Research Faculty

Job Description

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) conducts research to save lives, time, and money and protect the environment. As one of six premier research institutes created by Virginia Tech to answer national challenges, VTTI is continually advancing transportation through innovation and has affected public policy on national and international levels. This position provides a hands‑on opportunity to work with cutting‑edge vehicle and roadway lighting technologies through systematic deployment and testing.

VTTI seeks a qualified and ambitious researcher with a strong background in either Engineering/Psychology with Lighting or Visibility specialization and Human Factors experience, or Engineering/Statistics with safety analysis and/or transportation safety specialization, including but not limited to degrees in Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Human Factors, etc. The ideal candidate is an experienced researcher capable of supporting (as a research associate) or leading research projects (as a senior research associate) and working collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams to improve transportation safety through cutting‑edge research.

This position independently plans, schedules, conducts, or coordinates detailed tasks as part of major transportation lighting and infrastructure safety projects. Work involves engineering practice and may include complex features such as conflicting design requirements, unsuitability of conventional materials, and difficult coordination requirements. The candidate will contribute to research conceptualization, proposal development, and resource acquisition; interact with sponsors; interpret findings; prepare reports;

and present results. Work will focus on transportation safety projects that include lighting, visibility, signaling, signage, traffic safety, accident databases, safety modeling, roadway design, intersection and pedestrian safety, traffic control/operation devices, driver behavior, traffic theory, and human factors.

• Assist in the development of proposals and research plans.
• Research and assist in the composition of literature reviews.
• Help organize, attend, and participate in project meetings.
• Assist with the conceptualization and creation of work plans, protocols, and procedures.
• Coordinate and collaborate with subcontractors and interface with stakeholders and sponsors as required.
• Analyze data including preparing SAS, Matlab, ArcGIS, and SQL analyses.
• Interpret results and develop robust conclusions.
• Work with peers, research assistants, undergrad students, technicians, and support staff to coordinate project tasks.
• Work effectively independently with oversight and within multidisciplinary project teams as appropriate.

• Act as Principal Investigator on funded research projects.
• Lead the development of proposals, research plans, and composition of literature reviews.
• Write, review, and critique proposals, research plans, and final reports.
• Organize, attend, and participate in project meetings.
• Conceptualize and write work plans.
• Manage project activities and execution of research plan.
• Respond to requests for proposal and obtain funding with the goal of providing sustainable support for themselves and other researchers.
• Maintain existing sponsor relationships, develop new relationships with potential sponsors, and solicit research funding.
• Analyze data including preparing SAS, Matlab, ArcGIS, and SQL analyses.
• Present research findings.
• Collaborate and participate in industry conferences, seminars, and committees.
• Collaborate on research studies as needed.
• Present and publish research findings.
• Supervise students, junior researchers, and waged employees as needed.

• Research Associate rank:
  Master’s degree in Engineering or Statistics with safety analysis and/or transportation safety specialization, including but not limited to degrees in Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Human Factors, etc.
• Senior Research Associate rank:
  PhD in Engineering or Statistics with safety analysis and/or transportation safety specialization, including but not limited…