George Washington University Looking for Postdoctoral Associate Full Time

Job Description Summary

GW has everything you need to succeed in discovery. Outstanding research, state-of-the-art facilities and world-class faculty support discovery and innovative solutions. Researchers and faculty across campus advance interdisciplinary and emerging research and scholarship. Our active GW Postdoctoral Association welcomes your engagement in social and professional activities as you join our research teams. Research guides, coding and data management solutions as well as extensive online journals from GW Libraries help to guide your study. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) supports the research infrastructure and facilitates several institutional research initiatives.

The George Washington University Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics (IDDP) seeks exceptional candidates for a full-time, academic research position at the rank of post-doctoral fellow. IDDP is a multidisciplinary research initiative intended to strengthen democratic dialog and institutions through research and engagement with policymakers, journalists, and the public. The position is for a one-year term.

The postdoctoral associate will work closely with Professor Catie Bailard, who leads the Meaningful Open Source Indicators (MOSI) cluster. MOSI combines the subject-area and technical expertise of researchers working across a wide range of disciplines-including engineers, data scientists, computer scientists, computational social scientists, and traditional social scientists-to investigate the use of digital technologies to disseminate, promote, and orchestrate deleterious online content and behavior. The candidates will work on topics related to digital harms and the threat they pose to democratic societies. Candidates would be technically capable researchers who are also interested in asking bold, new questions with data. This position is located at GW’s Foggy Bottom campus in Washington, DC, and will report to Dr. Rebekah Tromble.

This position is primarily a temporary/training position in which the candidate would play a substantive role in planning and conducting research by using quantitative and qualitative methods to collect, analyze and report on data from digital and online sources. In collaboration with the Principal Investigators, this role will participate in the planning of independent research, will analyze and interpret data, will publish results, will represent the university at conferences and meetings, and may develop new theories and methodologies. Extensive professional experience using R, Python or similar tools are a key requirement for the position, and successful candidates should show potential to excel in tasks related to data collection, network analysis, text-as-data, and natural language processing at very large scale. This position may also help the Principal Investigators to lead and direct the work of research assistants and other staff. This role performs work under the supervision of experienced researchers.

Postdocs will design, organize and conduct specialized and advanced experiments using established scientific protocols, troubleshoot and design new protocols, summarize findings and publish results in research journals, under the general supervision of a faculty member. In some cases, postdocs will assume general responsibility for general scientific operations in the lab, and/or provide supervision and guidance to laboratory staff, trainees, and other researchers.

Duties and Responsibilities:
* Collaborate with affiliated researchers and faculty pursuing more narrowly specified projects in addition to the pursuit of individual project interests.
* Pursue projects that utilize or directly collect large-volume data from digital platforms to understand the dynamics of information spread in the online public sphere,
* Perform data analysis using R and/or Python or similar software tools, as well as assisting with large scale collection, cleaning, and organization of data assets.
* Classify online activity and social media accounts of interest using both quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as assisting affiliated researchers and research staff in this task.
* Engage with the scholars and policymakers in the area in relation to the ongoing project.
* Performs other related duties as assigned. The omission of specific duties does not preclude the supervisor from assigning duties that are logically related to the position.

A Postdoctoral Associate:
* holds a PhD or equivalent degree;
* develops skills by participating in scholarly projects that are actively mentored by a member of the university faculty;
* receives financial support in the form of a salary that is typically funded by grants, contracts or departmental funds secured by a faculty mentor; and
* has a limited term of up to five years at GW.

In collaboration with experienced researchers, this role will participate in the planning and conduction of discovery research, data analysis and interpretation, preparation of materials for publication, presentations at conferences and meetings, and may develop new theories and methodologies. This role can expect timely advice as to research directions and career planning for a future independent career.

Performs other related duties as assigned. The omission of specific duties does not preclude the supervisor from assigning duties that are logically related to the position.

Special Instructions to the Applicant:

Appointments are limited-term and are designed for those who have recently received a doctorate. Appointments are made to academic departments with the approval of the department head and may require senior officer approval. Appointments are usually for not less than one term and are normally not renewed beyond a total of five years. This appointment is not intended for long-term, indefinite, or career appointments.

Minimum Qualifications

Qualified candidates will hold a Doctoral degree or comparable doctoral degree in a related discipline. Degree must be conferred by the start date of the position.

Preferred Qualifications

• PhD in fields including political science, computational social science, computer science, social psychology, complex systems, judgment and decision-making, social network analysis, or other related fields.
• Completion of upper level (undergraduate) and/or graduate level coursework involving computer programming.
• Fluency in one or more of the following: R, Python, and similar languages.
• Familiarity with both social science and computational science, though not necessarily mastery of both.
• Strong communication skills. The ability to work in a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary environment.

Typical Hiring Range
Commensurate with Experience. How is pay for new employees determined at GW?

Campus Location: Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C.

College/School/Department: Columbian College of Arts & Sciences (CCAS)

Family: Research and Labs

Sub-Family: Laboratory Research

Stream: Individual Contributor

Level: Level 3

Hours Per Week: 40

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm

Will this job require the employee to work on site?
No

Employee Onsite Status
Hybrid

Telework: Yes

Required Background Check
Criminal History Screening, Education/Degree/Certifications Verification, Social Security Number Trace, and Sex Offender Registry Search

Special Instructions to Applicants

• Employer will not sponsor for employment Visa status.
• Open to F1 visa holders who are seeking an OPT postdoc opportunity but the employer will not sponsor for employment visa status.
• 1-2 published papers, or equivalent writing samples that best demonstrate your expertise and fit for the position.
• One research statement (1-3 pages) that outlines both your research achievements and agenda, and your service and outreach activities and plans.
• Names and contact information of three professional references.
• Provide a link to candidate’s professional webpage and Google Scholar page (if applicable).
• Appointments are limited-term and are designed for those who have recently received a doctorate. Appointments are made to academic departments with the approval of the department head and may require senior officer approval. Appointments are usually for not less than one term and are normally not renewed beyond a total of five years. This appointment is not intended for long-term, indefinite, or career appointments.

Internal Applicants Only? No

Posting Number: R001929

Job Open Date: 06/01/2023

Background Screening
Successful Completion of a Background Screening will be required as a condition of hire.

EEO Statement

The university is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer that does not unlawfully discriminate in any of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.