Junior Specialist - Oakes Lab

Position overview

Salary range: $55,000 at Step 1.

Open date:
April 9, 2026.

Most recent review date:
Friday, Apr 24, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Applications received after this date will be reviewed by the search committee if the position has not yet been filled.

Final date:
Thursday, Dec 31, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Dr. Lisa Oakes, Director of the Infant Cognition Lab at the Center for Mind and Brain, seeks to fill a research assistant position at the Junior Specialist level starting as soon as July 1, 2026. This is a 100% position for one year, with possible extension depending on funding and contingent on adequate performance and mutual fit.

Responsibilities are described in further detail below. In general, the person will be hired to run experimental sessions with infants, including behavioral tasks using head‑mounted eye tracking from both parent and infant and other remote eye tracking tasks.

• Develop behavioral coding schemes and code infant and child behaviors alone and in interactions.
• Program research studies and create computer programs for presenting experimental stimuli and collecting data.
• Assist with data processing and analyses.
• Engage in publishable research activities: reviewing journal articles, discussing research and interpretation of results, independent data analysis, preparing findings for submission to conferences and journals.
• Author publications where appropriate.
• Work flexible hours, including some evenings and weekends.

• Study design: use Matlab, Python, and other software programming environments to create and evaluate potential images and videos used as stimuli; contribute to decisions about stimulus features to manipulate and counterbalance.
• Data collection: develop computer programs for presenting stimuli and collecting data using behavioral and eye‑tracking techniques from infant, child, and adult participants; use standardized assessments of development (e.g., motor development, language development) with children; recruit, interview, and consent participants or their caregivers.
• Data analysis: contribute to development of statistical analysis plan; process, code, and conduct analysis of eye‑tracking and behavioral data using Matlab, R, and Python.
• Literature reviews: conduct reviews of ongoing studies, lead discussions of relevant work in lab meetings, and use this knowledge to plan manuscript preparation and future studies.
• Present research at national and international conferences, e.g., Society for Research in Child Development (April 2027), Vision Science Society (May 2027).

• Attend conferences and present findings at least one of the conferences listed above.
• Attend webinars, workshops, and seminars hosted by professional organizations such as the International Congress of Infant Studies, the Many Babies Consortium, etc.
• Participate in self‑guided web‑based courses to learn new research skills.
• Sit in on graduate level courses at UC Davis, as appropriate, to acquire new skills or mastery of a content area.

• Train undergraduate students on participant recruitment, data collection, coding, and analyses protocols.
• Maintain social media aimed at disseminating information about child development research to a broad audience, including parents and families.

• Bachelor’s degree in Psychology or related field.
• Experience with testing behavioral research with human participants.
• Knowledge of software:
  Excel, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Director, Filemaker.
• Experience with programming environments such as Matlab, Python, or R.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Availability to work flexible job hours.
• Familiarity with human subjects protocols; experience conducting interview or consenting potential research participants.

• Experience with eye tracking research with young children in a laboratory setting.
• Experience…