Job Posting Title:
Social Science/Humanities Research Associate III
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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:
Exempt from FLSA
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Earliest Start Date:
Sep 01, 2026
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Position Duration:
Expected to Continue Until Aug 31, 2027
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Location:
UT MAIN CAMPUS
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Job Details:
General Notes
Dr. Nicholas Duran, Associate Professor of Psychology at UT Austin, is building a new cognitive and behavioral data science lab and seeks a Social Science/Humanities Research Associate III to serve as the lab’s technical lead—designing, building, and maintaining the multimodal behavioral data-collection infrastructure and the computational pipelines that process audio, video, motion, physiological, and language data. This is a senior, hands-on technical role under the direct supervision of the Principal Investigator.
This is a one-year fixed term position.
Purpose
Dr. Nicholas Duran, Associate Professor of Psychology at UT Austin, is building a new cognitive and behavioral data science lab and seeks a Social Science/Humanities Research Associate III to serve as the lab’s technical lead.
Responsibilities
Technical infrastructure and data pipelines. Design, build, configure, and maintain the lab’s multimodal behavior-capture systems (motion capture, cameras, microphones, and multichannel recording hardware); develop, document, and maintain data-processing and analysis pipelines for audio, video, motion, physiological, and language channels; and apply and integrate automated tools, including large language models, for transcription, annotation, and feature extraction.
Data analysis and technical mentoring. Lead data quality assurance and reproducible analysis workflows under PI direction; write and maintain code and documentation in Python, R, or MATLAB; and provide technical guidance and training to undergraduate research assistants on data collection, coding, and pipeline use.
Operations and data management. Maintain shared drives, code repositories, and datasets consistent with IRB and UT data-management requirements; and support equipment procurement, inventory, and lab coordination in collaboration with the PI and the Psychology Business Office.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data science, cognitive science, psychology, linguistics, engineering, or a related field.
Demonstrated programming experience (e.g., Python, R, or MATLAB), including experience building or maintaining data-processing or analysis pipelines.
Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, ability to work independently, and excellent written and oral communication.
Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
Preferred Qualifications
Two or more years of research-laboratory, technical, or data-engineering experience, including hands-on experience with multimodal or multichannel behavior-capture systems (motion capture such as Vicon, OptiTrack, Qualisys, or Captury; eye-tracking; physiological recording; or VR).
Experience with machine-learning or large-language-model tooling for transcription, annotation, or feature extraction, and with version control (e.g., Git) and reproducible research workflows.
Interest in communication, behavioral dynamics, language and motion research, or behavioral data science more broadly.
Salary Range
$45,000 - $55,000
Required Materials
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 the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.
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Retirement Plan Eligibility:
The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.
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Background Checks:
A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.
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Equal Opportunity Employer:
The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.
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Pay Transparency:
The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.
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Employment Eligibility Verification:
If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.
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E-Verify:
The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:
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Compliance:
Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.
The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.