Research Specialist

UNC-Chapel Hill • Chapel Hill, NC

6d • Hybrid

About The Position

This position may be eligible for a hybrid work arrangement that may include a partially remote work location, consistent with System Office policy. UNC Chapel Hill employees are generally required to reside within a reasonable commuting distance of their assigned duty station. The Data-Driven EnviroLab ( DDL ) at UNC -Chapel Hill seeks a Research Specialist to contribute research to our recently launched Center for Climate Leadership and AI-driven Integrity in Mitigation ( CLAIM ). CLAIM advances the credible use of artificial intelligence, especially generative AI and large language models (LLMs), to accelerate climate mitigation while safeguarding integrity in climate commitments. This Research Specialist position is meant for recent BS/BA or Master graduates and early career professionals interested in exploring and refining their research skills in preparation for a doctoral program. The ideal candidate will research the use of LLMs as tools for mitigation strategy and accountability and scrutinize them as systems that can reproduce bias, misinformation, or greenwashing unless carefully benchmarked. Working with an interdisciplinary team spanning computer science, climate policy, law, and social science, the candidate, based on their skills and background, could contribute to DDL’s research projects that: - Develop, adapt, and evaluate LLM /genAI systems for climate mitigation intelligence, especially for tracking and assessing commitments and actions by cities, regions, and non-state actors. - Design and validate benchmarks, metrics, and auditing pipelines that test the accuracy, credibility, fairness, and robustness of LLM outputs related to climate targets, disclosures, and policy claims. - Rigorously test genAI/ML models against misinformation, disinformation, and greenwashing, including stress-testing models under adversarial, low-resource, and multilingual settings. - Study how generative AI shapes real-world climate behavior, including impacts on corporate and subnational mitigation planning, transparency, and accountability. - Contribute to CLAIM’s broader mission: data collection, methodological innovation, open tools, papers, and policy-facing outputs that improve climate commitment integrity.

Responsibilities

• Develop, adapt, and evaluate LLM /genAI systems for climate mitigation intelligence, especially for tracking and assessing commitments and actions by cities, regions, and non-state actors.
• Design and validate benchmarks, metrics, and auditing pipelines that test the accuracy, credibility, fairness, and robustness of LLM outputs related to climate targets, disclosures, and policy claims.
• Rigorously test genAI/ML models against misinformation, disinformation, and greenwashing, including stress-testing models under adversarial, low-resource, and multilingual settings.
• Study how generative AI shapes real-world climate behavior, including impacts on corporate and subnational mitigation planning, transparency, and accountability.
• Contribute to CLAIM’s broader mission: data collection, methodological innovation, open tools, papers, and policy-facing outputs that improve climate commitment integrity.

What This Job Offers

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