Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
About the role
The School of Education (SOE) at the University of California Riverside (UCR) is committed to advancing educational systems and practices driven by core values of equity, evidence, excellence, community, critical thinking, and compassion. Located in the Inland Empire, a racially and economically diverse region on Tribal lands, UCR is a land-grant public institution designated as a Hispanic-Serving, Minority-Serving, and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. Within this context, we seek to hire a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow.
Responsibilities
Join the UCR team of an Institute of Education Sciences-funded, Initial Efficacy study, which is located primarily at UMass Boston and the University of California Riverside.
Implement an autism-focused professional development (PD) program for early elementary, general education teachers and evaluate the program’s efficacy in a randomized controlled trial design. The PD program, called Smooth Sailing, is designed with close consultation from teachers and autistic consultants and equips teachers with strategies for fostering strong student-teacher relationships with their young autistic students.
Under the supervision of the PI and in collaboration with the other identified key personnel, the post-doctoral fellow will oversee current phases of the study, including, but not limited to:
- Collaborate with staff across multiple study sites and assist the site Principal Investigator (PI) in supervising undergraduate and doctoral students
- Participate in weekly research team meetings
- Absenteeism of teachers, autistic adolescents and adults, and caregivers, as needed
- Actively engage in analysis and writing of findings, as author or co-author when substantively involved
- Share results with stakeholder audiences
Join the UCR SEARCH Center team. SEARCH is the first free autism clinic within the University of California system. We focus on providing information, support, screening, and diagnosis for families of children in the Inland Empire of California. We are particularly focused on serving historically minoritized populations (e.g. Latinx and Spanish-speaking families, and those from under-resourced areas).
Conduct in-person diagnostic appointments, write psychological reports, and conduct feedback calls with parents (twice a week)
Collaborate with staff and assist SEARCH Director in supervising undergraduate and doctoral students
Participate in weekly research team meetings
Write and publish on existing datasets as desired
Qualifications
PhD in Special Education, School Psychology, or Clinical Psychology, or related discipline.
Training in autism and assessment experience with the ADOS-2.
Experience working closely with caregivers or teachers or direct classroom experience with young autistic children.
Experience with intervention implementation, coaching/consultation with teachers.
Experience working with historically underserved families is preferred.
Bilingual in Spanish and English is strongly preferred.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Knowledge of Microsoft Office suite.
Familiarity with statistical packages (e.g., SPSS, R)
Ability to work as a member of a team.
Ability to provide leadership to others through example and sharing of knowledge and skills.
Ability to establish effective relationships with internal team members, teacher and parent research participants, as well as school/community members.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Strong attention to detail.
Strong organizational skills.
Ability to protect confidentiality of participant information.
Strong commitment to research ethics.
Strong commitment to writing, presentation and professional development.
Application Instructions
Please apply online at https://aprecruit.ucr.edu/JPF02214 with your resume, cover letter and list of three references by February 28, 2026. Review of candidates will begin following the application closing date and will continue until the position is filled.
About UC Riverside
The University of California, Riverside is a world-class research university with an exceptionally diverse undergraduate student body. UCR is a member institution of the American Association of Universities (AAU) and the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities (HSRU). A commitment to the UCR mission (https://apro.ucr.edu/mission-statement) is a preferred qualification.