Postdoctoral

Postdoctoral Research Position in the Identity Lab

The Identity Lab in the Department of Information Science at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) seeks a postdoctoral researcher for qualitative and design projects focused on the intersection of human-centered computing and machine learning.

We have shifted into an era of data analytics, but qualitative and inductive scholarship is often overlooked during these advances. Is it possible to include qualitative scholars in this revolution? And if so, what should the balance be between human analysts and computational tools?

This postdoc will work directly with Prof. Jed Brubaker and join an inter-disciplinary research team investigating how big data analytics and machine learning techniques can be extended to qualitative analysis. The post-doc would serve a central role in pressing forward qualitative and design investigations that focus on the sociotechnical interplay between qualitative researchers and novel analysis tools. Project directions include but are not limited to:

  • User research studying the work and analysis practices of qualitative scholars
  • Design research to inform the creation of collaborative human-machine analysis systems for qualitative datasets
  • Accounting for analyst bias in data-driven decision making
  • Investigating trust in data and algorithmic decision making
  • Collaborative efforts with human-centered machine learning and visualization scholars

Information Science at CU takes an innovative approach to the discipline of Information Science, focusing on human–data interaction in all its diverse forms and contexts. Successful applicants will work alongside a world-class faculty with strengths in computer, social, and data science and draw on engineering, social science, and humanist traditions. CU Boulder is a research university with about 25,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduate students. The city of Boulder is a high-tech hub, with the highest concentration of tech startups in the US (2.5 times the density of Silicon Valley, according to the Kauffman Foundation). Boulder is also home to multiple national labs and institutes, including NCAR, NIST, NOAA, and NREL. Located at the base of the Rocky Mountains yet only 27 miles from Denver, Boulder is frequently named one of the most desirable places in the US to live.

Ideal candidates will have a Ph.D. with a research background in social computing, information science, human-computer interaction, technology and society, or a related field. Due to funding restrictions, candidates must be U.S. citizens. Candidates may begin as soon as Fall 2020, though starting dates are flexible. Review of applications will begin immediately. Please contact Prof. Jed Brubaker (jed.brubaker@colorado.edu) with any additional questions or to apply. Applications should include a CV, a short cover letter related to candidate interests in this project, and contact information for three references.