Job Posting Title:

Research Associate

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Hiring Department:

Texas Advanced Computing Center

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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

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Location:

PICKLE RESEARCH CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General Notes 

The Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin is one of the leading supercomputing centers in the world, supporting advances in computational research by thousands of researchers and students. TACC’s Evaluation Services team designs and conducts rigorous research and evaluation services to provide actionable insights to inform and enhance internal and external programs and their impacts.

TACC fosters a culture of innovation, passion, and fun by encouraging staff members to actively collaborate to investigate the latest technologies, team up for charities, and celebrate successes together. TACC promotes a healthy workplace by helping employees achieve balance between their personal and professional lives in order to increase employee engagement, job satisfaction, and overall well-being.

Candidates are required to upload a resume, letter of interest, unofficial copy of transcript, and the names of three references in order to be considered for this position. 

UT Austin offers a competitive benefits package that includes:  

100% employer-paid basic medical coverage Retirement contributions  Paid vacation and sick time Paid holidays 

Please visit our Human Resources (HR) website to learn more about the total benefits offered.

Purpose

Position will be responsible for developing and implementing formative and summative evaluations of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education related projects, research grants, and contracted evaluation services.

Responsibilities

Grant Writing Assistance and Research/Evaluation Design

Meet with potential clients to provide consultation on STEM education related research and evaluation design.Assist potential clients with the identification of key performance indicators and metrics, appropriate quantitative or qualitative data collection methods and instrumentation, and analysis techniques to address research and evaluation questions.Assist potential clients with the development of logic models for grant proposals.Develop evaluation component of grant proposals in coordination with potential clients.

Conduct Research and Evaluations

Design and manage process and outcome evaluations of STEM education related programs.Collaborate with external organizations (e.g., colleges, research centers, data depositories) and internal partners (e.g., EPIC staff) to obtain data for analysis.Assist EPIC staff and external clients with Institutional Review Board process and documentation.Develop data sharing agreements, formalize Institutional Review Board documents, and Memoranda of Understanding on research and evaluation projects.Develop and/or identify appropriate content-specific instrumentation for evaluating project metrics as needed.Conduct interviews, focus groups, site visits, and/or classroom observations as needed.Collaborate with Center staff to manage the secure storage and handling of all evaluation data.Conduct quantitative research and evaluation (e.g., survey design, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics).Contribute to the research/evaluation team, collaborating with EPIC faculty, staff and graduate research assistants as needed.Write project evaluation component of required reports to funding agencies.Create data visualizations and briefs to communicate evaluation findings to multiple audiences.

Dissemination of Findings/Services

Write and submit research articles and presentation proposals.Disseminate research and evaluation results at national and regional conferences in coordination with research/project team.Represent TACC at local, regional and national events, promoting research and evaluation services.

Required Qualifications

Ph.D. in Mathematics or Science Education, Educational Psychology, or other STEM Education-related fields with a strong background in STEM education research.Experience in program evaluation and in collaborating with a research team to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data.Proficient in statistical analysis software such as STATA, SPSS, R or SAS.Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Five or more years of program evaluation experience.Content knowledge and skills in conducting research in Mathematics, Science, Engineering, or Computer Science education.Recent peer-reviewed publications in STEM Education fields.

Salary Range

$90,000 + depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

Typical office environment.Travel may be required (10-15%) for data collection.

Required Application Materials

Resume/CVLetter of Interest3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisorUnofficial copy of transcript

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume in the first step of the online job application process. Then, any additional Required Materials will be uploaded in the My Experience section; you can multi-select the additional files or click the Upload button for each file. 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 Jobs. Before you apply though, 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. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will need to click the Upload button multiple times in order to attach your Resume, References and any additional Required Materials 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. This position has the option to elect the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) instead of TRS, subject to the position being 40 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:

E-Verify Poster (English) [PDF]E-Verify Poster (Spanish) [PDF]Right To Work Poster (English) [PDF]Right To Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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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.