Psychology Research Associate I

Job Posting Title:

Psychology Research Associate I

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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:

Non-Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

May 26, 2025

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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

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https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/resources-for-faculty-staff/staff-leadership-academy/.

Purpose

Lori Holt, a Professor of Psychology at UT-Austin and Principal Investigator of the project, is seeking a Research Associate to assist with laboratory management and coordination of studies. The primary research in the lab focuses on understanding the cognitive and neural bases of auditory processing, especially as it relates to speech, among adult participants. Under the direction of Professor Holt, the candidate will work on federally funded research to uncover the basis of listening behavior. Current projects focus on learning, selective attention, natural communication, and psychophysics. Laboratory studies include collecting multimodal behavioral data, eyetracking, computational modeling, and electroencephalography data. Data collection occurs online and in person. The Research Associate will collaborate with team members and work closely with Professor Holt to coordinate day-to-day lab operations and research. This is a fixed-term position with a duration of one year.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities will vary day-to-day depending on the needs of the laboratory, for example: 

• Assisting with new experiment set-ups (hardware and software) 
• Collecting in-person and/or online data. Summarizing data with supervision 
• Drafting and editing research reports, with supervision 
• Coordinating laboratory meetings. Lending research support to laboratory team members. Assisting the PI with training laboratory members and maintaining lab documentation.
• Searching and summarizing the literature 
• Assisting with grant reporting, ethics approvals, financial reconciliations, and laboratory record keeping
• Coordinating, training and working with undergraduate research assistants 
• Performing related duties as needed to advance the research project 

Required Qualifications

• BA or BS in psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience or related field 
• Prior research experience 
• Coding experience (Python, R, Matlab, e.g.) 
• Fluency in speaking and writing in English 
• Flexibility and an ability to learn quickly 
• Excellent interpersonal skills 
• Strong initiative in consistently and creatively meeting project goals 
• Strong written and oral communication skills 
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a scientific team 
• Curiosity and a willingness to learn new skills independently 
• Accuracy and attention to detail and high levels of organization 
• Must be authorized to work in the United States, on a full-time basis for any employer without sponsorship

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• ​Previous experience with electroencephalography
• Statistics and/or signal processing training
• Previous exposure to auditory cognitive neuroscience or a strong interest in perception, learning, cognition, or related fields
• The ideal candidate will make a two-year commitment  

Salary Range

$40,000 annually

Working Conditions

• The position will involve working in standard office environment, with the potential for repetitive use of keyboard at a workstation 

Required Materials

• Resume/CV

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

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:

• 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.