General Description

Salary: $40,000-$60,000 a year

PREP Research Associate

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

Research Title:

Researching Scenarios for AI Evaluations and Metrics

The work will entail: 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is building a library of sector-specific scenarios to facilitate AI evaluations and measurements. These scenarios are grounded in real-world AI use cases and developed with input from the broader AI community and sector stakeholders. Well-defined key elements of scenarios will ensure AI evaluations are both realistic and effective. The PREP candidate will be responsible for assisting in refining and documenting the AI scenario collection and generation process. The candidate will actively participate in NIST measurement science and be involved in human-centered research and evaluations of AI technologies.

Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Developing methodology to assess various dimensions of the "goodness" of scenarios for AI evaluations, such as, but not limited to:
• Measurability of risks and benefits in AI scenarios, both at the individual and organizational levels.
• Applicability of scenarios to various evaluation types, such as evaluations to elicit negative impacts (e.g., risks), evaluations to elicit positive impacts (e.g., benefits), and evaluations of human-AI interaction.

§  Operationalizing higher-level key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics of AI scenarios into meaningful measures of risks and benefits.

§  Refining and documenting the AI scenario collection and generation process for replicability and efficient scenario library development.

§  Presenting results at internal meetings and occasional meetings with external stakeholders.

§  Ensuring that results, protocols, and documentation have been archived or otherwise transmitted to the larger organization.

Qualifications

§  Background in any of the following or comparable fields: Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Human Factors/Engineering Psychology, Psychometrics, Economics.

§  Education level: graduate student or higher (postdoc preferred).

§  Strong background in research methodology.

§  Competency in quantitative and/or qualitative research and data analysis.

§  Knowledge/interest in human-computer interaction and human-AI interaction.

§  Knowledge/interest in machine learning and AI test and evaluation.

§  Ability to work both in teams and independently.

§  Strong oral and written communication skills.

Number of Positions and hours/week

§  1 position, if postdoctoral (preferred), full-time at 40 hours/week

§  The details of the work arrangement are negotiable, but the position is envisioned to be telework, with the possibility of occasional in-person meetings on the NIST Gaithersburg campus.

Application Instructions

Please upload the following with your application:

-         CV/Resume

*Please limit C.V to 3 pages only and ONLY include a valid email address for your contact info. Your resume will not be considered if the following information is included on your CV/resume.

-         Self portraits

-         Phone number

-         Home address/Country

-         Citizenship status

-         Languages spoken

-         Sex/Gender

Privacy Act Statement

Authority:  15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose:  The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the  Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor's degree holders, graduate students, master's degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.  

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses:  NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices:  NIST-1: NIST Associates. 

Disclosure:  Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.

About Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University remains committed to its founding principle, that education for all students should be grounded in exploration and discovery. Hopkins students are challenged not just to learn but also to advance learning itself. Critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and entrepreneurship are all encouraged and nourished in this unique educational environment. After more than 130 years, Johns Hopkins remains a world leader in both teaching and research. Faculty members and their research colleagues at the university's Applied Physics Laboratory have each year since 1979 won Johns Hopkins more federal research and development funding than any other university. The university has nine academic divisions and campuses throughout the Baltimore-Washington area. The Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the Whiting School of Engineering, the School of Education and the Carey Business School are based at the Homewood campus in northern Baltimore. The schools of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing share a campus in east Baltimore with The Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Peabody Institute, a leading professional school of music, is located on Mount Vernon Place in downtown Bal...timore. The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies is located in Washington's Dupont Circle area.

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