Research Associate, CALM Program (Part-time, 9613C) #86417

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom, and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty, and staff.

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We are looking for applicants who reflect California's diversity and want to be part of an inclusive, equity-focused community that views education as a matter of social justice. Please consider whether your values align with our Guiding Values and Principles, Principles of Community, and Strategic Plan.

At UC Berkeley, we believe that learning is a fundamental part of working, and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups (staff organizations). Our goal is for everyone on the Berkeley campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support this by providing all of our full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours (10 days) of paid time per year to engage in professional development activities. Find out more about how you can grow your career at UC Berkeley.

Departmental Overview
The Department of Psychology is a large, complex department within the College of Letters and Science (Division of Social Sciences). It comprises nearly 40 active faculty members, 16 career staff, 3 continuing Lecturers, a number of Visiting Scholars and Postdocs each year, as well as a large cadre of Graduate StudentInstructors and Graduate Student researchers. The fundamental missions of the University - teaching, research, and community service - are all met by the Department.

Our teaching program is quite large. Psychology has nearly 800 undergraduates and department courses serve approximately 4,000 students each semester, as well as a large summer sessions offering each year. The Department has approximately 90 graduate students pursuing doctoral degrees in five specialized sub-fields. In research, the Department supports the work of a large number of life science labs in work with both human and animal subjects, as well as an off-site Field Station.

Psychology is closely linked with several major research institutes/ORU's on campus: The Institute of Human Development, the Institute of Personality and Social Research, the Institute of Cognitive and Brain Sciences; and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, and works in collaboration with their administration to meet the needs of our faculty. The Department also collaborates closely with the department of Neuroscience, as many of our faculty have joint appointments and related research areas. Our outpatient clinic serves the surrounding community by providing vital psychiatric treatment.

In short, the Department of Psychology is a large and varied unit which requires considerable skill in terms of its overall administration.

Position Summary
The Staff Research Associate will recruit, schedule and run human subjects in protocols designed to assess the influence of reward processing, circadian function, and healthy behavior on bipolar disorder, and will assist in data management and data analyses. Additionally, the incumbent will be responsible for supporting the administrative functions of the lab, including coordinating meetings, correspondence, and training and leading up to eight undergraduate student researchers

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is: June 9, 2026. For full consideration, please apply on or before the first review date.

Responsibilities

• Research
  • Recruit, schedule and run human subjects in protocols designed to assess the influence of reward, circadian function, and healthy behavior on bipolar disorder.
• Complete interviews about mental health and sleep symptoms.
• Gather data using ecological momentary assessment, self-report, and fMRI approaches.
• Take part in home visit assessments, as well as remote assessments and in-person (fmri and cognitive) assessments.
• Demonstrate reliability in interviews.
• Assess problematic behavior in volunteers, and work with PI on an effective remediation plan.
• Review participant completion of questionnaires, and send reminders as needed.
• Alert senior team members to any concerns flagged by participants.
• Data Management
  • Enter data, and run scripts to ensure that data collection has been completed and fully entered, and to calculate hours per participant for payment.
  • Run scripts to back-up data.
  • These tasks will be completed with careful supervision and training.
• Conduct outreach through advertising, website administration and search engine optimization, social media, and consumer support and advocacy groups to foster recruitment.
• Facilitate communication among team members, community, ethics and advisory boards, with direction from senior team leaders (e.g., set up meetings, take minutes, provide follow-up with supervision from senior team management).

Required Qualifications

• Previous experience in gathering data from human subjects.
• Experience interacting with individuals with mental health history.
• Ability to handle fluctuating priorities and deadlines.
• Must be organized, responsible, punctual, and have the ability to pay close attention to details.
• High level of professionalism and interpersonal skills for interacting with participants who may struggle with mental health concerns, and for community members and colleagues involved in the collaboration.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Bachelor's Degree in Psychology or related area and/or an equivalent combination of education/experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with ethics and IRB facets of mental health research (e.g., completion of CITI training).
• Experience with statistical software, such as SPSS or R.
• Expertise in REDCap and other standard software applications.
• Wet lab experience.
• fMRI data acquisition.

• Experience with website programming and administration.

Salary & Benefits

This is a part-time (16 hours/week), Limited (temporary) position for up to 18 months. This is a non-exempt, bi-weekly paid position.

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, analysis of internal equity, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

The full pay range for this classification is $28.69-$34.22 (stepped rates).

How to Apply

• To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.

Other Information

• Travel Requirements - 5% Occasional travel may be required for interfacing with laboratory assessments (will provide back-up coverage of this role).
• There also may be meetings of the scientific team, which includes individuals from three continents.
• This position is governed by the terms and conditions in the agreement for the Research Support Professionals Unit (RX) between the University of California and the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE). The current bargaining agreement manual can be found at: http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/rx/index.html
• The automatic conversion to career status will not occur as the funding for the position is "one time" funding, of eighteen (18) months or less.

• This is not a visa opportunity. This position does not include sponsorship of a new consular H-1B visa petition that would require payment of the $100,000 supplemental fee.

Conviction History Background

This is a designated position requiring fingerprinting and a background check due to the nature of the job responsibilities. Berkeley does hire people with conviction histories and reviews information received in the context of the job responsibilities. The University reserves the right to make employment contingent upon successful completion of the background check.

Misconduct

SB 791 and AB 810 Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy

UC Anti-Discrimination Policy

Abusive Conduct in the Workplace

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.