Research Scientist

University of Texas; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 75,000 - 92,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Texas at Austin invites applications for a Research Scientist on a one-year fixed-term basis at UT Main Campus. The role leads interdisciplinary programs spanning neuroimaging, tractography, neuroinformatics, and AI, with opportunities to contribute to open science and shared scientific infrastructure.

Responsibilities include mentoring, managing collaborative research programs, and delivering high-impact, reproducible results. 40-hour work week; location on UT Main Campus.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in neuroscience, psychology, computer science, biomedical engineering, data science, artificial intelligence, or a closely related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead interdisciplinary research programs in neuroimaging, tractography, neuroinformatics, and AI; contribute to research cyberinfrastructure and data standards.
• Complete assigned projects with milestones and timelines; ensure reproducibility and scientific impact.
• Develop and maintain research software and data infrastructure; manage compliance and governance activities.
• Coordinate multi-institutional collaborations and contribute to grant proposals.
• Mentor students and staff; engage with the research community and professional development.

Skills

Independence

Leadership

Project management

Collaborations

Open science

Education

Ph.D. in neuroscience/psychology/CS/biomedical engineering/data science/AI

Job description

Research Scientist

Hiring Department: Department of Psychology. Position Open To: All Applicants. Weekly Scheduled Hours: 40. FLSA Status: Exempt from FLSA. Earliest Start Date: Aug 31, 2026. Position Duration: Expected to Continue Until Aug 30, 2027. Location: UT MAIN CAMPUS.

Job Details

The Research Scientist will lead and contribute to interdisciplinary research programs in neuroimaging, tractography, neuroinformatics, scientific data standards, artificial intelligence, and research cyberinfrastructure. The position requires scientific independence, technical leadership, effective project execution, and sustained contributions to peer-reviewed research, externally funded programs, open-source software, data standards, and collaborative scientific initiatives. The Research Scientist will be responsible for completing assigned projects in accordance with established scientific objectives, milestones, deliverables, and timelines. Performance will be evaluated based on the quality, timeliness, completeness, reproducibility, and scientific impact of the individual’s work. The position offers opportunities to develop an independent scientific profile, contribute to cutting-edge computational and data-intensive research, collaborate with multidisciplinary national and international teams, and gain experience in scientific leadership, open science, sponsored research, research governance, and the development of shared scientific infrastructure. This is a one year fixed-term position. The role provides advanced scientific and technical expertise required to lead complex research projects, develop and maintain research software and data infrastructure, manage compliance and data governance activities, coordinate multi-institutional collaborations, and contribute to grant-funded research programs.

Responsibilities

• Research and Scholarly Productivity
• Research Software, Data, and Cyberinfrastructure
• Data Governance, Compliance, and Laboratory Operations
• Sponsored Research and Collaborative Program Management
• Community Engagement, Mentoring, and Professional Development

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in neuroscience, psychology, computer science, biomedical engineering, data science, artificial intelligence, or a closely related field.
• A minimum of five years of postdoctoral or equivalent research experience.
• Demonstrated record of independently completing research projects and producing peer-reviewed publications.
• Demonstrated experience managing multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, or international scientific collaborations.
• Demonstrated experience contributing substantively to competitive grant proposals and externally funded research programs.
• Experience preparing Data Use Agreements, data-access applications, Institutional Review Board submissions, or comparable research-compliance materials.
• Demonstrated experience organizing scientific workshops, hackathons, training programs, or comparable collaborative activities.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring undergraduate students, graduate students, research staff, or postdoctoral scholars.
• Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated expertise in tractography, diffusion MRI, neuroinformatics, computational neuroscience, brain connectivity, or large-scale neuroimaging analysis.
• Experience developing, maintaining, or contributing to scientific software, cloud-based research platforms, research cyberinfrastructure, or other shared scientific resources.
• Demonstrated knowledge of FAIR data principles, scientific data and metadata standards, provenance models, interoperability, and data harmonization.
• Experience working with large public or controlled-access scientific repositories and managing data under institutional, sponsor, and regulatory requirements.
• Experience with high-performance computing, cloud computing, containerized workflows, workflow-management systems, version control, continuous integration and deployment, software testing, and modern scientific software-engineering practices.
• Experience developing or applying artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language models, knowledge graphs, semantic technologies, or intelligent software agents to scientific discovery, scientific data management, scientific workflows, or research cyberinfrastructure.
• Experience designing interoperable data systems, application programming interfaces, metadata services, or computational tools that connect scientific repositories, analysis environments, and research platforms.
• Demonstrated contributions to open-source software, community data standards, scientific working groups, FAIR data initiatives, or national and international research consortia.
• Excellent scientific communication skills, including preparation of manuscripts, grant proposals, progress reports, technical documentation, training materials, presentations, and meeting records.
• Evidence of national or international scientific visibility through invited presentations, leadership roles, consortium participation, or contributions to widely adopted software, standards, AI tools, or research infrastructure.

Salary

Salary $83,487

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Employment Eligibility

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length. This position has the option to elect the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) instead of TRS, subject to the position being 40 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

Employment Eligibility Verification

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

E-Verify

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following: E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF] Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF] Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

Compliance

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) and if this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031. The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.

Contact Information

Comments and Inquiries: Email comments to [e-mail]. For questions or concerns regarding equal opportunity only, contact Equal Opportunity Services. Additional information for applicants can be found on the Human Resources web page: Applying for Employment. For more job information, call the Human Resource Service Center at [phone], or toll-free at [phone]. UT Austin is a Tobacco-free Campus