Researcher (Technical Lead - Research Engineering)

Description

About Us

The Center for Social Media and Politics (CSMaP) at New York University is a leading academic research institute studying the impact of social media and digital technology on democratic governance. As policymakers reshape laws governing the online sphere, our mission is to ensure these policies are informed by high-quality empirical evidence. We conduct rigorous research, advance evidence-based public policy, and train the next generation of scholars to strengthen democracy in the digital age.

The Opportunity

We're seeking a Researcher (Technical Lead) to join our innovative team. In this role, you'll be at the intersection of cutting-edge engineering and social science research, helping to build and maintain the robust data infrastructure and custom tools that power our work. As social media platforms evolve and data access becomes more challenging, your technical expertise will be crucial in developing innovative solutions to collect and analyze large scale digital data.

What You'll Do

We work on a wide range of research projects with various technical challenges. As a result, you will contribute to projects in many ways, including:   

• Lead the development of cutting-edge data collection tools and infrastructure to gather information from emerging and established social media platforms

• Collaborate with technically sophisticated social science faculty, postdocs, and PhD students to translate research ideas into actionable data plans

• Design and implement scalable solutions for processing large datasets using technologies like Spark and other large-scale data systems

• Collaborate on research using machine learning, including deploying and fine-tuning large language models

• Work with research teams to develop methods for collecting digital trace data from survey respondents, including web browsing, social media, and mobile app usage

• Architect and maintain complex data pipelines for processing large scale digital trace data, such as social media posts, news articles, and other online content

• Document codebases and projects to ensure knowledge transfer and research reproducibility

• Mentor students and research assistants in best practices for data engineering

• Present technical solutions to both technical and non-technical audiences

Why Join CSMaP?

• Impactful Work: Your technical contributions will directly support research that produces cutting-edge research, informs public policy, and strengthens democracy

• Innovation: You'll develop solutions to some of the most challenging problems in digital data collection and analysis

• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Work alongside leading scholars, data scientists, and policy experts across multiple disciplines

• Institutional Support: Access to NYU's resources, including computing infrastructure, academic networks, and professional development opportunities

• Professional Growth: Opportunity to publish research, present at conferences, and be part of a growing field

In compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary for this position is $120,000 to $150,000 depending on the candidate’s experience and qualification.

Qualifications

What You'll Bring

• Extensive experience working with large-scale data systems (Spark, Hadoop, BigQuery, etc.)

• Strong Python skills, with knowledge of other relevant programming languages

• Experience with web data collection approaches and web API frameworks

• Experience with machine learning and LLMs

• Proficiency with kubernetes and container frameworks

• Experience working in remote computing environments with large custom codebases (Bash, git/GitHub, etc.)

• Strong project planning skills, including requirement scoping, delegation, and timeline management

• Excellent communication and presentation skills

• Excitement about working with technically sophisticated social science PhD students

Nice to Have

• Experience with Redshift, Vertica, or similar database systems

• Graduate degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or related field

• Familiarity with R

• Interest in social sciences and the impact of technology on society

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

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NYU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its recruitment and hiring process without regard to age, alienage, caregiver status, childbirth, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, domestic violence victim status, ethnicity, familial status, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital status, military status, national origin, parental status, partnership status, predisposing genetic characteristics, pregnancy, race, religion, reproductive health decision making, sex, sexual orientation, unemployment status, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of minority sexual orientation or gender identity, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels.

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