About the Opportunity

SUMMARY

The Network Science Institute (NetSI) is hiring one Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the newly formed Complexity & Society Lab (the “&-Lab”). The &-Lab is an interdisciplinary research group that develops tools, theory, and models for complex systems. We use these tools to document—and fight against—emergent or systemic disparities across society, especially as they relate to public health and public safety.

The &-Lab is expanding as we embark on a new grant-funded research initiative, where we aim to document, analyze, and visualize inequalities across court systems themselves in the United States. A primary goal of this work will be to build interactive data tools that inform the public, policy-makers, and researchers about the impact of municipal court policy and procedures. This project will take place alongside ongoing research at the intersection of complex systems and data science. Research in the &-Lab is interdisciplinary and highly collaborative, and we work closely with scholars in the humanities, historians, ethicists, legal scholars, and policy advocates. Within NetSI, our team collaborates with multiple research groups working on questions of public health, human mobility, AI, and network theory. While the selected candidate will primarily be expected to contribute to work on the criminal legal system, they would also be joining a highly collaborative institute and would be encouraged to find ways to thrive and grow their own research program. This position is Boston-based and is available through grant funding that runs until August 31, 2026 (approximately 2-year position).

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist in initiating, executing, and completing studies related to our grant on the criminal legal system, which includes preparing and writing research articles, presentations, and other related research activities.
• Actively participate in the community by organizing and attending talks, workshops, and conferences, and by engaging with the broader NetSI community.
• Foster a safe, inclusive, welcoming, and collaborative environment.
• Where relevant, participate in activities related to career development (e.g. mentorship of students, grant writing, etc.).

QUALIFICATIONS

The work heavily depends on data-driven, evidence-based modeling and collaboration with practitioners. The successful candidate will have completed a PhD (any discipline, required by start of appointment), with a track record of working with large, complex datasets. This includes collecting, managing, analyzing, and visualizing/communicating data to a variety of audiences: the general public, scholars, policymakers, and advocates. Programming skills are essential (we mostly work in Python, though other languages are welcome), as is a strong grasp of statistics and an eagerness to learn more. Recommended qualifications: Experience creating informative web-based data visualization, especially with geospatial data (e.g. maps).

Successful candidates will be expected to lead and collaborate on research projects full time, and work under the supervision of a senior scholar. The &-Lab is composed of researchers with backgrounds in network/data science and complex systems; however, this shouldn’t be seen as an indication of our preferences around the discipline or background of a successful candidate.

The hiring process for this role is ongoing. Application review will begin immediately, and candidates will be interviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. If you are interested, please submit the following materials with your application: 1) A cover letter detailing your research interests and fit for the position. 2) CV with a list of publications. 3) Names and contact details for 2 references.

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