Postdoctoral Associate in Transportation Systems, Safety, and Human Factors

University of Florida; Gainesville (FL); On-site; USD 60,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Florida is seeking a Postdoctoral Associate in Transportation Systems, Safety, and Human Factors to contribute to multidisciplinary research on transportation technologies and human behavior. The role involves literature reviews, experimental design, data analysis, and dissemination of findings.

The position emphasizes independent work within a collaborative team, IRB coordination, and mentorship of students and hourly staff.

Qualifications

• Earned doctorate by appointment start date in a relevant field.

Responsibilities

• Conduct literature reviews and synthesize research, standards, and agency practices in transportation systems, safety, and accessibility.
• Develop experimental designs, research protocols, performance measures, sampling approaches, and statistical analysis plans.
• Support the development and operation of controlled test environments and field evaluations involving transportation technologies, infrastructure, and user behavior.
• Develop and apply methods for instrumentation, data acquisition, event logging, video analysis, and measurement of system performance.
• Support human-factors and pedestrian research, including IRB procedures, recruitment, and participant activities under approved protocols.
• Analyze engineering and behavioral data using reproducible methods addressing repeated observations and data quality.
• Prepare technical reports, manuscripts, presentations, and implementation guidance.
• Coordinate research activities with faculty, staff, and partners.
• Mentor students and hourly researchers; ensure data quality and consistency.
• Participate in mentoring and funding proposals and initiatives.

Skills

Quantitative research

Programming (Python/R/MATLAB)

Technical writing

Independent work

Collaboration

Education

Doctorate (in civil/transportation engineering, etc.)

Tools

Python

R

MATLAB

Job description

Postdoctoral Associate in Transportation Systems, Safety, and Human Factors

• University of Florida
• United States
• Oct 14, 2026

Technology

About University of Florida

At the University of Florida, we are a people of purpose. We're committed to challenging convention and ourselves. We see things not as they are, but as they could be. And we strive for a greater impact: one measured in people helped...

• An earned doctorate by the appointment start date in civil or transportation engineering, electrical or computer engineering, industrial or systems engineering, human factors, experimental psychology, computer science, or a closely related field appropriate to the assigned research.
• Demonstrated experience conducting quantitative research and analyzing experimental, observational, or engineering data.
• Proficiency in at least one analytical or programming environment, such as Python, R, MATLAB, or equivalent software.
• Demonstrated technical writing and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary research team.

Job Description

• Conduct literature reviews and synthesize research, technical standards, and agency practices relevant to transportation systems, safety, and accessibility.
• Develop experimental designs, research protocols, performance measures, sampling approaches, and statistical analysis plans.
• Support the development and operation of controlled test environments and field evaluations involving transportation technologies, infrastructure, and user behavior.
• Develop and apply methods for instrumentation, data acquisition, event logging, video analysis, and measurement of system performance.
• Support human-factors and pedestrian research, including study procedures, IRB documentation, recruitment coordination, and participant activities conducted under approved protocols and appropriate specialist supervision.
• Analyze engineering and behavioral data using reproducible methods that address repeated observations, measurement uncertainty, missing data, and data quality.
• Prepare technical reports, peer-reviewed manuscripts, presentations, implementation guidance, and practitioner training materials.
• Coordinate research activities with collaborating faculty, staff, agency partners, and technical specialists.
• Mentor student and hourly research assistants and support consistent data-collection and quality-control practices.
• Participate in research mentoring and professional development, and contribute to related funding proposals and research initiatives.

$60,000 commensurate with education and experience

Required Qualifications

• An earned doctorate by the appointment start date in civil or transportation engineering, electrical or computer engineering, industrial or systems engineering, human factors, experimental psychology, computer science, or a closely related field appropriate to the assigned research.
• Demonstrated experience conducting quantitative research and analyzing experimental, observational, or engineering data.
• Proficiency in at least one analytical or programming environment, such as Python, R, MATLAB, or equivalent software.
• Demonstrated technical writing and communication skills.

Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary research team

Preferred

• Traffic signal operations, intelligent transportation systems, transportation safety, vehicle detection, or traffic simulation.
• Instrumentation, synchronized measurements, data acquisition, networked sensing, or camera-based system evaluation.
• Human factors, pedestrian behavior, accessibility, wayfinding, or evaluation of transportation infrastructure from a user perspective.
• Human-subject research, IRB processes, participant recruitment, and accessible research procedures.
• Experimental design, repeated-measures or mixed-effects analysis, sampling methods, and measurement uncertainty.
• Video processing, computer vision, automated event extraction, or behavioral observation.
• Controlled testbed development and field data collection.
• Preparation of research publications, agency reports, technical manuals, or implementation guidance.
• Collaboration with public agencies, industry partners, or accessibility practitioners.
• Mentoring research assistants and coordinating concurrent research activities.