Research Associate: Aerospace Cognitive Engineering

SJSU Research Foundation

1d • $85,000 - $95,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Psychology at San José State University is collaborating with civil service scientists from the Aerospace Cognitive Engineering Lab (ACE) at NASA Ames Research Center. This role involves collaborating on, supporting, and overseeing safety-critical aeronautics and space automation systems to further NASA's research. The research applies principles from cognitive science, human factors engineering, human-systems integration, and systems engineering to complex, safety-critical systems. The lab focuses on defining tasks, performance metrics for automation functions, and predicting interaction performance using human and system performance models. A key aspect of this role is ensuring the lab's infrastructure (systems, software, displays, peripherals) is fully functioning, well-maintained, safe, secure, and updated to support current and future research. The ideal candidate will be comfortable supervising a complex laboratory ecosystem, ensuring its continued support for research, and proposing operational improvements.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in software engineering, biomedical engineering, or related discipline.
• 5+ years working in a NASA research laboratory setting.
• Experience overseeing laboratory systems and equipment.
• Experience with flight simulation development.
• Methodical and detail oriented with solid analytical skills and problem-solving ability.
• Capacity and willingness to adopt new methodologies and skills in line with core responsibilities.
• Ability to work effectively and efficiently in culturally and organizationally diverse research teams.
• Ability to manage and support the technical and operational needs of a scientific laboratory and collaborate cross-organization.
• Skill in integrating hardware and software to provide custom solutions based on research needs.
• Knowledge of laboratory system design, interactions, and requirements.
• Ability to write and maintain technical documentation.
• Ability to build software and physical mockups for cockpit display.
• Knowledge of network and IT infrastructure security.
• Work within time constraints and under pressure.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with NASA's Vertical Motion Simulator is desired.
• Knowledge of scientific experimentation and the various phases therein (experimental design, research methods, data mining & analysis, etc.) desired.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the management and maintenance of the ACE Lab’s infrastructure, ensuring availability, reliability, and security.
• Understand the lab’s research agenda and map its capabilities and any new technological requirements to research goals.
• Develop and maintain simulation software for flight training systems.
• Configure and integrate hardware systems including control loaders, display networks, and cockpit interfaces.
• Design and prototype cockpit layouts using CAD models and physical mockups.
• Optimize terrain and visual database performance.
• Implement and support secure network environments.
• Write and maintain technical documentation.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Four company health insurance plans to choose from
• Employer-paid dental and vision for both employee and eligible dependents
• Life, AD&D, LTD with supplemental coverage opportunities
• 14 paid federal & state holidays
• 403 (b) employee contribution plan component and a 403 (b) employer contribution component, which vests immediately
• Vacation-hour accruals and separate sick-hour accumulations
• Employee discounts
• Paid training and professional-development conferences

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level