Post-Doctoral Scientist

The Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering of The George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science located in Washington, DC is seeking candidates for a full-time, academic research position at the rank of post-doctoral scientist. This position would be housed within the Meaningful Open-Source Indicators (MOSI) research cluster of the Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics (IDDP). IDDP is a multidisciplinary research initiative intended to strengthen democratic dialog and institutions through research and engagement with policymakers, journalists, and the public. IDDP offers an exceptional opportunity to work closely with world-class faculty across the university, including political scientists, engineers, computer scientists, and physicists interested in complex systems. This position offers opportunities for engagement with scholars and policymakers in the area. Beginning as early as summer 2020, the position offers an initial two-year term with the possibility for a third-year renewal. Candidates will work on topics related to detecting, tracking, and correcting disinformation/misinformation.

This position plays a substantive role in planning and conducting research by using quantitative and qualitative methods to collect, analyze and report data activities. In collaboration with the Principal Investigator, this role will participate in the planning of independent research, will analyze and interpret data, will publish results, will represent the university at conferences and meetings, and may develop new theories and methodologies. This position may also help the Principal Investigator to lead and direct the work of lower level research staff. This role performs work under the supervision of experienced researchers. Additionally, this position may pursue projects that utilize IDDP’s access to large-volume multi-platform data and/or projects that take experimental approaches to understanding the social and psychological dynamics of mis/disinformation. This position may also assist in IDDP’s collaboration with the Poynter Institute’s PolitiFact initiative. The post-doctoral scientist will work collaboratively with affiliated faculty groups pursuing more narrowly specified projects.

Performs other related duties as assigned. The omission of specific duties does not preclude the supervisor from assigning duties that are logically related to the position.

Apply to:  http://www.gwu.jobs/postings/75875

Minimum Qualifications:

Qualified candidates will hold a Doctoral degree in a related discipline. Degree must be conferred by the start date of the position.

Desired Qualifications:  

-PhD in one of the following or related fields: political science, computer science, natural language processing, complex systems, judgment and decision-making, political psychology, social psychology, social network analysis, computational social science, systems engineering.

-Completion of upper level (undergraduate) and/or graduate level coursework involving computer programming. Fluency in one or more of the following is important: R, Python or similar programs.

-A successful candidate will have familiarity with both social science and computational science, though not necessarily mastery of both.

-Strong communication skills

-An ability to work in a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary environment

-We will also consider candidates who have accepted tenure-track positions at another institution but with the ability to defer their start date.

The university is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer that does not unlawfully discriminate in any of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.