Job Listings

The Research Associate/postdoctoral fellow is a full-time position at the COSMOS Research Center (cosmos.ualr.edu). The Research Associate/postdoctoral fellow will develop socio-computational models to advance our understanding of cyber campaigns run on social media grounded in the dynamics of various social and communication processes such as group formation, activation, decentralized decision making, and collective action. The postdoctoral fellow will help extract relevant open-source information in a guided snowball data collection manner. They will work with the research team in developing predictive models of socio-technical behaviors on a variety of social media platforms (including video-based platforms), usable tools/software to identify key actors and key groups responsible for coordinating cyber campaigns and disseminating propaganda. This is an on-campus position.

Position reports to: 

Dr. Nitin Agarwal, (nxagarwal@ualr.edu)
Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor
Director, COSMOS Research Center, UA-Little Rock

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assist with social media analysis for the research projects, hypothesis generation and testing for understanding cyber behaviors, data collection, analyzing findings from the data, writing research findings, and presenting the research at conferences, scientific venues, program reviews, and other venues;
• Assist with video-based online information environment analysis;
• Help transition research to software tools;
• Help with training the stakeholders on research and tools developed;
• Mentor and monitor graduate and undergraduate students working on the project – an experience that will help the person prepare for a successful academic career afterwards;
• Help with various aspects of the project, especially data collection, cleaning, preprocessing, analyzing, writing software modules transitioning research to tool, script development, etc.;
• Assist in preparing reports and publications;
• Assist in grant writing;
• Coordinate meetings and lead discussion; 
• Record minutes of the meetings; and 
• Other tasks as asked.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Extensive knowledge of computational social science and social network analysis;
• Expertise with social media data mining, machine learning, NLP, AI;
• Research experience with examining cyber campaigns run on social media;
• Research experience with examining video-based social media;
• Experience with transitioning research into usable tools;
• Computer programming skills and data management skills;
• Ability to interact with people of diverse cultural backgrounds;
• Communication skills, writing skills, and public speaking 
• Effective organizational skills.

MINIMUM EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

The candidate must have Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Information Science, or a relevant discipline. The candidate should have research experience in social media mining, computational modeling of social science theories, working with social network analysis tools, and examining cyber campaigns conducted on social media. A candidate with experience in computer programming and data management will be given preference.

This position would be responsible for collecting, managing, and converting raw data process into information that can be interpreted by the data scientists at COSMOS research center. The data engineer position would enable data accessibility and the COSMOS team to utilize collected data for models’ performance, evaluation, and case studies. This position requires solid raw data analysis skills, developing and maintaining datasets, and improving data quality and efficiency. Leveraging data systems and pipelines, interpreting trends and patterns of data, complex data reports, and building algorithms and prototypes. He/she will work with the COSMOS research team to convert raw data into usable information for analytics and decision-making levels to the best possible performance metrics across various projects. He/she has excellent problem-solving and communications skills to work with project leaders in various COSMOS groups. This is an on-campus position.

Position reports to: 

Dr. Nitin Agarwal, (nxagarwal@ualr.edu)
Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor
Director, COSMOS Research Center, UA-Little Rock

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Analyzing raw data;
• Developing and maintaining datasets;
• Improving data quality and efficiency;
• Analyze and organize raw data ;
• Design and manage data pipelines that encompass the journey of data from source to destination systems;
• Setup and manage the infrastructure required for ingestion, processing, and storage of data;
• Evaluate the model needs and objectives;
• Interpret trends and patterns of data;
• Conduct complex data analysis and report on results;
• Prepare data for analysis and reporting by transforming and cleansing it;
• Combine raw information from different sources;
• Explore ways to enhance data quality and reliability;
• Identify opportunities for data acquisition;
• Develop analytical tools and programs;
• Collaborate with cosmographers on several projects;
• Other tasks as asked.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Technical expertise in data models, data pipelines, ETL processes, data stores, data mining, and segmentation techniques;
• Excellent knowledge of programming/scripting languages (e.g., Java and Python);
• Experience with data integration platforms and SQL database design;
• Great numerical, analytical, and data security skills;
• Degree in Computer Science, IT, or a similar field; a Master’s is a plus;
• Data engineering certification (e.g., IBM Certified Data Engineer) is a plus;
• Prior experience as a data engineer or in a similar role is a plus.

MINIMUM EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

The candidate must have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Science, or a related discipline. Candidate with Master’s or Ph.D. degree, Data engineer certification (e.g., IBM Certified Data Engineer) and prior experience in data engineering and data management roles will be given preference.

The Research Associate will develop socio-computational models to advance our understanding of cyber campaigns run on social media grounded in the dynamics of various social and communication processes such as group formation, activation, decentralized decision making, and collective action. He/she will work with the research team in developing predictive models of deviant socio-technical behaviors on a variety of social media platforms (particularly, video-based platforms), usable tools/software to identify key actors and key groups responsible for coordinating cyber campaigns and disseminating propaganda. This is an on-campus position.

Position reports to: 

Dr. Nitin Agarwal, (nxagarwal@ualr.edu)
Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor
Director, COSMOS Research Center, UA-Little Rock

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assist with social media analysis for the research projects, hypothesis generation and evaluation for understanding cyber behaviors, data collection, cleaning, preprocessing, analyzing findings from the data, writing research findings, and presenting the research at conferences, scientific venues, program reviews, and other venues
• Contribute to and lead development for transitioning research to publicly available web tools.
• Assist with video-based online information environment analysis
• Conduct research applying machine learning methods to social media data
• Assist in preparing reports and publications
• Coordinate meetings and lead discussion
• Other tasks as needed

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Extensive knowledge of R or Python, including data analysis and graphing libraries such as Pandas, Matplotlib, Plotly, as well as ML libraries such as SK-Learn, TensorFlow
• Experience with machine learning techniques and models such as classifiers, transformers, clustering, etc.
• Knowledge of DB systems and SQL language
• Ability to interact with people of diverse ethnic background 
• Communication skills, writing skills, and public speaking 
• Effective organizational skills

APPRECIATED:

• Knowledge of computational social science and social network analysis
• Experience with graph theory and graphic libraries such as Gephi or NetworkX.
• Experience crawling web data
• Familiar with UNIX-based systems such as Linux

MINIMUM EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

The candidate must have a Master’s degree or currently admitted to the MS or PhD graduate degree program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The candidate should have extensive research experience in social media mining, computational modeling of social science theories, working with social network analysis tools, and examining cyber campaigns conducted on social media. A candidate with experience in computer programming and data management will be given preference.

The Research Associate will develop socio-computational models to advance our understanding of cyber campaigns run on social media grounded in the dynamics of various social and communication processes such as group formation, activation, decentralized decision making, and collective action. He/she will work with the research team in developing predictive models of deviant socio-technical behaviors on a variety of social media platforms (particularly, video-based platforms), usable tools/software to identify key actors and key groups responsible for coordinating cyber campaigns and disseminating propaganda. This is an on-campus position.

Position reports to: 

Dr. Nitin Agarwal, (nxagarwal@ualr.edu)
Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor
Director, COSMOS Research Center, UA-Little Rock

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assist with social media analysis for the research projects, hypothesis generation and evaluation for understanding cyber behaviors, data collection, cleaning, preprocessing, analyzing findings from the data, writing research findings, and presenting the research at conferences, scientific venues, program reviews, and other venues
• Contribute to development for transitioning research to publicly available web tools.
• Assist in preparing reports and publications
• Coordinate meetings and lead discussion
• Other tasks as needed

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Extensive knowledge of Java or Python, including data analysis and graphing libraries such as Pandas, Matplotlib, Plotly
• Familiar with MVC architecture
• Familiar with Javascript or related frameworks (Node, React, …)
• Familiar with HTML DOM and CSS
• Knowledge of DB systems and SQL language
• Ability to interact with people of diverse ethnic background 
• Communication skills, writing skills, and public speaking 
• Effective organizational skills

APPRECIATED:

• Knowledge of computational social science and social network analysis
• Experience with machine learning techniques and models such as classifiers, transformers, clustering, etc.
• Experience with graph theory and graphic libraries such as Gephi or NetworkX.
• Familiar with UNIX-based systems such as Linux

MINIMUM EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

The candidate must have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Science, or a related discipline. The candidate should have extensive research experience in social media mining, computational modeling of social science theories, working with social network analysis tools, and examining cyber campaigns conducted on social media. A candidate with experience in computer programming and data management will be given preference.

The Research Associate will help develop socio-computational models to advance our understanding of cyber campaigns run on social media grounded in the dynamics of various social and communication processes such as group formation, activation, decentralized decision making, and collective action. 

The Research Associate will contribute to the design and development of UI/UX for web apps, the maintenance of websites, and design of miscellaneous branding items such as social media, presentation slides, or event products such as posters, leaflets, business cards, etc. The Research Associate will support ongoing research by running basic analysis, collecting data, or performing non-technical research such as literature surveys or reports on technical solutions and best practices. This is an on-campus position.

Position reports to: 

Dr. Nitin Agarwal, (nxagarwal@ualr.edu)
Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor
Director, COSMOS Research Center, UA-Little Rock

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assist with social media analysis for the research projects, hypothesis generation and evaluation for understanding cyber behaviors, data collection, cleaning, preprocessing, analyzing findings from the data, writing research findings, and presenting the research at conferences, scientific venues, program reviews, and other venues
• Produce traditional or digital sketches of UI models based on business requirements.
• Produce static web pages based on sketches & requirements.
• Implement front-end behaviors for web pages
• Produce visual and/or written content for website articles or social media posts.
• Other tasks as needed.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Extensive knowledge of HTML/CSS
• Good experience with VS Code
• Knowledge of Google Chrome Developer Tools
• Experience with code versioning like GitHub
• Extensive knowledge of the Adobe CC Suite including but not limited to Adobe XD, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, & Lightroom, or Figma
• Knowledge of JavaScript and ability to implement dynamic behaviors in web pages (ReactJS is a plus)
• Proficiency with the Office Suite including but not limited to Microsoft Excel, Word, & PowerPoint
• Experience with transmitting skills and knowledge
• Ability to interact with people of diverse ethnic background
• Communication skills, writing skills, and public speaking 
• Effective organizational skills.

MINIMUM EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

The candidate must have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Science, or a related discipline. The candidate should be very familiar with popular social media platforms, and keep abreast of latest tools and technologies. A candidate with experience in visual arts, designing, and computer programming will be given preference.

The Research Associate will develop socio-computational models to advance our understanding of cyber campaigns run on social media grounded in the dynamics of various social and communication processes such as group formation, activation, decentralized decision making, and collective action. He/she will work with the research team in developing predictive models of deviant socio-technical behaviors on a variety of social media platforms (particularly, video-based platforms), usable tools/software to identify key actors and key groups responsible for coordinating cyber campaigns and disseminating propaganda. This is an on-campus position.

Position reports to: 

Dr. Nitin Agarwal, (nxagarwal@ualr.edu)
Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor
Director, COSMOS Research Center, UA-Little Rock

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assist with social media analysis for the research projects, hypothesis generation and evaluation for understanding cyber behaviors, data collection, cleaning, preprocessing, analyzing findings from the data, writing research findings, and presenting the research at conferences, scientific venues, program reviews, and other venues;
• Assist in data collection, research production, and literature-related tasks;
• Assist in preparing reports and publications;
• Coordinate meetings and lead discussion;
• Other tasks as needed.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Experience with data analysis –Microsoft Suite will be considered but preference is given to candidates with programming experience;
• Extensive experience in reporting and technical writing;
• Experience in research, including previous publications, reviewing scholarly articles, etc.;
• Intermediate knowledge of Python;
• Knowledge of DB systems and SQL language;
• Ability to interact with people of diverse ethnic background; 
• Communication skills, writing skills, and public speaking;
• Effective organizational skills.

MINIMUM EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

The candidate must have Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Science, or a related discipline. The candidate should have extensive research experience in social media mining, computational modeling of social science theories, working with social network analysis tools, and examining cyber campaigns conducted on social media. The candidate with experience in computer programming and data management will be given preference .

The Extra Help will help develop socio-computational models to advance our understanding of cyber campaigns run on social media grounded in the dynamics of various social and communication processes such as group formation, activation, decentralized decision making, and collective action. Extra Help/Research Associate will aid with cyber forensics and deep web search-based methodologies, to assist with extracting relevant open-source information in a guided snowball data collection manner. He/she will work with the research team to support development of predictive models of deviant socio-technical behaviors on a various social media platforms (particularly, video-based platforms) to identify key actors and key groups responsible for coordinating cyber campaigns and disseminating propaganda. This is an on-campus position.

Position reports to: 

Dr. Nitin Agarwal, (nxagarwal@ualr.edu)
Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor
Director, COSMOS Research Center, UA-Little Rock

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assist with social media analysis for the research projects, hypothesis generation and evaluation for understanding cyber behaviors;
• Data collection;
• Cleaning, preprocessing, analyzing findings from the data;
• Writing research findings;
• Presenting the research at conferences, scientific venues, program reviews, and other venues;
• Contribute to research and development;
• Assist in preparing reports and publications;
• Coordinate meetings and lead discussion;
• Other tasks as needed.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Experience with programming and web development;
• Experience in UIUX/web design and illustration;
• Experience with ML-based research;
• Experience in research and data analysis;
• Ability to interact with people of diverse ethnic background;
• Communication skills, writing skills, and public speaking;
• Effective organizational skills.

MINIMUM EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

Must have a Master’s degree or a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher learning. A candidate with experience in social media mining, computational modeling of social science theories, social network analysis tools, and examining cyber campaigns conducted on social media will be given preference.

The Extra Help/Research Associate will help develop socio-computational models to advance our understanding of cyber campaigns run on social media grounded in the dynamics of various social and communication processes such as group formation, activation, decentralized decision making, and collective action. Extra Help/Research Associate will aid with cyber forensics and deep web search-based methodologies, to assist with extracting relevant open-source information in a guided snowball data collection manner. He/she will work with the research team to support development of predictive models of deviant socio-technical behaviors on a various social media platforms (particularly, video-based platforms) to identify key actors and key groups responsible for coordinating cyber campaigns and disseminating propaganda. This is an on-campus position.

Position reports to: 

Dr. Nitin Agarwal, (nxagarwal@ualr.edu)
Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor
Director, COSMOS Research Center, UA-Little Rock

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assist with social media analysis for the research projects, such as hypothesis generation and evaluation for understanding cyber behaviors, data collection, cleaning, preprocessing, analyzing findings from the data, for preparation with drafting research findings for conferences, and scientific venues;
• Write software modules transitioning research to tool;
• Assist with online information environment analysis;
• Provide inputs for conduction of training stakeholders on research and tools;
• Mentor/monitor graduate/undergraduate students working on the project – an experience that will aid in student development to prepare/continue a successful academic career afterward;
• Assist in preparing reports and publications;
• Other tasks as directed.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Extensive knowledge of computational social science and social network analysis;
• Extensive knowledge of intensive groups analysis on social network;
• Extensive knowledge of operational research;
• Extensive knowledge of systems thinking analysis;
• Extensive knowledge of computational complex network analysis;
• Extensive knowledge of online/offline environment analysis;
• Extensive knowledge and expertise with social media mining and cyber forensics;
• Research experience in Game theories and decision making;
• Research experience with decomposition optimization analysis;
• Research experience with agent-based modeling;
• Research experience with multiplex network analysis;
• Research experience with information theory;
• Research experience with control theory and feedback analysis in social media;
• Research experience with dynamic network analysis;
• Research experience with examining cyber campaigns run on social media;
• Research experience with examining contexts on social media;
• Experience with transitioning research into usable tools;
• Computer programming skills and data management skills;
• Ability to interact with people of diverse ethnic background;
• Communication skills, writing skills, and public speaking;
• Effective organizational skills.

MINIMUM EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

The candidate must be enrolled in a Master’s degree program; Computer Science, Information Science, Systems Engineering or a related discipline. The candidate should have extensive research experience in social media mining, computational modeling of social science theories, working with social network analysis tools, and examining cyber campaigns conducted on social media. The candidate with experience in operational research, optimization tools, information theory, multiplex networks analysis, computer programming, and data management will be given preference.

The Extra Help/Research Associate will help develop socio-computational models to advance our understanding of cyber campaigns run on social media grounded in the dynamics of various social and communication processes such as group formation, activation, decentralized decision making, and collective action. Extra Help/Research Associate will aid with cyber forensics and deep web search-based methodologies, to assist with extracting relevant open-source information in a guided snowball data collection manner. He/she will work with the research team to support development of predictive models of deviant socio-technical behaviors on a various social media platforms (particularly, video-based platforms) to identify key actors and key groups responsible for coordinating cyber campaigns and disseminating propaganda. This is an on-campus position.

Position reports to: 

Dr. Nitin Agarwal, (nxagarwal@ualr.edu)
Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor
Director, COSMOS Research Center, UA-Little Rock

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assist with social media analysis for the research projects, such as hypothesis generation and evaluation for understanding cyber behaviors, data collection, cleaning, preprocessing, analyzing findings from the data, for preparation with drafting research findings for conferences, and scientific venues;
• Write software modules transitioning research to tool;
• Assist with online information environment analysis;
• Provide inputs for conduction of training stakeholders on research and tools;
• Mentor/monitor graduate/undergraduate students working on the project – an experience that will aid in student development to prepare/continue a successful academic career afterward;
• Assist in preparing reports and publications;
• Other tasks as directed.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Extensive knowledge of computational social science and social network analysis;
• Extensive knowledge of intensive groups analysis on social network;
• Extensive knowledge of operational research;
• Extensive knowledge of systems thinking analysis;
• Extensive knowledge of computational complex network analysis;
• Extensive knowledge of online/offline environment analysis;
• Extensive knowledge and expertise with social media mining and cyber forensics;
• Research experience in Game theories and decision making;
• Research experience with decomposition optimization analysis;
• Research experience with agent-based modeling;
• Research experience with multiplex network analysis;
• Research experience with information theory;
• Research experience with control theory and feedback analysis in social media;
• Research experience with dynamic network analysis;
• Research experience with examining cyber campaigns run on social media;
• Research experience with examining contexts on social media;
• Experience with transitioning research into usable tools;
• Computer programming skills and data management skills;
• Ability to interact with people of diverse ethnic background;
• Communication skills, writing skills, and public speaking;
• Effective organizational skills.

MINIMUM EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

The candidate must have a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Information Science, Systems Engineering or a related discipline. The candidate should have extensive research experience in social media mining, computational modeling of social science theories, working with social network analysis tools, and examining cyber campaigns conducted on social media. The candidate with experience in operational research, optimization tools, information theory, multiplex networks analysis, computer programming, and data management will be given preference.