Temporary Research Assistant in Data Science and Educational AI

Posting Information

Posting Information

Department SOE Academic - 340200 Career Area Research Professionals Posting Open Date 08/07/2026 Application Deadline 08/10/2026 Position Type Temporary Staff (SHRA) Position Title Temporary Research Assistant in Data Science and Educational AI Position Number 20036420 Vacancy ID S027939 Full-time/Part-time Full-Time Temporary Hours per week 40 Work Schedule Position Location North Carolina, US Hiring Range $25.00 per hour Proposed Start Date 08/17/2026 Estimated Duration of Appointment 6 months or longer

Position Information

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Primary Purpose of Organizational Unit

The School of Education is an academic unit reporting to the Provost. The School is a major center of research, teaching, and public service within the State of North Carolina, the nation, and the world. The School offers a full range of undergraduate and graduate programs. The mission of the School of Education is to conduct research, and generate basic and applied knowledge about human development, educational technology and entrepreneurship, teaching and learning, school counseling, school psychology, administration, as well as educational policy and leadership; prepare leaders in the profession of education by conducting outstanding research, teaching, and service; and assist in the development of strong and effective public schools in North Carolina. In order to fulfill its mission, the School is organized into three academic divisions: (1) Culture, Curriculum, & Teacher Education (CCATE), (2) Learning, Development & Psychological Sciences (LDPS), and (3) Educational Policy, Organization, & Leadership (EPOL).

Position Summary

The Temporary Research Assistant will support a research project developing reusable, open-source AI tutoring infrastructure for mathematics education. The position will focus on data preparation, analysis, model evaluation, software development, and documentation. The position will work with an interdisciplinary team in data science, artificial intelligence, learning sciences, and education.

Primary Responsibilities

• Clean, organize, de-identify, and document educational datasets.
• Develop Python scripts and reproducible data-processing pipelines.
• Support evaluation of learner-state classification, adaptive feedback, and open-weight language models.
• Calculate and summarize model-performance metrics, including agreement, accuracy, calibration, and subgroup performance.
• Assist with testing AI workflows, identifying errors, and documenting results.
• Maintain organized code, datasets, experiment logs, and technical documentation.
• Create tables, visualizations, and summaries for project reports, presentations, and publications.
• Contribute to open-source software, benchmarks, and other project digital public goods.
• Participate in research meetings and collaborate with faculty, researchers, and technical partners.

The position will report to Dr. Leonora (Lora) Kaldaras, Principal Investigator, and collaborate with project faculty, researchers, and partner organizations.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements

Bachelor's degree; or equivalent combination of training and experience. All degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.

Management Preferences

• Experience with machine learning, natural language processing, or large language models.
• Experience with PyTorch, Hugging Face, or other modern machine-learning frameworks.
• Experience developing reproducible data pipelines, evaluation scripts, or research software.
• Familiarity with Git/GitHub, cloud computing, APIs, or database systems.
• Interest in educational AI, responsible AI, learning analytics, or quantitative reasoning.

Special Physical/Mental Requirements Campus Security Authority Responsibilities

Not Applicable.

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Posting Contact Information

Office of Human Resources Contact Information

If you experience any problems accessing the system or have questions about the application process, please contact the Office of Human Resources at (919) 843-2300 or send an email to employment@unc.edu

Please note: The Office of Human Resources will not be able to provide specific updates regarding position or application status.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all to apply without regard to age, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Optional and Required Documents

Required Documents

• Curriculum Vitae / Resume
• Cover Letter
• List of References

Optional Documents

Supplemental Questions

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