Assistant Research Scientist (PREP0004176)

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; Gaithersburg (MD); On-site; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Total rewards package supporting health and career

Opportunity for collaboration with NIST

Job summary

Johns Hopkins University is looking for a PREP Research Associate in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The role involves supporting NIST research on AI risk assessment using Large Language Models. Candidates will contribute to an annotation framework and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams.

A Bachelor's or Graduate Degree in Computer Science or related field is required, along with a strong interest in data annotation and AI risks. Additional health and safety protocols including vaccination requirements are in place.

Qualifications

• Background in Computer Science, Data Science, or related field.
• Education level: Bachelor's or Graduate Degree.
• Strong interest in data annotation and AI risks.
• Familiarity with scientific reading and technical writing.

Responsibilities

• Familiarize with literature on data annotation and LLM.
• Understand NIST's role in AI-related risks assessment.
• Contribute to developing an annotation framework.
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders.

Skills

Background in Computer Science

Data Science knowledge

Interest in data annotation

Familiarity with scientific reading

Education

Bachelor's or Graduate Degree

Job description

PREP Research Associate

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience Program (PREP). NIST recognizes that its research staff may want to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest and, therefore, requires those institutions to be recipients of a PREP award. The PREP program involves staff from a wide range of backgrounds conducting scientific research across various fields. Individuals in this position will perform technical work supporting the collaboration's scientific research.

Research Title

Reliability of Human and LLM Annotations for AI Risk Assessment

The work will entail

This project focuses on using Large Language Models (LLMs) to provide annotations of evaluation data (a.k.a., LLM as judge), and the design of an Inter‑Annotator Agreement study to assess the reliability of both human and LLM annotations. The candidate will explore assessing the indicators of a given AI‑related risk, determining how to identify them, and providing annotators with examples to annotate the presence of various risks. The project aims to develop an annotation framework for AI risk assessment and establish metrics for data quality in AI risk research, supporting broader work at NIST in assessing and measuring the validity and reliability of AI‑related risks in data annotation.

U.S. Citizen Preferred

Key Responsibilities

• Gain familiarity with existing literature on data annotation and LLM as judge
• Understand NIST's role and ongoing efforts in assessing and measuring the validity and reliability of AI‑related risks in data annotation
• Contribute to developing an annotation framework for AI risk assessment
• Collaborate effectively with cross‑functional and interdisciplinary stakeholders to ensure successful project outcomes

Deliverables

• Contributions to a NIST report that supports ongoing NIST AI evaluation efforts focused on the design of an Inter‑Annotator Agreement to assess the reliability of both human and LLM annotations.

Qualifications

• Background in Computer Science, Data Science, or related field.
• Education level: Bachelor\'s or Graduate Degree
• Strong interest in data annotation and AI risks
• Familiarity with scientific reading and technical writing

Salary Range

The referenced salary range represents the minimum and maximum salaries for this position and is based on Johns Hopkins University's good faith belief at the time of posting. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. The actual compensation offered to the selected candidate may vary and will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate's geographic location, skills, work experience, internal equity, market conditions, education/training and other factors, as reasonably determined by the University.

Total Rewards

Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here: https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristic. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved.

Vaccine Requirements

Johns Hopkins University strongly encourages, but no longer requires, at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida. We still require all faculty, staff, and students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. This change does not apply to the School of Medicine (SOM). SOM hires must be fully vaccinated with an FDA COVID-19 vaccination and provide proof of vaccination status. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/ and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/.

Additional vaccine requirements may apply, depending on your campus. Please contact the hiring department for more information. The pre‑employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre‑employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.

Background Checks

The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre‑employment background check including education verification.

EEO is the Law

https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf