that helps teachers respond to students more effectively, and continually expanding the range of problems we take on. We're looking for a Data Scientist who can move fluently across this whole surface - from feature engineering and model validation to production ML systems, and from classical NLP into the responsible application of modern LLMs.
You'll join a small data science / machine learning team - small enough that you'll know everyone's name and see your work ship in weeks, not quarters - working closely with product and engineering. We're deliberate about our toolkit: classical, feature-driven ML is the validated core of what we do today and isn't going anywhere, while modern LLMs open new frontiers we're actively investing in. We don't reach for the trendiest technique or cling to the familiar one - we choose the right tool for each problem, and we're looking for someone who enjoys making that call with us. Your work will directly shape how educators understand and support students, at a scale that reaches historically underserved communities.
We understand schools. Our founding team spent years working in schools and districts, and our team today includes educators, social workers, and experienced administrators. We work alongside schools every day, including some of the largest school districts in the country (e.g., Los Angeles Unified, Metro Nashville Public Schools, New York City, Metro Madison Public Schools, Oakland Unified, and many more).
We're dedicated to impact. We're backed by highly selective, innovative funds and research institutions - including Imagine K12 (now Y Combinator EdTech), the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences, the U.S. Department of Education, NewSchools Venture Fund, and Digital Promise - and we've invested heavily in research to make sure our product creates real, measurable, positive change in classrooms.
We're passionate about equity. Most of our school and district partners serve predominantly low-income communities that have been historically underserved. Our product is designed to close gaps, not widen them, so every student has an equal opportunity to thrive.
We're small, but mighty. Our tight-knit, agile team includes people who've built and shipped at organizations like Meta, IBM, Capital One, and Palantir. We're determined to build a scalable product that positively impacts millions of students.
A student writes a few sentences on a Tuesday about a week that's been hard. A teacher reads it and writes back. A counselor checks in too, if more support is needed. Everything we build serves that small loop - making kids feel seen, heard, and supported by the educators around them, reliably, at the scale of hundreds of thousands of students.
As a Data Scientist at Sown To Grow, you'll be shaping the DS/ML foundation the entire product rests on, not inheriting someone else's. The insights you build get used by real educators, about real kids, in the week they're written. That's a rare combination of technical depth and immediate human consequence. You'll also have unusual latitude for a team our size: room to shape the technical direction, choose the right approaches, and see your work reach real classrooms rather than sit in a notebook.
If you don't check every box, we'd still love to hear from you. Some of the strongest people on our team grew into parts of their role after they arrived.
Our team is at its best when it reflects the range of students we serve. If you've taken a less conventional path into this work, or you don't see yourself represented much in tech, we especially hope you'll apply.
Full-time base salary range = $120,000 – $135,000, plus performance-based bonuses and equity compensation (incentive stock options / ISOs).
Every student seen, supported, and learning at their best. #alwaysgrowing
Sown To Grow is a comprehensive SEL and student support platform that empowers schools to improve student social, emotional, and academic health through an easy and engaging reflection and feedback process. Teachers, counselors, principals, and district administrators have a real-time understanding of student emotions and can proactively intervene to support student needs. The system includes expert PD/training, adult SEL, built-in SEL assessment, supporting curriculum, and powerful artifacts of growth. Sown To Grow is funded by the US Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, Digital Promise, and New Schools Venture Fund. Our mission is to have every student seen, supported and learning at their best.
Offices: Oakland, California 94610, US
Every student seen, supported, and learning at their best. #alwaysgrowing
Sown To Grow is a comprehensive SEL and student support platform that empowers schools to improve student social, emotional, and academic health through an easy and engaging reflection and feedback process. Teachers, counselors, principals, and district administrators have a real-time understanding of student emotions and can proactively intervene to support student needs. The system includes expert PD/training, adult SEL, built-in SEL assessment, supporting curriculum, and powerful artifacts of growth. Sown To Grow is funded by the US Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, Digital Promise, and New Schools Venture Fund. Our mission is to have every student seen, supported and learning at their best.
Offices: Oakland, California 94610, US
