Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate

About the role

The University of Southern California (USC), founded in 1880, is located in the heart of downtown L.A. and is the largest private employer in the City of Los Angeles. As an employee of USC, you will be a part of a world-class research university and a member of the “Trojan Family,” which is comprised of the faculty, staff, and students that make the university a great place to work.

The USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences is seeking a Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate in the Department of Psychology. The largest and oldest of the USC schools, USC Dornsife functions as the academic core of the university, offering courses and advancing knowledge across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

The Department of Psychology at the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences invites applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar – Research Associate in the Piray Lab. The Piray Lab, led by Dr. Payam Piray and affiliated with the USC Neuroscience Program, investigates how the brain learns, makes decisions, draws conclusions, and generalizes from noisy and incomplete information.

The lab combines methods from machine learning and cognitive neuroscience to study the mechanisms that support cognitive processes, such as learning and decision-making, under uncertainty. The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary research environment spanning neuroscience, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence.

Responsibilities

• Develop and conduct research projects concerning learning, decision-making, inference, and generalization under uncertainty.
• Develop, evaluate, and apply computational models of cognition and behavior.
• Interpret research findings and integrate them with the relevant scientific literature.
• Prepare manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
• Present research findings at scientific conferences, seminars, and laboratory meetings.
• Collaborate with faculty members, graduate students, research staff, and external research partners.
• Contribute to grant proposals and other research-related materials.
• Maintain clear documentation, reproducible analysis workflows, and well-organized research data and code.
• Provide research guidance or mentorship to graduate and undergraduate students, as appropriate.
• Participate actively in the intellectual and professional activities of the Piray Lab and the Department.

Preferred Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent doctoral degree in psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, computer science or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience conducting quantitative research.
• Experience with computational modeling, statistical analysis, or both.
• Evidence of scientific writing ability.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively.
• Neuroimaging experience is preferred but not required.

Salary Range

The salary range for this position is $70,000.00 - $70,304.00. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

Performs other related duties as assigned or requested. The university reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.

Required Documents and Additional Information

• Resume and cover letter required (may be uploaded as one file). Please do not submit your application without these documents.
• Fixed term appointment.
• Job openings are posted for a minimum of (5) five business days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended, so please apply on the same business day if interested.

Recent doctoral graduate (Ph.D, Sc.D, and equivalent doctorates) in related field within five years of initial appointment.

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