Part-Time Research Assistant, SRI Data & AI Tools

Penn State University; University Park (IL); On-site; USD 18,000 - 26,000; Part time

Job summary

Penn State University Park is hiring a part-time research assistant to join the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems. You will work up to 15 hours per week during the academic semester, assisting a team led by Professor Aydin Alptekinoglu to build a data pipeline and tools for faculty publications and working papers.

The role emphasizes Python development, APIs, data collection, and familiarity with LLM APIs and retrieval methods.

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled Penn State student.
• Strong Python skills and API development.
• Experience collecting data via scraping and APIs (Crossref/SSRN).
• Familiar with LLM APIs and prompt design.
• Understanding embeddings, vector search, and RAG.
• Git proficiency and basic software testing.
• Ability to document code and processes clearly.

Responsibilities

• 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.

Skills

Python

APIs

Data collection

LLM APIs

Embeddings / RAG

Testing practices

Documentation

Independent work

Education

Currently enrolled Penn State student

Tools

Git

Streamlit

Flask

Job description

Penn State University Park is hiring a part-time research assistant to join the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems. You will work up to 15 hours per week during the academic semester, assisting a team led by Professor Aydin Alptekinoglu to build a data pipeline and tools for faculty publications and working papers.

The role emphasizes Python development, APIs, data collection, and familiarity with LLM APIs and retrieval methods.