Post-Doctoral Research Associate: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - UTK

University of Tennessee; Knoxville (TN); On-site; USD 64,000 - 86,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Tennessee’s Min H. Kao Department of EECS seeks a full-time Postdoctoral Research Associate on the UT Knoxville campus. The scholar will develop and evaluate AI tools, study their use by teachers and students, and publish findings.

The role combines EECS and Education research, with hands-on design of prototypes and coordination with faculty, teacher partners, and students. The position is onsite in Knoxville with some local travel.

Qualifications

• PhD in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, human-computer interaction, education, learning sciences, or a closely related field by the start date.
• Experience designing or conducting research, analyzing qualitative or quantitative data, and preparing scholarly writing.
• Knowledge of research design and evaluation methods; ability to develop or evaluate AI or computing tools; data analysis and scholarly communication; and ability to coordinate research with faculty, students, and external partners.

Responsibilities

• 40% - EECS research: Design and evaluate AI and computing tools; develop protocols, prototypes; conduct user studies; analyze data; publish findings.
• 60% - Education research: Plan and evaluate teacher professional learning; develop instruments; collect interviews, observations, and student work; analyze findings.

Skills

Research design

Data analysis

Scholarly writing

Stakeholder coordination

Education

PhD in CS/EE/education

Tools

Python

R

Job description

The Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science seeks a full-time Postdoctoral Research Associate appointment. Working with EECS and Education faculty, the researcher will develop and evaluate AI tools, study their use by teachers and students, analyze research data, and publish findings.

• 40% - EECS research : Design and evaluate AI and computing tools; develop research protocols and prototypes; conduct technical and user studies; analyze qualitative and quantitative data; and prepare publications, presentations, and proposals with faculty and students.
• 60% - Education research : Plan, coordinate, and evaluate teacher professional learning and classroom research activities with Education faculty and teacher partners. Develop study instruments and reusable instructional materials; collect interviews, observations, exit tickets, and student work; analyze findings; and prepare reports and scholarly manuscripts.

Required Qualifications

• Education: PhD in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, human-computer interaction, education, learning sciences, or a closely related field by the start date.
• Experience: Demonstrated experience designing or conducting research, analyzing qualitative or quantitative data, and preparing scholarly writing.
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: Knowledge of research design and evaluation methods; ability to develop or evaluate AI or computing tools; skill in data analysis and scholarly communication; and ability to coordinate research with faculty, students, and external partners.

Preferred Qualifications

• Education: No additional degree requirement.
• Experience: Experience with human-computer interaction, embedded or edge AI, AI education, teacher professional learning, classroom research, or community-engaged research; a record of peer-reviewed publications.
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: Knowledge of mixed-methods research, on‑device AI, or teacher professional learning; skill in facilitating co-design activities and translating findings into reusable materials.

Work Location

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee

Onsite

This position is based on the UT Knoxville campus and requires in-person collaboration, prototype and study activities, and meetings with research partners. Occasional local travel to study sites may be required.

Compensation and Benefits

Anticipated hiring range: $75,024

Find more information on UT Benefits here

About The College

The Tickle College of Engineering (TCE) is in the midst of an unprecedented period of growth and success, including adding over 30 new faculty at all levels to the college over 4 years as part of ambitious hiring campaigns led by Chancellor Donde Plowman and Dean Matthew Mench. The college has set records in research expenditures, enrollment, incoming student GPA, intellectual property development, and USNWR rank in the past three years. Key partnerships with Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) through the University of Tennessee Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UTORII) and Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) that manages the Y-12 National Security Complex have created an expanded opportunity space for faculty and students in the region. New facilities include the state-of-the art Zeanah Engineering Complex, the University of Tennessee Manufacturing and Design Enterprise (TN-MADE) facility, and the Innovation South building that houses UTK's Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF), a National Prototype Research Center (NSPC) as part of a partnership with CNS Y-12 under construction, and new facilities for the Biomedical Engineering department and a quantum foundry in planning stages.

TCE currently has 213 tenure/tenure track and over 80 non-tenure track faculty in its nine academic departments and offers 11 undergraduate, 16 MS, and 15 PhD/DE degree programs. Affiliated with TCE and located in Tullahoma, Tennessee, the UT Space Institute is a hub of aerospace and defense research. The college is also home to eight research centers and three interdisciplinary institutes. With approximately 4,800 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students, the college sits 28th among public universities in the most recent U.S. News and World Report graduate rankings. Faculty in the college have won 33 early career awards (NSF, DOE, DARPA, AFOSR, AHA, and Sloan) since 2016. In FY25, the college had annual research expenditures of $113.9M.

EECS at UTK has 50 full-time T/TT faculty members, three members of the National Academy of Engineering Fellows, 15 IEEE Fellows, 15 NSF/DOE CAREER awardees, and 19 ranked in World's Top 2% Scientists as compiled by Stanford. The department has a growing enrollment of more than 1,000 undergraduate and more than 450 graduate students across the three majors of Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science. I