Part-Time Research Assistant – Smeal Research Intelligence (SRI)

Penn State; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 14.184.000 - 20.201.000; Teilzeit

Zusammenfassung

Penn State University Park is seeking a part-time Research Assistant to support a faculty-led data project in the Smeal College. The role involves building an automated publication pipeline, testing search/discovery tools, and assisting with translation features for faculty and centers.

The position requires strong Python skills, API experience, and data handling capabilities. The successful candidate will work up to 15 hours per week during the academic semester, starting in October 2026.

Qualifikationen

• Currently enrolled Penn State student.
• Strong Python skills, including maintainable scripts and API work.
• Experience collecting and cleaning data programmatically (e.g., scraping, publisher APIs).
• Familiarity with LLM APIs and prompt design.

Aufgaben

• Build and maintain an automated pipeline that collects Smeal faculty publications and working papers.
• Develop and test search and discovery tools over the repository.
• Support development of synthesis and translation features for faculty, research centers, marketing, and development.
• Test the system with a pilot collection and scale to the full collection.

Kenntnisse

Python

APIs

Data collection

LLM APIs

Embeddings

Git

Testing

Documentation

Tools

Crossref

Semantic Scholar API

SSRN API

GitHub

Streamlit

Flask

Jobbeschreibung

**JOB DESCRIPTION AND POSITION REQUIREMENTS**The Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems at Penn State University Park invites applications for one part-time research assistant with an anticipated start date in October 2026. The successful candidate will assist a team of Smeal faculty lead by Professor Aydin Alptekinoglu for up to 15 hours per week during the academic semester. Job Duties:* Build and maintain an automated pipeline that collects Smeal faculty publications and working papers* Develop and test search and discovery tools over the repository* Support development of synthesis and \"translation\" features for faculty, research centers, marketing, and development* Test the system with a small pilot collection, then scale to the full collection Required Qualifications:* Currently enrolled Penn State student* Strong Python skills, including writing maintainable scripts and working with application programming interfaces (APIs)* Experience collecting and cleaning data programmatically (e.g., scraping, working with publisher/scholarly APIs such as Crossref, Semantic Scholar, or SSRN, handling PDFs and metadata)* Familiarity with large language model (LLM) APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, or similar) and prompt design* Basic understanding of embeddings, vector search, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)* Comfort with Git and basic software testing practices* Ability to work independently and document code and processes clearly Preferred Qualifications:* Experience building a simple web app or dashboard (e.g., Streamlit, Flask, or similar) for search interfaces* Familiarity with academic publishing and how faculty research is organized (journals, working papers, citation metadata)* Experience with Digital Measures or similar faculty-activity systems* Awareness of copyright/paywall and data-privacy considerations when handling publications Compensation:Starting rate for this position is $16.00 per hour. Candidates with questions may contact the department assistant, Autumn Knepp, at [e-mail].