Temporary Research Aide

Cornell University•Ithaca, MI

2d•Onsite

About The Position

This Temporary Research Aide position supports faculty-led research under the supervision of Jenny Sabin as part of the URoL:EN NSF-funded project. The appointment builds on sustained prior contributions to the project that have been mission-critical to advancing core research objectives. The role is essential to ensuring continuity in the next phase of research, including the completion of two academic papers and a final set of functional prototypes scheduled for this summer. The position focuses on advancing material and fabrication testing, with an emphasis on robotic fabrication workflows and related software development. This is a short-term, in-person appointment requiring specialized technical knowledge, prior experience within the lab environment, and familiarity with established project workflows to maintain research momentum during a critical phase of project completion.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience in robotic fabrication, computational design, or closely related technical fields.
Proficiency with programming and scripting languages (e.g., Python, C#, or similar) used in fabrication workflows.
Experience with digital modeling tools and advanced fabrication technologies.
Proven ability to work independently on complex technical tasks with minimal supervision.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and detail-oriented skills.
Prior experience contributing meaningfully to interdisciplinary research projects in a lab or academic setting.
Prior experience in the Sabin Lab or a comparable research environment involving robotic fabrication systems is required.
Demonstrated contributions to the URoL:EN NSF project or highly similar research workflows, ensuring immediate effectiveness in the role.
Ability to contribute to both software development and experimental research execution.
Familiarity with existing project codebases, fabrication pipelines, and research objectives strongly preferred.
Strong organizational and documentation skills to support final project deliverables, including prototypes and publications.

Responsibilities

Continue development and refinement of software tools for robotic fabrication systems, building directly on prior work completed within the project.
Implement, test, and optimize computational methods and scripts supporting material behavior and fabrication processes.
Lead and support the next phase of material and fabrication testing, ensuring consistency and continuity with prior experimental results.
Collaborate with faculty and research staff to integrate computational outputs with robotic fabrication systems and material experiments.
Contribute to the development of final prototypes and assist in preparing results for two forthcoming academic publications.
Maintain and organize codebases, digital models, and research documentation to support reproducibility and project continuity.
Assist in analyzing fabrication results and synthesizing findings for internal review and external dissemination.
Provide ongoing technical and research support to ensure timely completion of project milestones.