COSMOS - Postdoctoral Fellow II

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Closing Date

Type of Position

Researchers

Workstudy Position

No

Job Type

Regular

Work Shift

Sponsorship Available

No

Institution Name

University of Arkansas at Little RockThe University of Arkansas at Little Rock is a metropolitan research university that provides an accessible, quality education through flexible learning and unparalleled internship opportunities. At UA Little Rock, we prepare our more than 8,900 students to be innovators and responsible leaders in their fields. Committed to its metropolitan research university mission, UA Little Rock is a driving force in Little Rock's thriving cultural community and a major component of the city and state's growing profile as a regional leader in research, technology transfer, economic development, and job creation.

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Department

COSMOS - Provisional Positions

Department's Website

https://cosmos.ualr.edu/

Summary of Job Duties

The Postdoctoral Fellow position is a full-time, provisional position with the COSMOS Research Center (cosmos.ualr.edu) at the University of Arkansas and is funded through a grant or contract. The position renewal is contingent upon continued grant funding and satisfactory job performance. 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 by leveraging cyber forensics and deep web search-based methodologies. Postdoctoral Fellow will work with the research team in developing predictive models of various socio-technical behaviors on different social media platforms (including multimedia-rich platforms), and usable tools/software to identify key actors and key groups responsible for coordinating cyber campaigns and disseminating propaganda. This is an on-campus position. This position is governed by state and federal laws, and agency/institution policy.

The position reports to Prof. Nitin Agarwal (nxagarwal@ualr.edu), Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair & Donaghey Distinguished Professor, and Director, COSMOS Research Center at UA-Little Rock.

Qualifications

Required Education and/or Experience

• The candidate must have a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Information Science, or a related discipline;
• The candidate must have 2+ years of 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 research experience must be demonstrated through published research articles in leading journals and conferences relevant to the topics mentioned above.

Preferred Education and/or Experience

• Candidates with extensive research experience in computer programming and data management will be given preference.
• Candidates with grant-writing experience and a strong publication record will be given preference.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct social media analysis to support research projects, including ideation, hypothesis generation, and evaluation of cyber behaviors;
• Lead tasks in data collection, cleaning, preprocessing, analysis, and interpretation;
• Analyze multimedia-rich online information environments to identify patterns and trends;
• Dissemination of findings through reports, publications, and presentations at conferences, scientific meetings, program reviews, and other venues;
• Contribute substantially to the preparation of grant proposals and technical reports;
• Develop software modules to integrate research outcomes into practical tools and applications;
• Provide training and technical assistance to stakeholders on research findings, methodologies, and developed tools;
• Project management (e.g., setting and tracking deadlines and progress of team members, providing reports to the supervisor);
• Mentor and supervise graduate students involved in research projects, preparing for a potential future academic career;
• Organize and coordinate research team meetings (involving researchers and data engineers), lead discussions, and document meeting minutes;
• Perform other duties and provide additional support as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Proficient in data analysis, modeling, machine learning, and AI, using Python and SQL, with extensive experience in libraries and frameworks such as Pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, Gensim, BERTopic, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and LLMs;
• Skilled in data visualization using Matplotlib, Seaborn, and ggplot2, and experienced in managing research projects with tools like Git/GitHub, ClickUp, and Jupyter Notebooks;
• Specialized in NLP, text mining, and graph analytics, including the use of NLTK, spaCy, TextBlob, VADER, and transformer-based models (e.g., BERT, GPT);
• Familiar with social network analysis (SNA) using NetworkX, igraph, and Gephi for complex network and graph-based data exploration;
• Experience with research grant writing for federal (e.g., NSF, DoD) and state (e.g., ARA) funding agencies and foundations;
• Intermediate-level understanding of research methodology, data collection techniques, and statistical/analytical methods;
• Familiarity with computational social science, including social network analysis and social media mining;
• Experience in researching cyber campaigns and multimedia content on social media platforms;
• Demonstrated ability to translate research outcomes into usable tools or applications;
• Proficient in computer programming and data management;
• Ability to engage effectively with individuals from diverse disciplinary backgrounds;
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to present research findings clearly and collaborate effectively in team environments;
• Experience in mentoring students, researchers, data engineers, and volunteers;
• Excellent organizational and project management abilities, with proven capacity to manage multiple priorities and deadlines;
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary research team.

Additional Information

Salary Information

$85,000 annual

Required Documents to Apply

Letters of Recommendation, Listing of Publications, List of three Professional References (name, email, business title), Resume

Optional Documents

Special Instructions to Applicants

Recruitment Contact Information

Prof. Nitin Agarwal <nxagarwal@ualr.edu>

Jerry L. Maulden-Entergy Chair and Donaghey Distinguished Professor

Director, COSMOS Research Center

All application materials must be uploaded to the University of Arkansas System Career Site https://uasys.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/UASYS

Please do not send to listed recruitment contact.

Pre-employment Screening Requirements

Criminal Background Check, Sex Offender Registry

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is committed to providing a safe campus community. We conduct background checks for applicants being considered for employment. Background checks include a criminal background check and a sex offender registry check. For certain positions, there may also be a financial (credit) background check, a Motor Vehicle Registry (MVR) check, and/or drug screening. Required checks are identified in the position listing. A criminal conviction or arrest pending adjudication or adverse financial history information alone shall not disqualify an applicant in the absence of a relationship to the requirements of the position. Background check information will be used in a confidential, non-discriminatory manner consistent with state and federal law.

The University of Arkansas is an equal opportunity institution. The University does not discriminate in its education programs or activities (including in admission and employment) on the basis of any category or status protected by law, including age, race, color, national origin, disability, religion, protected veteran status, military service, genetic information, sex, sexual preference, or pregnancy. Questions or concerns about the application of Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, may be sent to the University’s Title IX Coordinator and to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

Persons must have proof of legal authority to work in the United States on the first day of employment.

All application information is subject to public disclosure under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

Constant Physical Activity

Hearing, Manipulate items with fingers, including keyboarding, Repetitive Motion, Sitting, Standing, Talking, Walking

Frequent Physical Activity

Hearing, Manipulate items with fingers, including keyboarding, Repetitive Motion, Sitting, Standing, Talking, Walking

Occasional Physical Activity

Hearing, Manipulate items with fingers, including keyboarding, Repetitive Motion, Sitting, Standing, Talking, Walking

Benefits Eligible

Yes