COSMOS - Postdoctoral Fellow II

University of Arkansas • Little Rock, AR

4d • Onsite

About The Position

The Postdoctoral Fellow position is a full-time, provisional position with the COSMOS Research Center (cosmos.ualr.edu) at the University of Arkansas and is funded through a grant or contract. The position renewal is contingent upon continued grant funding and satisfactory job performance. Postdoctoral Fellow will develop socio-computational models to advance our understanding of cyber campaigns run on social media, grounded in the dynamics of various social and communication processes such as group formation, activation, decentralized decision-making, and collective action. The Postdoctoral Fellow will help extract relevant open-source information in a guided snowball data collection manner by leveraging cyber forensics and deep web search-based methodologies. Postdoctoral Fellow will work with the research team in developing predictive models of various socio-technical behaviors on different social media platforms (including multimedia-rich platforms), and usable tools/software to identify key actors and key groups responsible for coordinating cyber campaigns and disseminating propaganda. This is an on-campus position. This position is governed by state and federal laws, and agency/institution policy.

Requirements

• Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Information Science, or a related discipline
• 2+ years of research experience in social media mining, computational modeling of social science theories, working with social network analysis tools, and examining cyber campaigns conducted on social media
• Research experience must be demonstrated through published research articles in leading journals and conferences relevant to the topics mentioned above
• Proficient in data analysis, modeling, machine learning, and AI, using Python and SQL, with extensive experience in libraries and frameworks such as Pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, Gensim, BERTopic, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and LLMs
• Skilled in data visualization using Matplotlib, Seaborn, and ggplot2, and experienced in managing research projects with tools like Git/GitHub, ClickUp, and Jupyter Notebooks
• Specialized in NLP, text mining, and graph analytics, including the use of NLTK, spaCy, TextBlob, VADER, and transformer-based models (e.g., BERT, GPT)
• Familiar with social network analysis (SNA) using NetworkX, igraph, and Gephi for complex network and graph-based data exploration
• Intermediate-level understanding of research methodology, data collection techniques, and statistical/analytical methods
• Familiarity with computational social science, including social network analysis and social media mining
• Experience in researching cyber campaigns and multimedia content on social media platforms
• Proficient in computer programming and data management
• Ability to engage effectively with individuals from diverse disciplinary backgrounds
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to present research findings clearly and collaborate effectively in team environments
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary research team

Nice To Haves

• Extensive research experience in computer programming and data management
• Grant-writing experience
• Strong publication record
• Experience with research grant writing for federal (e.g., NSF, DoD) and state (e.g., ARA) funding agencies and foundations
• Demonstrated ability to translate research outcomes into usable tools or applications
• Experience in mentoring students, researchers, data engineers, and volunteers
• Excellent organizational and project management abilities, with proven capacity to manage multiple priorities and deadlines

Responsibilities

• Conduct social media analysis to support research projects, including ideation, hypothesis generation, and evaluation of cyber behaviors
• Lead tasks in data collection, preprocessing, analysis, and interpretation
• Analyze multimedia-rich online information environments to identify patterns and trends
• Dissemination of findings through reports, publications, and presentations at conferences, scientific meetings, program reviews, and other venues
• Contribute substantially to the preparation of grant proposals and technical reports
• Develop software modules to integrate research outcomes into practical tools and applications
• Provide training and technical assistance to stakeholders on research findings, methodologies, and developed tools
• Project management (e.g., setting and tracking deadlines and progress of team members, providing reports to the supervisor)
• Mentor and supervise graduate students involved in research projects, preparing for a potential future academic career
• Organize and coordinate research team meetings (involving researchers and data engineers), lead discussions, and document meeting minutes
• Perform other duties and provide additional support as assigned

Benefits

• Benefits Eligible

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree