Sr. Research Scientist- Skills

About ETS

ETS is a global education and talent solutions organization enabling lifelong learners worldwide to be future-ready. For more than 75 years, we've been advancing the science of measurement to build benchmarks for fair and valid skill assessment across cultures and borders. Our worldwide impact extends through our renowned assessments including TOEFL®, TOEIC®, GRE® and Praxis® tests, serving millions of learners in more than 200 countries and territories. Through strategic acquisitions, we've expanded our global capabilities: PSI strengthens our workforce assessment solutions, while Edusoft, Kira Talent, Pipplet, Vericant, and Wheebox enhance our educational technology and assessment platforms across critical markets worldwide. Through ETS Research Institute and ETS Solutions, we're partnering with educational institutions, governments, and organizations globally to promote skill proficiency, empower upward mobility, and unlock opportunities for everyone, everywhere. With offices and partners across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, we deliver nearly 50 million tests annually. Join us in our journey of measuring progress to power human progress worldwide.

About the Role

The ETS Research Institute invites applications for a Senior Research Scientist position to contribute to a research agenda focused on effective human-AI collaboration in education and work. We seek scholars whose research advances understanding of the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and practices that enable individuals and teams to work effectively with AI systems in learning, problem-solving, decision-making, and workplace settings. Particular areas of interest include identifying, measuring, and advancing the human capabilities required for successful human-AI collaboration, including task delegation, prompt generation, critical evaluation of AI outputs, human oversight, judgment and decision-making, problem formulation, adaptability, communication, domain expertise, ethical reasoning, and metacognitive skills. We are especially interested in research that examines how these capabilities can be developed and assessed across K-12, postsecondary, and workforce contexts, and how human-AI collaboration influences learning, productivity, performance, and opportunity, and the integration of human and AI capabilities to enhance learning, performance, decision quality, and productivity. The successful candidate will join a collaborative team developing research frameworks, assessments, and evidence-based insights that clarify how human capabilities and AI systems can work together effectively as education and work continue to evolve.

Responsibilities

• Conduct and publish high impact research on human-AI collaboration and the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and practices that enable effective use of AI in learning, problem solving, decision making, and work.
• Investigate how individuals and teams collaborate with AI systems, including task delegation, prompt generation, evaluation of AI-generated outputs, human oversight, and the integration of human and AI capabilities.
• Develop conceptual frameworks, construct models, and evidence-centered assessment approaches for human capabilities that are important in AI-enabled educational and workplace environments.
• Design, validate, and evaluate assessments and research methodologies using quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, computational, and AI-assisted approaches.
• Conduct research on the development, measurement, and impact of human-AI collaboration capabilities across K-12, postsecondary, and workforce settings.
• Analyze education, workforce, assessment, and behavioral data to generate evidence-based insights regarding learning, performance, productivity, opportunity, and readiness in AI-enabled contexts.
• Lead and collaborate with internal and external partners on research proposals, publications, technical reports, convenings, grants, and applied research products.
• Mentor junior staff, postdoctoral fellows, and interns, and contribute to a collaborative and intellectually vibrant research culture.

Qualifications

Required Experience: A Ph.D. or equivalent in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Human-Centered AI, Applied Psychology, Learning Sciences, Cognitive Science, Measurement, Educational Technology, Information Science, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, or a closely related field is required. For appointment as Senior Research Scientist, 6-8 years of relevant postdoctoral or professional research experience is preferred. Relevant experience may include human-AI collaboration, human-computer interaction, AI literacy, learning and workforce technologies, educational or workforce assessment, cognitive or behavioral research, or related areas. Candidates should demonstrate a record of scholarly and applied research contributions, successful collaboration across disciplines, and the ability to lead and contribute to externally funded research initiatives. Rank and years of experience will be commensurate with the level of appointment.

Preferred Knowledge and Skills

• Deep expertise in human-AI collaboration, human-centered AI, human-computer interaction (HCI), learning sciences, cognitive science, industrial-organizational psychology, organizational behavior, or a closely related field.
• Expertise in research on how individuals and teams collaborate with AI systems, including human-AI teaming, trust in AI, human oversight, task delegation, prompt generation, evaluation of AI-generated outputs, judgment and decision-making, and the augmentation of human capabilities through AI.
• Expertise in construct definition and validation, evidence-centered design, learning progressions, competency modeling, or related approaches to defining and measuring complex human capabilities.
• Experience applying quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, behavioral, process-data, computational, or AI-enabled research methods, to investigate learning, performance, decision making, or human-AI collaboration.
• Experience designing, developing, validating, or evaluating assessments, performance measures, simulations, digital learning environments, or other approaches for measuring complex skills and capabilities.
• Strong record of high impact research productivity, demonstrated through peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, conceptual frameworks, assessment resources, software tools, datasets, or other scholarly and applied outputs.
• Documented evidence of the ability to lead research programs, build collaborations, and secure external funding.
• Ability to communicate research findings effectively to scholarly, policy, educational, workforce, and industry audiences.