A Research Associate typically has more experience than a Research Assistant. Responsibilities can include the planning and design of research projects, conducting experiments, analyzing data, contributing to research publications or grant proposals, and collaborating with other researchers. Works in a variety of fields within science or the social sciences, in programs based at a university or research institution, or works on government or industry sponsored research projects. Conducts field or library research or recruits participants for a study; may also assist with legal research. These roles are often held by people with advanced degrees in their field of study with several years of experience in research or academia.
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette seeks a Research Associate IV/V to be positioned at the Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC) at Baton Rouge, LA. The successful candidate will work at LTRC's Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Lab, a state-of-the-art facility where traffic data is collected, analyzed, and reported. The research associate will provide technical expertise in all aspects of the data collection, analysis, and reporting stages of a research project. Research projects range from traffic simulation studies to experimental studies that implement novel traffic solutions. This position is expected to work on analyzing transportation engineering data including but not limited to probe data, crash data, traffic flow data, census data etc. and developing meaningful inferences, while supporting solution development through traffic modeling, statistical modeling and machine learning approaches as well as the development and management of relational databases.
Job Responsibilities:
The candidate will contribute to the conceptualization of research and proposal development with principal investigators. With assistance, the successful applicant will develop the day-to-day operations of research projects including: literature reviews, research design, research execution, data analysis, report writing, presentations, and publications.
Duties and responsibilities include:
Develop and maintain databases using direct access and application data import and retrieval processes. Perform research and analyze traffic data to address ITS, traffic safety, and planning issues. The candidate will serve as the primary resource on data analytics. Produce meaningful visualizations from data analytics for inclusion in research reports. Provide technical expertise in the application of machine learning algorithms in traffic modeling and simulation work that incorporates emerging concepts including connected and/or automated vehicles. Interpret and derive meaningful insights from statistical and machine learning analyses related to traffic safety, planning, and ITS. Contribute to the conceptualization and creation of research statements, proposals, and reports.
Qualifications:
Minimum Requirements:
MS degree in relevant engineering discipline (Civil Engineering with graduate work related to transportation systems research preferred) Experience in relational database development and management Experience in safety (crash) data analysis, machine learning algorithms, and advanced statistical analysis Experience using statistical computer languages: R, Python, etc.
Preferred Requirements:
Ph. D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a Transportation Engineering specialization Experience of large scale traffic data reduction and analysis Experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Probe Data, Tableau, VISSIM, and NLOGIT Job Ad# (req4441)
