Professional Research Assistant

Professional Research Assistant

Requisition Number: 69085

Location: Boulder Colorado

Employment Type: Research Faculty

Schedule: Full Time

Posting Close Date: 09-Jan-2026

The applicant who 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 and deployment of real‑world test methodology to evaluate communications protocols in Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) for first responder solutions.

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 and 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.

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 Public Safety Communications Research Division – HQ under the Public Safety Communications Research Division at NIST.

• Conduct a literature review and document criteria for drone communications simulator solutions and the datasets that are used to train and test them.
• Prepare industry landscape identifying long‑range communications, mesh networking, and best practices on developing methodologies of communications technologies.
• Develop a software program for a new drone communications simulator platform or to retrofit an existing platform, integrating radio hardware communications components.
• Develop open‑source code and processes.
• Create and collect measurement data for the drone simulator.
• Document the dataset curation process for public use and determine the target public safety datasets and dataset enhancement options.
• Participate in public safety working groups and stakeholder testing to compare simulations with live UAS flights and curate shared information from collaborators.
• Evaluate drone simulator use cases and what datasets could be used to train and test them, as well as identify technology challenges and gaps to address.

The salary range for this full‑time position is $54,000 – $65,000 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.

At the University of Colorado Boulder, we are committed to supporting the holistic health and well‑being of our employees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, and retirement plans; generous paid time off; tuition assistance for you and your dependents; and an ECO Pass for local transit. As one of Boulder County’s largest employers, CU Boulder offers an inspiring academic community and access to world‑class outdoor recreation.

Be ambitious. Be pioneering. Be Boulder.

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

To apply, please submit the following materials: