Full-time RA (short-term)

SANAD Research Lab; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous compensation and benefits

Job summary

SANAD Research Lab invites applications for a full-time research assistant position at NYU Abu Dhabi, UAE. Start date ASAP, duration until July 31, 2027, supervised by Sarah Nadi, with opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, and international research visits.

Ideal candidates hold a Bachelor's in Computer Science, exhibit strong programming and software engineering abilities, and have experience with version control, CI, testing, and excellent communication.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science with SE topics.
• Excellent programming skills.
• Strong software engineering skills including version control, CI, testing.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; teamwork.
• Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team.
• Previous software engineering research experience.
• Knowledge of generative AI and LLMs for software engineering tasks.
• Previous software engineering paper submission or publication is a plus.

Skills

Programming skills

Software engineering

Communication skills

Teamwork

Gen AI knowledge

Education

Bachelor's in Computer Science

Tools

Version control systems

Continuous Integration

Software testing

Job description

Are you passionate about building practical tools for developers, improving AI integration into the software development cycle, or advancing the capabilities of program analysis? Join us at the SANAD Lab as a full-time RA!

Why Join SANAD?

• A collaborative research group with access to state-of-the-art computing resources
• A track record of publications at top venues (ICSE, FSE, ASE, ICSME, TSE, MSR, EMSE, OOPSLA, ISSTA, etc.)
• Opportunities for mentorship, international collaboration, and research visits
• Generous compensation and benefits
• Living in one of the safest and sought after cities in the world, Abu Dhabi, and working in our beautiful Saadiyat campus

About The Position

• Location: NYU Abu Dhabi (UAE)
• Start Date: ASAP
• Duration: Until July 31, 2027
• Supervisors: Sarah Nadi

Ideal Candidate

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (coursework/projects must include software engineering related topics)
• Excellent programming skills
• Strong software engineering skills including use of version control systems, continuous integration, testing
• Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal)
• Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team
• Previous software engineering research experience
• Knowledge of use and/or development of generative AI, e.g., use of Large Language Models for certain (software engineering) tasks
• Previous software engineering paper submission or publication is a plus

How We Work (and Who Thrives Here)

Technical skill gets you in the door, but members who do their best work with us tend to share a particular way of approaching research. If the following resonates with you, you’ll fit in well:

• Intellectual honesty above all. We care more about what is true than what is impressive. A negative result you can trust is worth more than a positive result you can’t, and “I’m not sure yet” is always a better answer than a confident guess. We would rather hear that an experiment failed than see it dressed up.
• A reproducibility reflex. You pin your versions, script your experiments so someone else can re-run them, and sanity-check your own numbers before you present them. If a result can’t be reproduced, we treat it as not yet real.
• You follow the evidence, even when it’s inconvenient. You are willing to let the data overturn a hypothesis you’re attached to, and to recognize when the thing that “didn’t work” is actually the most interesting finding in the project.
• You see problems through. Research has long, unglamorous stretches: debugging a toolchain, getting a harness to run end to end, chasing down the last few percent that won’t replicate. We value people who own a problem from its messy start to a finished result, rather than handing it off when it stops being fun.
• You take feedback well and give it honestly. Our drafts come back heavily marked up. That’s a sign of investment, not disapproval. You can defend an idea, change your mind when the argument is better, and offer the same direct, respectful critique to your collaborators.
• You write with care. Clear writing reflects clear thinking. You don’t need to arrive a polished writer, but you should want to become one and take editing seriously.
• You are curious and self-directed. You read beyond what’s assigned, keep up with the literature, and bring your own ideas to the table, while knowing when to ask for help instead of staying stuck.
• You’re a good lab citizen. You’re reliable, you communicate early when a plan slips, and you make the people around you better.