Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Linguistics and Philosophy

Position ID:MIT-Linguistics and Philosophy-RALP [#24447]
Position Title: Research Assistant / Lab Manager
Position Type:Other
Position Location:Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States [map] sort by distance
Subject Areas: Linguistics / Language Acquisition, Cognitive Science
Appl Deadline:2023/05/15 11:59PMhelp popup finished (2023/03/01, finished 2023/11/18, listed until 2023/09/01)
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 successful candidate will have frequent interactions with postdocs, graduate students, research assistants, and will have plenty of opportunities for scientific involvement in all aspects of research projects including preparation of journal articles and conference presentations. Thus, this position is an excellent stepping-stone along the way to graduate studies in linguistics, cognitive science, psychology, or speech and hearing sciences.

 

Review of applications will begin immediately for a flexible start date between May 15th and June 1st, 2023.

 

Responsibilities include: 
- Assisting lab members and the PIs in the running of experiments
- Designing, running and analyzing experiments with toddlers, children, and adults
- Developing experimental materials

- Preparation, storage and management of sensitive data

- Recruiting participants
- Coordinating, training and supervising undergraduate research assistants

- Maintaining equipment
- Coordinating the use of space 

- Organizing meetings 

- 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)

- Excellent organizational and communication skills

- Experience with spread-sheet software (e.g. Microsoft Excel, Numbers) and statistical analysis software (preferably R)
- Comfortable with technical trouble shooting 
- Well-organized, attentive to detail, calm under pressure, and comfortable multi-tasking

- Some programming experience


Skills that would be put to good use include:

- Proficiency with R, Python, MATLAB, JavaScript
- Experience in database management (e.g. FileMaker)

- Experience with eye tracking
- Experience with CHILDES and corpus analyses

- Coursework in syntax, semantics, pragmatics and statistics


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://www.childlanguage.mit.edu/
email address
 
Room 32-D808
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139