Jobs UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER

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Professional Research Assistant

Requisition Number:

66799

Location:

Boulder, Colorado

City

Boulder

State

Colorado

Employment Type:

Research Faculty

Schedule:

Full-Time

Posting Close Date:

29-Aug-2025

Date Posted:

22-Aug-2025
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Job Summary

The applicant that is selected for this position will be part of a team of engineers and researchers conducting research and development (R&D) activities focused on accelerating the development of artificial intelligence communications solutions for first responders.

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Professional Research Experience Program (PREP).  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.
CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Who We Are

PREP is a special partnership between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder. PREP provides research opportunities to CU undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers with a Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in NIST labs to gain research experience alongside NIST scientists. 

The particular group that needs a researcher is the Network Operations Group under the Public Safety Communications Research Division at NIST.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

  • Research and document public safety AI communications solutions and the datasets that are used to train and test them.
  • Research, evaluate, and document available AI tools and applications that are the best fit for public safety AI communications solutions.
  • Document the AI dataset curation process and determine the best target public safety datasets and the dataset enhancement options.
  • Investigate AI standards organizations and applicability to public safety AI communications solutions and the datasets, and identify opportunities for participation.
  • Participate in public safety artificial intelligence working groups, standards meetings, and public safety collaborators and curate shared information from collaborators on their use/witness of AI for public safety communications use cases, challenges, and technological gaps.
  • Evaluate future public safety artificial intelligence use cases and what datasets could be used to train and test them, as well as identifying technology challenges and gaps to address.
  • Assist with designing and hosting a Public Safety AI Workshop to gather feedback on future public safety artificial intelligence use cases and what datasets could be used to train and test them.
  • Inform a public safety AI enhancement roadmap.

What You Should Know

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 of 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.

What We Can Offer

  • The salary range for this full-time position is $54,000 - $67,000 annually.
  • Onboarding/relocation assistance may be available, however, if within a 12-month period you exercise your right to willfully terminate your employment with the University of Colorado, you hereby agree to reimburse the department for your relocation expense.

Benefits

The University of Colorado offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO Pass. The University of Colorado Boulder is one of the largest employers in Boulder County and offers an inspiring higher education environment. Learn more about the University of Colorado Boulder.

Be Statements

Be ambitious. Be pioneering. Be Boulder.

What We Require

  • A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or a related field.

What We Would Like You to Have

  • Experience with modern AI tools and applications (AWS, GCP, Azure, MLFlow, SQL, BigQuery, Snowflake).
  • Knowledge of data structures, formats, and AI data curation processes.
  • Experience with identifying data needs for AI uses cases, and evaluating dataset quality and representativeness.
  • Knowledge of software engineering for AI applications.
  • Knowledge of mathematical probability and statistics and optimization methods.
  • Knowledge of machine learning including supervised and unsupervised learning, deep learning, and model evaluation.
  • Knowledge of dataset biases, and labeling issues.
  • Knowledge of AI model building.
  • Knowledge of translating operational needs into solvable AI problems.

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:
  1. Resume or CV
  2. Cover letter addressed to the Search Committee briefly describing your qualifications, professional goals, and specific interest in this position.
If you are selected as the finalist, your degree will be verified by the CU Boulder Campus Human Resources department using an approved online vendor. If your degree was obtained outside of the United States, please submit a translated version as an optional attachment.
 
During the application process you will need to enter contact information for a reference. We will request the letter of recommendation immediately following your application. 
 
Review of applications will begin immediately and remain open until August 29, 2025.
 
Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, applications must be submitted through CU Boulder Jobs.

In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Posting Contact Information

Posting Contact Name: Lisa Valencia

Posting Contact Email: recruitprep@colorado.edu