Research Associate Professor or Research Professor – Social Science Statistics

The Departments of Sociology and Psychology, in partnership with the Population Research Center (PRC) at The University of Texas at Austin, invite applications for the position of non-tenured Research Associate Professor or Research Professor in the area of social science statistics. The position’s purpose is to lead a newly conceived Social and Behavioral Statistical and Data Sciences (SBSDS) Hub housed within the PRC. Although it is expected that the SBSDS Hub Director will be hired into the either the Department of Sociology or Psychology, the position’s ultimate academic home will be open to the most appropriate fit for the scholar whose expertise and experience most closely match programmatic need. This research faculty position, appointed on a 12-month basis, includes principal investigator (PI) status, mentoring graduate students as appropriate, and interacting with faculty with common or overlapping interests across the university.

As part of the PRC, the SBSDS Hub is conceived as a forward-thinking collaborative resource for data science for the faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and students of the PRC. The SBSDS Hub aims to provide strong quantitative and methodological expertise, and to apply new methodologies as needed, critical to advancing the PRC’s research mission. It will also serve as a methodological concierge—helping investigators identify methodological needs—and in so doing will tap strong connections to the university’s rich scholarly community to advance basic and translational science for the PRC.

As founding Director of the SBSDS Hub, job responsibilities will include:

- Directing the day-to-day operations of the SBSDS Hub with regard to assessment and triage of new projects, and tracking progress of existing projects;

- Recruiting and overseeing graduate student and professional (typically MS-trained) statistical experts who will work on projects with PRC investigators;

- Playing key methodological roles in the design and conduct of research studies and the analysis and interpretation of the ensuing data in collaboration with PRC investigators; and

- Fostering a collaborative and collegial culture around quantitative methodology in social science.

The PRC aims to provide outstanding research infrastructure resources and sustain a dynamic interdisciplinary culture geared toward facilitating the highest level of population-related research among its faculty members, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate trainees. The PRC supports research that moves well beyond the bounds of traditional demography to the cutting edge of population research. Underlying the work of the PRC is a foundation that emphasizes:

- Fundamental attention to issues of social and economic inequality, particularly by race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status;

- Rigorous attention to, and application of, the most appropriate and advanced methodological techniques; and

- An orientation toward federal and major foundation grant funding and publication in top quality scientific journals.

Most PRC research is concentrated in four overlapping and reinforcing thematic areas: Population Health and Well-Being; Reproductive, Maternal, and Infant Health; Family Demography Human Development; and Education, Work, and Institutions. Many PRC researchers work in more than one of these overlapping and reinforcing areas, and in collaborative, interdisciplinary teams.

Required qualifications:

- PhD (or related doctoral degree) in statistics, biostatistics, economics, education, epidemiology, human development, psychology, sociology, political science, or a closely related quantitative area, with strong quantitative methodological training.

- Broad expertise in statistical methods and modern data science tools and extensive experience in their applications in social sciences population-based research.

Preferred qualifications:

- Several years of experience providing collaborative statistical support to applications for funding and to funded projects at an academic or research institution.

- Ability and demonstrated interest in collaborative research in population-based social science investigation.

- Outstanding leadership skills.

- Supervisory experience.

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.