Lab Manager and Research Assistant

UVA Health

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia seeks a Lab Manager and Research Assistant to work with Professors Benjamin Converse and Abigail Scholer. The Lab Manager will be responsible for day-to-day management of multiple research projects, splitting their time equally each week between two professors’ social psychology and behavioral science labs. This will involve administering behavioral studies in the lab and in field settings; preparing datasets and conducting preliminary analyses; and collaborating to produce and program experimental materials and stimuli. The Lab Manager will provide training and supervision of undergraduate research assistants and coordinate data collection. The Lab Manager will also be involved in lab administration tasks: tracking expenses, ordering equipment or materials for studies, leading lab meetings, and meeting with the principal investigators and graduate students regularly about progress and goal-setting and other duties as assigned. The position is an excellent opportunity to gain multidisciplinary research experience in preparation for graduate study in social psychology, organizational behavior, or a related field. The ideal candidate will have an entrepreneurial mindset, ability to work independently, and a willingness to take initiative and find creative solutions to problems. They should be highly organized and attentive to detail. Start date is negotiable but will ideally begin in July 2026. This is not a remote position.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in psychology, data science, public policy, or a related field by July 2026.
Two years of behavioral laboratory experience or work as a research assistant; experience gained over four academic semesters (or equivalent) as a student will be considered.
Familiarity with social psychology/behavioral science research methods and IRB management.
Experience administering studies in Qualtrics.
Strong interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills.
Proficient in Excel and an additional statistical program such as R, SPSS, SAS, STATA.
Able to occasionally work nonstandard hours (e.g., evenings, weekends), depending on data-collection needs.

Nice To Haves

Experience working semi-independently on an original behavioral science research project (e.g., undergraduate honors thesis).
Experience with platforms that manage human subject pools (e.g., SONA).
Prior experience with data science methods (e.g., web scraping, data cleaning and manipulation)
Demonstrated interest in computer programming (e.g., Javascript, Python, JSON) and/or assisted coding using GenerativeAI platforms (e.g., Claude Code).

Responsibilities

Administering behavioral studies in the lab and in field settings
Preparing datasets and conducting preliminary analyses
Collaborating to produce and program experimental materials and stimuli
Providing training and supervision of undergraduate research assistants
Coordinating data collection
Tracking expenses
Ordering equipment or materials for studies
Leading lab meetings
Meeting with the principal investigators and graduate students regularly about progress and goal-setting
Other duties as assigned