Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Research Associate

American Institutes for Research•Sacramento, CA

1d•Remote

About The Position

AIR’s Human Capital Strategies team is seeking an Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology Research Associate to support research, assessment development, and client-facing work across workforce, educational, and high-stakes assessment projects. This role will contribute to job analyses, competency modeling, validation efforts, data collection and analysis, psychometric coordination, item-development and field-test workflows, and project tracking. The position is well suited for someone who is detail-oriented, collaborative, and able to translate technical information into clear, useful summaries for internal teams and clients. This position has the flexibility to work remotely within the United States (U.S.) or from one of AIR’s U.S. office locations. This does not include U.S. territories. About AIR: Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to address some of the most pressing challenges in the United States and globally. We generate evidence and apply data-driven solutions that expand opportunities and improve lives for all.

Requirements

Master's Degree in I/O Psychology.
Background in supporting educational assessment, admissions testing, workforce assessment, program evaluation, or another structured research or measurement environment.
Experience reviewing technical or psychometric documentation carefully and synthesizing feedback from multiple stakeholders.
Familiarity with operational assessment programs, field test workflows, calibration or equating summaries, item development processes, quality-control review, or comparable activities.
Demonstrated skill in preparing materials for client meetings or participating in client-facing discussions involving technical content.
Proficiency using statistical or analytical software (e.g., R, Python, SAS, or Stata) to prepare data summaries, review outputs, or support troubleshooting.
Proven success working in a deadline-driven environment in which priorities must be balanced across multiple contributors or projects.
Strong collaboration skills across technical, content, and project-management functions.
Experience conducted quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis.
Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in multidisciplinary and virtual team environments.
Strong research and analysis skills, including quantitative and qualitative skills
Comfort working with detailed tracking files, structured documentation, and data summaries.
Effective communication skills, including the ability to produce concise technical summaries and client-ready materials.
Ability to translate technical or psychometric information into clear summaries for non-technical audiences.
Strong attention to detail, organizational and project-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines across more than one project.
Strong professional judgment, diplomacy, and ability to navigate complex client and stakeholder contexts.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite or equivalent productivity tools (word processing, Excel, presentation software).

Responsibilities

Conduct literature reviews and contribute to evidence syntheses. This includes searching for and identifying relevant literature, reviewing and extracting relevant insights, and drafting summary documents.
Conduct quantitative and/or qualitative data collection under the guidance of senior researchers, including assisting with the development of data collection protocols and surveys; supporting participant recruitment; conducting interviews and note-taking; supporting survey administration; and/or supporting data analysis and psychometrics activities.
Clean, code, and analyze data from interviews, observations, surveys, and administrative data using the appropriate research methods and software (e.g., STATA, R, NVIVO, or similar software).
Support psychometric coordination and field test planning by reviewing calibration and equating documentation, synthesizing subject matter expert (SME) input, helping define field test goals, tracking progress, and communicating status, gaps, and updates to project leadership and clients.
Create, maintain, and use tracking systems (e.g., Excel-based tools) to summarize SME recommendations, field test assignments, status updates, timelines, and progress toward development goals, while supporting internal quality assurance and version control.
Process and coordinate item development report feedback from the client, including making straightforward corrections, routing substantive issues to subject matter experts or senior staff, and ensuring changes are documented and completed accurately.
Conduct item-level and passage-level test development quality-control reviews, helping identify editorial, content, formatting, and documentation issues before materials move forward.
Organize recurring test development and technical meetings, including assembling agendas, gathering topic approvals, documenting action items, and following through on assigned next steps.
Draft and contribute to technical reports, policy briefs, memos, and presentations that describe and interpret findings of analyses clearly for policymakers, practitioners, funders, research and non‑technical audiences.
Support project management tasks, including tracking timelines, coordinating data‑collection activities, organizing meetings and contributing to internal quality‑assurance processes.
Contribute to business development activities, include capture planning and proposal development.