Research Associate, Research Scientist, Data Scientist

Overview

Please see Special Instructions for more details. Include:

• Cover Letter that addresses interest in the position and that specifically highlights experience leading multi-site research projects and using mixed method analyses that is no more than two pages
• Writing sample of one scholarly paper or technical report where you are lead author or major contributor demonstrating mixed methods research skills
• Names and contact information for three professional references who can speak to your research skills/experience and collaboration experience

Details

Open Date

Open Date 12/10/2025

Requisition Number

Requisition Number PRN
43692B

Job Title

Job Title Research Associate

Working Title

Working Title Senior Research Associate (Mixed Methods)

Career Progression Track A00

FLSA Code

FLSA Code Professional

Patient Sensitive Job Code?

Patient Sensitive Job Code? No

Standard Hours per Week 40

Full Time or Part Time?

Full Time or Part Time? Full Time

Shift

Shift Day

Work Schedule Summary

Work schedule:

M-F, 8PM-5PM. Travel, nights, and weekends may be needed. The SRA will work on-site at the University of Utah with some travel required.

VP Area

VP Area Academic Affairs

Department

Department 00162 - Educational Leadership&Policy

Location

Location Campus

City

City Salt Lake City, UT

Type of Recruitment

Type of Recruitment External Posting

Pay Rate Range

Pay Rate Range $100,000 - $120,000

Close Date

Close Date 02/25/2026

Priority Review Date (Note - Posting may close at any time)

Priority Review Date (Note - Posting may close at any time) 02/01/2026

The Prison Education Action Research Lab in the College of Education at the University of Utah seeks a Senior Research Associate with expertise in mixed methods. The Lab does research that advances educational justice for people and communities impacted by incarceration. We envision a world where colleges and universities lead the way in fostering greater access to opportunity for all people, including those directly impacted by the legal system.

The Senior Research Associate ( SRA ) will undertake a wide range of strategic, academic, and capacity-building activities aimed at enabling and enhancing research on prison higher education and reentry. In collaboration with institutional and program leaders, the SRA will oversee strategic research advancement, communicate research opportunities and findings, foster collaboration within the team, and engage a leadership role on research projects.

The person who fills this position will be responsible for training other researchers, supervising research staff, and overseeing graduate assistants, and will serve as primary research liaison to the Lab, the University, and other external partners. The SRA will work under the supervision of the Lab Director. We strongly encourage applications from individuals directly impacted by incarceration and punishment systems.

• Serve as the lead/co-lead researcher on multi-PI research projects;
• Lead all phases of research design, planning, and execution of mixed methods research projects. This includes reviewing literature, developing research plans, developing data collection instruments and tools, piloting and validating data, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, and drafting and editing research reports and scholarly manuscripts;
• Serve as senior liaison with stakeholders including state agencies and higher education institutions;
• Oversee IRB protocols, data use agreements, and compliance monitoring across multiple institutions and jurisdictions;
• Lead regular cross-site meetings to align stakeholders;
• Coordinate secure data transfers and compliance across states and data providers;
• Maintain detailed documentation of data processing pipelines, codebooks, and metadata;
• Ensure appropriate data cleaning, harmonization, transformation, and documentation across diverse data sources;
• Apply intermediate and advanced statistical models and quantitative research designs;
• Design and oversee data linkage strategies across disparate administrative datasets;
• Design and conduct qualitative data collection (e.g., interviews, site visits, document analysis) and analysis;
• Lead mixed-methods integration to synthesize qualitative and quantitative insights
• Interact with stakeholders, partner institutions/organizations, political, governmental, funders, and corporate leaders related to research initiatives;
• Develop and present research results, in the form of technical reports, peer-reviewed manuscripts, briefs, presentations, webinars, etc., to inform internal and external stakeholders of research projects;
• Mentor, train, and supervise a team of researchers;
• Other research related activities as assigned by the Lab Director.

Subject to allocation of appropriate funding, Dr. Castro (your supervisor) may authorize support for employee travel to academic conferences and approved professional development activities. All requests for these activities must receive prior approval before the event date.

• PhD in…