American University - Part Time Research Assistant Data Scientist and Engineer

AI Engineer is needed in Washington, United States.

Client: American University

Location: Washington, DC

Contract: Part-time

Job Description

This part-time research assistant position will hold the functional title, Research Data Scientist and Engineer. The Research Data Scientist and Engineer position supports the design, development, and analytical infrastructure of the CRPD Disability Rights Dashboard, a first-of-its-kind NLP- and AI-powered platform that makes the full UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) reporting cycle searchable, visual, and actionable. This role integrates data science, software engineering, and applied research, contributing to the analytical methods and technical systems that provide insights from UN treaty body documents.

Responsibilities include developing NLP and text analysis pipelines, designing indicators from structured and unstructured data, building and maintaining the dashboard, collaborating on AI-assisted features, and supporting user testing and dissemination activities. The position reports to Dr. Derrick Cogburn and is based at the American University Institute on Disability and Public Policy.

Requirements

Required Education and Experience:

• Master’s degree in Data Science, Data Analytics, Computer Science, Information Science, Computational Social Science, or a closely related field.
• Less than 1 year of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated proficiency in R and Python programming for data science applications.
• Experience with natural language processing (NLP) techniques and text analysis methodologies.
• Experience with version control systems (Git/GitHub).
• Familiarity with machine learning concepts.
• Experience with structured and unstructured data.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in an academic or applied research environment.
• Coursework in machine learning, artificial intelligence, deep learning, and advanced data analytics.
• Coursework or training in international affairs, public policy, human rights, or disability studies.
• Familiarity with Quarto, R, Python, Positron, GitHub, or other research tools.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

• Part-time (20 hours per week).
• This is a temporary position ending on or before Dec. 31, 2026.

Salary Range

• $20.00 per hour.

Essential Functions

• Computational Research and Data Science/Analytics:
• Design, develop, and refine NLP and text analysis pipelines.
• Compute quantitative and qualitative indicators from data sources.
• Build and maintain data ingestion workflows.
• Conduct exploratory data analysis.
• Support analytical methods expansion to additional UN core human rights treaties.
• Dashboard and Software Development:
• Build and maintain the CRPD Disability Rights Dashboard.
• Manage the codebase architecture.
• Manage deployment, infrastructure, and configuration.
• Implement version control best practices.
• Support user testing and design improvements.
• AI/ML Research and Development:
• Collaborate on AI-assisted research features.
• Design semantic search capabilities.
• Evaluate and integrate emerging AI/ML tools.
• Support development of performance evaluation frameworks.
• Research, Writing, and Dissemination Support:
• Prepare research reports, policy briefs, and publications.
• Develop Quarto-based reports.
• Support presentations and demonstrations of the dashboard.
• Contribute to grant reports and documentation.
• Instructional Research Integrity Support:
• Maintain research protocols and data protection responsibilities.
• Maintain CITI training records for team members.
• Lead/Mentorship Responsibilities:
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to team members.
• Review code contributions and support onboarding.
• Coordinate tasks among junior team members.
• Administrative and Operational Support:
• Maintain project documentation.
• Coordinate with the Principal Investigator on timelines.
• Support infrastructure management.

Competencies

• Acquiring and Analyzing Information.
• Prioritizing and Organizing.
• Acting Ethically and With Integrity.
• Displaying Creativity.
• Serving Customers.
• Supporting a Diverse and Inclusive Community.
• Supporting Coworkers.

Additional Information

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties and responsibilities may change at any time with or without notice.

Benefits

Employees in staff positions at American University must deliver their services to the university from either the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or perform work on-site at the university.