Research Scientist Associate II

Job Posting Title:

Research Scientist Associate II

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Hiring Department:

Media Engagement, Center for

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue Until Aug 31, 2026

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Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General Notes

This position is fixed term with an end date of 8/31/2026. It may or may not continue depending on the availability of funding.

Purpose

As a Research Scientist Associate II, you will be an integral part of our research team, working on research related to social media and politics. This position is ideal for individuals who have recently completed or are completing their undergraduate studies or relevant master's program and are looking to gain research experience before pursuing a Ph.D.

Responsibilities

• Produce original research using large scale data and computational methods.

• Conduct literature reviews and background research.

• Write reports and peer-reviewed articles on research produced.

• Collect datasets of social media and legacy media.

• Manage coordination of time on projects, onboarding and day-to-day communication.

• Assist in managing of graduate and undergraduate students.

• Assist with grant writing, NSF submissions and reporting.

Required Qualifications

Master's degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Computational Social Science, Communication Studies, Political Science or a related field OR Bachelor's degree with at least 2 years of related experience.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong interest in pursuing a Ph.D. in a related discipline.

• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python (Preferred) or R.

• Experience in data analysis, machine learning, deep learning and statistical modeling.

• Experience using deep learning libraries such as TensorFlow or PyTorch.

• Experience with data manipulation and analysis using SQL.

• Track record of research productivity, including published articles in peer-reviewed journals or conferences.

• Passionate about working on large scale computational models to study political discourse on social and mainstream media.

• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.

• Effective communication skills to convey complex findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Salary Range

$60,000

Working Conditions

• Typical Office Environment

• Flexible Work Arrangements, or hybrid work options, are available

Required Materials

• Resume/CV

• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor

• Letter of interest

• Transripts of masters/undergradute coursework (unoffical copies are accceptable)

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 Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for t