Social Science/Humanities Research Associate II, Barbaro Lab

Job Posting Title:

Social Science/Humanities Research Associate II, Barbaro Lab

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Hiring Department:

Department of Psychology

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Non-Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue Until Feb 18, 2026

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Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General Notes

The Daily Activity Lab is hiring a full-time lab manager to launch an NIH-funded research study to develop algorithms that use data from wearable sensors to assess the quality of early mother-infant interactions objectively, automatically, and remotely in natural home environments. Our ultimate goal is to use these tools to facilitate identification and prevention of early risks for substance use disorders. Our lab uses wearable audio, motion, and physiology recordings to characterize the processes of infant social-emotional development in everyday home settings. We are an interdisciplinary team bridging developmental science, clinical psychology, computer science, and electrical engineering. This would be an excellent position for recent college graduates interested in gaining research training and mentoring before pursuing graduate studies in affective science, clinical psychology or developmental science, or who those who are interested in working in the field of human-centered technology. The project will include women with a history of childhood maltreatment as participants.

The position will be initially funded for one year, but subsequent years may be available.

Purpose

To assist the Daily Activity Lab in launching an NIH-funded research study to develop algorithms that use data from wearable sensors to assess the quality of early mother-infant interactions objectively, automatically, and remotely in natural home environments.

Responsibilities

• The lab manager will be expected to coordinate the day-to-day operation and management of the research projects occurring in the Daily Activity Lab, including:
• Recruiting and scheduling research study participants
• Coordinating testing logistics and running sessions at participants’ homes and at UT
• Supervising and training research assistants to assist with study data collection including running sessions as well as offline video and audio annotation
• Managing study files, lab expenses, and departmental paperwork including IRB compliance documents
• Attending scientific meetings
• There is a possibility to contribute to technical aspects of the project (e.g., developing data processing pipelines in R or MATLAB) and/or data analysis and preparation of publications

Required Qualifications

• Master's degree in Psychology or related field or Bachelor's degree with 2 years of relevant research experience.
• Ability to use effective time management to ensure the tasks and goals for multiple projects are completed in order of priority.
• Demonstrated attention to detail.
• Outstanding interpersonal communication.
• Ability to travel to sessions at participants’ homes (may be reimbursed if driving self).
• Must be eligible to work in the United States on a full-time basis for any employer without sponsorship.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bilingual proficiency in Spanish and English. Experience with clinical research populations.
• Experience working with infants or young children.
• Experience with statistics software (R, SPSS), Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Experience with or interest in expanding computational skills (e.g., R or MATLAB).

Salary Range

$35,000-$50,256

Working Conditions

• May work around standard office conditions
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation
• Use of manual dexterity
• Climbing of stairs
• Lifting and moving

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Requir