Postdoctoral Research Associate

Northeastern University • Boston, MA

8d • $60,315 - $85,193

About The Position

The Center for the Future of Higher Education and Work seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate to lead the research operations of The Future of Higher Education and Work at Northeastern University: Personalized Learning for Students and Customized Career Preparation, a study funded by the Davis Educational Foundation. The project tests whether real-time assessment and feedback during cooperative education placements accelerate students' development of durable skills — critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration — using a pre/post design with approximately 300 co-op students, paired with structured employer interviews and a library of just-in-time learning interventions. The Postdoctoral Associate will work under the Principal Investigators (Constance Yowell, Sasha Goldman, and Christine Bolzan) and alongside external collaborators with substantial latitude to shape the analytic approach and to lead publications and conference presentations from the pilot data.

Requirements

• PhD in education, sociology, psychology, measurement/assessment, public policy, or a related field, completed by the start date or within six months of hire
• Demonstrated quantitative research skills, including experience with longitudinal or pre/post designs and proficiency in R, Python, Stata, or SPSS
• Experience with survey administration (Qualtrics or equivalent) and rigorous data management practices
• Record of scholarly writing and evidence of the ability to communicate findings to non-academic audiences

Nice To Haves

• Qualitative interviewing and coding experience (NVivo, Dedoose, or Atlas.ti)
• Background in higher education, work-integrated learning, cooperative education, or workforce development
• Experience managing IRB protocols

Responsibilities

• Lead design and administration of the pre/post competency assessment pilot across participating colleges, including instrument selection, administration windows aligned to the six-month co-op cycle, and participation tracking
• Administer assessments and manage the merging, cleaning, and quality control of survey, assessment, and administrative data
• Conduct quantitative analysis of skill growth and produce findings for research, practitioner, and funder audiences
• Serve as day-to-day research liaison to assessment partners and collaborators at UC Irvine
• Maintain IRB protocols, the data management plan, and study documentation
• Lead drafting of the Davis Educational Foundation interim report (due February 28, 2027) and final report (due August 31, 2027)
• Author and co-author manuscripts, briefs, and conference presentations; support dissemination through practitioner networks

Benefits

• medical
• vision
• dental
• paid time off
• tuition assistance
• wellness & life
• retirement
• commuting & transportation

What This Job Offers

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