Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Linguistics and Philosophy

Position ID:MIT-Linguistics and Philosophy-RALM [#18301]
Position Title: Research Assistant/Lab Manager
Position Type:Other
Position Location:Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States [map] sort by distance
Subject Area: Linguistics / Language Acquisition
Appl Deadline: finished (2021/03/12, finished 2021/05/03)
Position Description:    

*** this position has been closed and new applications are no longer accepted. ***

The Language Acquisition Lab at the Department of Linguistics at MIT is seeking a motivated and intellectually-engaged Research Assistant/Lab Manager for research on language acquisition in typically developing children. The RA/Lab Manager will be responsible for managing and coordinating projects related to a collaborative NSF-funded grant on semantic acquisition, as well as other projects relating to syntactic, semantic and pragmatic development.

Review of applications will begin immediately for a flexible start date between June 15th and July 1st, 2021.

Responsibilities include:

  • Preparing stimuli
  • Contacting families, preschools, museums
  • Testing children and adults using online and in-person methods
  • Coding data
  • Assisting with data analysis
  • Training undergraduate assistants
  • Maintaining equipment
  • Coordinating the use of space
  • Organizing meetings
  • Assisting with grant management
  • Managing lab expenses

Necessary qualifications:

  • An undergraduate degree in linguistics, cognitive science or psychology
  • Availability for flexible scheduling, including evenings and weekends, to facilitate data collection
  • A strong interest in language acquisition and linguistics
  • Prior experience working with young children (ages 2 to 5)
  • Comfortable with technical trouble shooting
  • Well-organized, attentive to detail, calm under pressure, and comfortable multi-tasking

Skills that would be put to good use include:

  • Experience with R, MATLAB, Mechanical Turk and Ibex
  • Experience with eye tracking
  • Experience with CHILDES and corpus analyses
  • Basic programming skills
  • Coursework in syntax, semantics, pragmatics and statistics

The lab is embedded within the Linguistics Department, which offers rich resources for students interested in linguistics and cognitive science. Research assistants are encouraged to make use of these resources by auditing courses, attending talks, etc. This position is intended to serve as a stepping stone along the way to graduate studies in linguistics, psychology, or speech and hearing sciences.

Application Deadline: Open until filled



MIT is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin. MIT’s full policy on Nondiscrimination can be found here (https://policies.mit.edu/policies-procedures/90-relations-and-responsibilities-within-mit-community/92-nondiscrimination).

Employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background check, including possible verification of any findings of misconduct (or pending investigation) from prior employers.


Application Materials Required:
Submit the following items online at this website to complete your application:
And anything else requested in the position description.

Further Info:
https://linguistics.mit.edu
email address
 
Room 32-D808
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139