Research Associate in Social Sciences

Purdue University

Requisition ID: 41364
City: West Lafayette, Indiana
Career Stream: Professional 2
Pay Band: S120
Job Code: 20003722
Posting Start Date: March 24, 2026
FLSA Status: Exempt (Not Eligible for Overtime)
Retirement Eligibility: Non-exempt Defined Contribution Plan

Job Summary

The Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Department on the West Lafayette campus is seeking a Research Associate to join our team. This position provides research coordination, management, and technical support for a NIH-funded longitudinal project on early language development. Occasional duties outside of the laboratory (2–4 times per month) may include travel to our community laboratory in Indianapolis and participation in community recruitment and outreach activities.

Position Type: Limited-term, one year with renewal contingent on performance and funding availability.
Employment Authorization: Purdue will not sponsor employment authorization for this position.
Background Check: Required.

Responsibilities

  • Coordinate and manage research projects, ensuring timelines, milestones, and deliverables are met
  • Provide technical support for experimental data collection and analysis
  • Assist in the development and implementation of SOPs and research protocols
  • Maintain accurate and well-documented datasets, including QA/QC procedures
  • Support and optimize research workflows and processes
  • Work with young children and caregivers in research or clinical settings while adhering to ethical and regulatory standards
  • Participate in occasional community outreach and recruitment activities

Required Qualifications

Education and Experience:

  • Master’s degree in a related field or Bachelor’s degree with 3 years of relevant experience
  • At least one year of experience in a research setting involving development, health, or language

Skills:

  • Proven project coordination experience across multiple studies
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills
  • Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment
  • Proficiency in research data management
  • Experience developing and following SOPs and research protocols
  • Ability to support and optimize research workflows
  • Experience working with young children and caregivers

Preferred / Helpful Qualifications

  • Experience collecting data using eye-tracking and/or ERP methods (participant setup, calibration, data acquisition)
  • Knowledge of R, MATLAB, or Python for basic data cleaning and organization
  • Experience programming and running experiments with tools such as Experiment Builder, E-Prime, PCIbex, Lookit, or similar
  • Ability to prepare and manage multimedia stimuli (audio, video, image files)
  • Foundational skills in statistical analysis and data visualization
  • Familiarity with research database platforms (e.g., REDCap)

Additional Information

  • Limited-term, one-year position with potential renewal based on performance and funding availability
  • Purdue University is an EO/AA university
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