COSMOS – Postdoctoral Fellow III

Closing Date:

Type of position:Researchers

NoJob Type:Regular

NoInstitution Name: University of Arkansas at Little Rock

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is a metropolitan research university that provides an accessible, quality education through flexible learning and unparalleled internship opportunities. At UA Little Rock, we prepare our more than 8,900 students to be innovators and responsible leaders in their fields. Committed to its metropolitan research university mission, UA Little Rock is a driving force in Little Rock’s thriving cultural community and a major component of the city and state’s growing profile as a regional leader in research, technology transfer, economic development, and job creation.

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Department:COSMOS – Provisional Positions

Summary of Job Duties:The Postdoctoral Fellow position is a full-time, provisional position with the COSMOS Research Center (cosmos.ualr.edu) at the University of Arkansas and is funded through a grant or contract. The position renewal is contingent upon continued grant funding and satisfactory job performance. Postdoctoral Fellow will develop socio-computational models to advance our understanding of cyber campaigns run on social media, grounded in the dynamics of various social and communication processes such as group formation, activation, decentralized decision-making, and collective action. The Postdoctoral Fellow will help extract relevant open-source information in a guided snowball data collection manner by leveraging cyber forensics and deep web search-based methodologies. Postdoctoral Fellow will work with the research team in developing predictive models of various socio-technical behaviors on different social media platforms (including multimedia-rich platforms), and usable tools/software to identify key actors and key groups responsible for coordinating cyber campaigns and disseminating propaganda. This is an on-campus position. This position is governed by state and federal laws, and agency/institution policy.
The position reports to Prof. Nitin Agarwal ([email protected]), Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair, Distinguished Professor, and Director, COSMOS Research Center at UA-Little Rock.Qualifications:

Required Education and/or experience:

• The candidate must have a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Information Science, or a related discipline;

• The candidate must have 3+ years of research experience in social media mining, computational modeling of social science theories, working with social network analysis tools, and examining cyber campaigns conducted on social media. The research experience must be demonstrated through published research articles in leading journals and conferences relevant to the topics mentioned above; and

• The candidate must have 1+ years of experience in grant writing and management. Grant writing experience must be demonstrated through a successful grant acquisition and management record.

Preferred Education and/or Experience:

• Candidates with extensive research experience in computer programming and data management will be given preference.

• Candidates with successful grant-writing experience and a strong publication record will be given preference.

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

• Prepare and submit grant applications for external funding;

• Project management (e.g., setting and tracking deadlines and progress of team members, providing reports to the supervisor);

• Lead and coordinate project meetings, including agenda setting and minute-taking;

• Assist in developing new research initiatives aligned with the Center’s mission;

• Manage complex research projects, offering strategic direction and oversight;

• Conduct social media analysis to support research projects, including ideation, hypothesis generation, data collection, preprocessing, and analysis of cyber behaviors;

• Analyze multimedia-rich content within online information environments;

• Synthesize research findings into written reports and scholarly publications, and present at conferences, program reviews, and other scientific venues;

• Develop software modules to operationalize and transition research outcomes into practical tools;

• Support stakeholder training in research methodologies and developed tools;

• Mentor and oversee graduate students involved in research, preparing for an academic or professional career;

• Perform other duties and provide additional support as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Advanced in data analysis, modeling, machine learning, and AI, using Python and SQL, with extensive experience in libraries and frameworks such as Pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, Gensim, BERTopic, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and LLMs;

• Advanced in data visualization using Matplotlib, Seaborn, and ggplot2, and experienced in managing research projects with tools like Git/GitHub, ClickUp, and Jupyter Notebooks;

• Advanced in NLP, text mining, and graph analytics, including the use of NLTK, spaCy, TextBlob, VADER, and transformer-based models (e.g., BERT, GPT);

• Familiar with social network analysis (SNA) using NetworkX, igraph, and Gephi for complex network and graph-based data exploration;

• Successful research grant writing and management record for federal (e.g., NSF, DoD) and state (e.g., ARA) funding agencies and foundations;

• Advanced understanding of research methodologies, data collection strategies, and statistical/analytical techniques;

• Advanced in computational social science, including social network analysis and social media mining;

• Extensive experience researching cyber campaigns on social media platforms;

• Skilled in analyzing multimedia content in dynamic and complex online environments;

• Proficient in qualitative and mixed-methods data collection and analysis;

• Demonstrated ability to translate research into usable, operational tools or applications;

• Strong computer programming and data management skills;

• Culturally competent and able to work effectively with individuals from diverse disciplinary backgrounds;

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills for scholarly publication, collaboration, and public engagement;

• Experience supervising and mentoring student researchers and volunteers;

• Excellent organizational and project management capabilities, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks and deadlines;

• Proven ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary research team.

Additional Information:

$95,000 annual

Letters of Recommendation, Listing of Publications, List of three Professional References (name, email, business title), Resume

Special Instructions to Applicants:

Prof. Nitin Agarwal <[email protected]>
Jerry L. Maulden-Entergy Chair and Donaghey Distinguished Professor
Director, COSMOS Research Center

All application materials must be uploaded to the University of Arkansas System Career Sitehttps://uasys.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/UASYS

Please do not send to listed recruitment contact.

Pre-employment Screening Requirements:Criminal Background Check, Sex Offender Registry

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is committed to providing a safe campus community. We conduct background checks for applicants being considered for employment. Background checks include a criminal background check and a sex offender registry check. For certain positions, there may also be a financial (credit) background check, a Motor Vehicle Registry (MVR) check, and/or drug screening. Required checks are identified in the position listing. A criminal conviction or arrest pending adjudication or adverse financial history information alone shall not disqualify an applicant in the absence of a relationship to the requirements of the position. Background check information will be used in a confidential, non-discriminatory manner consistent with state and federal law.

The University of Arkansas is an equal opportunity institution. The University does not discriminate in its education programs or activities (including in admission and employment) on the basis of any category or status protected by law, including age, race, color, national origin, disability, religion, protected veteran status, military service, genetic information, sex, sexual preference, or pregnancy. Questions or concerns about the application of Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, may be sent to the University’s Title IX Coordinator and to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

Persons must have proof of legal authority to work in the United States on the first day of employment.

All application information is subject to public disclosure under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

Constant Physical Activity:Hearing, Manipulate items with fingers, including keyboarding, Repetitive Motion, Sitting, Standing, Talking, WalkingFrequent Physical Activity:Hearing, Manipulate items with fingers, including keyboarding, Repetitive Motion, Sitting, Standing, Talking, WalkingOccasional Physical Activity:Hearing, Manipulate items with fingers, including keyboarding, Repetitive Motion, Sitting, Standing, Talking, WalkingBenefits Eligible:Yes</[email protected]>
The University of Arkansas is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The university welcomes applications without regard to age, race, gender (including pregnancy), national origin, disability, religion, marital or parental status, protected veteran status, military service, genetic information, sexual orientation or gender identity. Persons must have proof of legal authority to work in the United States on the first day of employment. All applicant information is subject to public disclosure under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.