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Job Profile Title Research Specialist A

Job Description Summary

The research labs of Dr. John Trueswell and Dr. Lila Gleitman are hiring a full-time Research Specialist to help conduct language learning studies with children and adults.

Job Description

The research labs are hiring a Research Specialist to help conduct language learning studies with children and adults. Some of these studies will involve web-based eye-gaze studies of participants as they respond to spoken instructions. The successful candidate will have frequent interactions with postdocs, graduate students, research assistants, and will have plenty of opportunities for scientific involvement in all aspects of research projects including journal articles and conference presentations. Thus this position is an excellent stepping stone for someone planning to go to graduate school in psycholinguistics — individuals previously employed in this position are now star graduate students, postdocs and even professors within psychology and linguistics. Note that for the time being the position will be conducted remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions, with all data collection being conducted over the internet. Eventually the position will also include in-person data collection.

A valid driver's license and background check for working with minors are required for this position.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Assisting lab members and the PIs in the running of experiments
• Designing, running and analyzing experiments with infants, children, and adults
• Developing experimental materials, and data management/analysis
• Recruiting participants
• Coordinating and training undergraduate research assistants
• Assisting in planning lab events and meetings

Additional duties include management of human subject information, assisting in the reporting of information to funding institutions and Penn’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), and lab scheduling

Essential qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, Linguistics, Computer Science, or Cognitive Science
• 0-1 year of research experience, preferably with children or infants (an equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered).
• Excellent organizational and communication skills (especially with young children and families).
• Be detail-oriented, motivated, creative, organized, and able to work independently
• Experience is required in Microsoft Excel and statistical analysis software (preferably R, SPSS and/or MatLab).
• Be able to jump from low- to high-level amount of work smoothly and work under pressure when deadlines are approaching
• Preferred qualifications:
• Prior experience in psychology research and/or computational modeling.
• Proficient programming skills, ideally in Javascript, Python, and/or R.
• Flexible work availability is desirable.

Job Location - City, State Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School School of Arts and Sciences

Pay Range $35,568.00 - $57,600.00

Affirmative Action Statement

Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

Special Requirements

Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.