Research Assistant 1

McGill University

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

This Part-Time Research Assistant 1 position is based in Prof. Jeremy Cooperstock’s research lab in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The Research Assistant assists the research team in conducting research projects for the IMAGE project (https://image.a11y.mcgill.ca) in McGill’s Shared Reality Lab and, as required, is responsible for the functional supervision of Undergraduate/Graduate Research Assistants. Under the supervision of the Research Supervisor and under the technical guidance of senior team members, conducts research and development activities using established protocols, processes, and procedures within the IMAGE platform and its deployment ecosystem. Key Deliverables Under Current Funding: Contribute to the design and development of textbook diagram experiences for users of the Monarch Android pin array tablet in collaboration with Humanware, including real-world deployment of the IMAGE platform. Support adoption of IMAGE by external groups by contributing to development, deployment, and technical enablement activities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in software engineering or related field
2+ years of software development experience writing code that has been deployed into production for real-world use. (examples required)
Hands-on experience selecting, integrating, and deploying LLM-based solutions
Software architecture, design, and documentation, including creating usable solutions when working with less technical designers and HCI practitioners
Strong proficiency in server-side languages such as NodeJS or Python
Frontend Web development, e.g.,Typescript/HTML/CSS/Javascript
Linux command line and scripting
Familiar with (or able to quickly learn) Docker, containerization, client/server design
Git, and Github flow method of raising and merging pull requests
Chrome browser extension development and deployment
JSON schema definition and use
Mentoring junior designers/developers
Quebec resident (mandatory)
Able to work on-site at McGill downtown Montreal campus at least one day/week
Fluent English

Nice To Haves

Experience writing conference and journal papers and presenting results in academic venues
French (spoken and/or written)
Experience working with the blind/low vision community

Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Research Supervisor and with technical guidance from senior research staff, contributes to research and development activities supporting the IMAGE platform and related systems, following established protocols, processes, and methodologies.
Executes experimental and developmental activities, including maintaining and improving the IMAGE platform through systematic bug identification, security updates, testing procedures, and the implementation of new features across client and server environments.
Conducts research-driven system integration and prototyping, including the development and evaluation of agentic systems leveraging state-of-the-art large language models (LLMs), and supports experimental deployments and validation processes.
Maintains and operates research and production environments, including machine learning infrastructure and associated system components, ensuring reliability for ongoing experimental and analytical work.
Compiles, analyzes, and interprets system performance and usage data to support ongoing research objectives, assess system behaviour, and inform iterative improvements.
Implements recommended improvements to existing research methods, system architectures, deployment processes, and overall platform performance, based on empirical findings and testing outcomes.
Contributes to the planning and preparation of research and technical documentation, including experimental design materials, system documentation, and reporting outputs.
Supports and may provide guidance to junior research contributors, including students and developers, in the execution of assigned research and development activities.
Participates in the dissemination of research findings, including the preparation of technical reports, documentation, and other knowledge translation materials.
Performs related administrative and coordination tasks in support of research project activities.