Research Assistant in the Social Science Experimental Laboratory (SSEL)

European Commission; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 60,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading university in Abu Dhabi seeks a Research Assistant for its Social Science Experimental Laboratory. The ideal candidate will support research initiatives focusing on human behavior experiments, collaborate on various projects, and have a background in social sciences or computer science. Abundant opportunities for professional development and immersive research await the successful applicant.

Benefits

Competitive employment terms

Housing subsidies

Educational subsidies for children

Qualifications

• Minimum one year experience living in the UAE.
• Previous experience in experimental and survey research.
• Ability to work independently and take initiative.

Responsibilities

• Help design and program experimental research tools.
• Assist in testing and running experimental studies.
• Assist in data collection and analysis.

Skills

English proficiency

Programming skills

Strong communication

Data analysis

Education

Degree in Social Science or Computer Science

Tools

Z-tree

O-tree

Java

Stata

R

Qualtrics

Python

Job description

Organisation/Company NEW YORK UNIVERSITY ABU DHABI Research Field Engineering Computer science Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) First Stage Researcher (R1) Country United Arab Emirates Application Deadline 30 Jul 2025 - 00:00 (UTC) Type of Contract Permanent Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Description

New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) seeks to recruit a Research Assistant to join the Social Science Experimental Laboratory (SSEL). SSEL is an interdisciplinary center that conducts experimental research in social sciences. The lab currently has a large participant pool from the NYUAD community, students from other local universities, and participants from the general public. The basic research tool used at SSEL is laboratory experimentation, in which participants engage in decision-making tasks in order to test different aspects of human behavior as well as interactions between humans and machines. Experiments are conducted at SSEL’s state-of-the-art facilities on campus, online, via surveys, and third-party contractors. The ideal candidate is someone who is deeply committed to research, values interdisciplinary research, and is able to work smoothly in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

Responsibilities:

• Help in designing and programming experimental research tools and materials on a project-specific basis
• Assist in testing and running experimental studies at the Social Science Experimental Laboratory (SSEL) and online
• Handle subject pool recruitment payments, and other experiment logistics
• Assist in data collection and analysis
• Assist in management duties of the laboratory, such as writing memos, briefs, minutes, and organizing activities
• Assist in developing content for SSEL’s media presence and handle social media engagement as well as other sources of public outreach
• Review, summarize, interpret, and present results from existing research in the social sciences

Required skills and experience:

• Written and oral command of English
• Programming skills and knowledge of software such as Z-tree, O-tree, Java, Stata, R, Qualtrics, Python
• Minimum one year experience living in the UAE
• Previous experience in experimental and survey research
• Strong communication skills with the ability to liaise effectively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds
• Ability to work independently and take initiative and a desire for learning in a quick-paced environment

Preferred education:Degree related to Social Science or Computer Science, or a related field

Preferred experience

• Previous experience with study participant recruitment and/or outreach activities
• Previous experience with internal communications
• Demonstrated ability to engage with large language models (artificial intelligence) in prompting, tokenization, and model evaluation tasks

The terms of employment are very competitive and include housing and educational subsidies for children. Applications will be accepted immediately and candidates will be considered until the position is filled. To be considered, applicants must submit a 1 page cover letter that responds to the required skills and experiences described above, current CV, transcript of degree and 2 recommendation letters, all in PDF format, submitted via Interfolio.

NYU Abu Dhabi is a degree-granting research university with a fully integrated liberal arts and science undergraduate program in the Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering. NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU New York, and NYU Shanghai, form the backbone of NYU’s global network university, an interconnected network of portal campuses and academic centers across six continents that enable seamless international mobility of students and faculty in their pursuit of academic and scholarly activity. This global university represents a transformative shift in higher education, one in which the intellectual and creative endeavors of academia are shaped and examined through an international and multicultural perspective. As a major intellectual hub at the crossroads of the Arab world, NYUAD serves as a center for scholarly thought, advanced research, knowledge creation, and sharing, through its academic, research, and creative activities.

EOE/AA/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity Employer