Details
Open Date 05/07/2026 Requisition Number PRN44959B Job Title Hourly Research Assistants Working Title Hourly Research Assistants Career Progression Track S00 Track Level S3 - Skilled, S2 - Intermediate, S1 - Entry Level Support FLSA Code Nonexempt Patient Sensitive Job Code? No Standard Hours per Week 20 Full Time or Part Time? Part Time Shift Day Work Schedule Summary
Hybrid; the candidate must be available to work on-site or attend meetings in person during part of their scheduled hours.
VP Area U of U Health - Academics Department 00952 - Division of Epidemiology Location Campus City Salt Lake City, UT Type of Recruitment External Posting Pay Rate Range 12.85 - 28.96 Close Date 08/07/2026 Priority Review Date (Note - Posting may close at any time) Job Summary
The Division of Epidemiology in the Department of Internal Medicine is seeking a Research Assistant to support applied research at the intersection of healthcare, artificial intelligence, and data analysis The primary focus of this role will be large language model (LLMs) and other machine learning model evaluation/deployment, clinical data pipeline development, and natural language processing (NLP)-based chart abstraction. The work will be performed using publicly available data, such as MIMIC-IV, and protected data from the University of Utah Health and the Veterans Health Administration within the UofU CHPC and VA VINCI secure computing environments. This position offers meaningful opportunities to engage in translational research that directly impacts patient care and health system operations.
Job Duties:
- Develop, maintain, and optimize data processing pipelines for clinical and research datasets using Python and SQL.
- Assist with the design, training, and evaluation of machine learning models applied to healthcare problems.
- Support research workflows within established Linux-based environments under technical supervision.
- Conduct exploratory data analysis and prepare visualizations and summary reports for research collaborators.
- Contribute to manuscript preparation, documentation, and reproducible research practices.
- Collaborate with clinical and research faculty, staff, and other trainees.
- Work within secure, access-controlled computing environments (e.g., VA VINCI, CHPC) following data governance and compliance requirements
Learn more about the great benefits of working for University of Utah: benefits.utah.edu
The department may choose to hire at any of the below job levels and associated pay rates based on their business need and budget.
Responsibilities
Research Assistant, I
Administrative tasks in support of the clinical research program or laboratory. Tasks will vary by department and research category. Typically, manages the front desk, organizes files, and performs other clerical duties associated with research studies and programs. Recruits participants, verifies eligibility, and enrolls subjects. Schedules participant visits and maintains records. Transports samples or laboratory equipment. Monitors inventory levels and orders supplies. Tasks will vary by department and research category.
Requires little to no related experience.
This is an Entry-Level position in the Support track.
Job Code: S58211
Grade: S14
Expected Pay Range: $12.85 to $25.06
Research Assistant, II
Administrative tasks in support of the clinical research program or laboratory. Tasks will vary by department and research category. Typically, manages the front desk, organizes files, and performs other clerical duties associated with research studies and programs. Recruits participants, verifies eligibility, and enrolls subjects. Schedules participant visits and maintains records. Transports samples or laboratory equipment. Monitors inventory levels and orders supplies. Tasks will vary by department and research category.
Requires at least 1 year of related experience.
This is an Intermediate Level position in the Support track.
Job Code: S58212
Grade: S15
Expected Pay Range: $13.82 to $26.94
Research Assistant, III
Administrative tasks in support of the clinical research program or laboratory. Tasks will vary by department and research category. Typically, manages the front desk, organizes files, and performs other clerical duties associated with research studies and programs. Recruits participants, verifies eligibility, and enrolls subjects. Schedules participant visits and maintains records. Transports samples or laboratory equipment. Monitors inventory levels and orders supplies. Tasks will vary by department and research category.
Requires 3+ years of related experience.
This is a Skilled Level position in the Support track.
Job Code: S58213
Grade: S16
Expected Pay Range: $14.85 to $28.96
Minimum Qualifications
EQUIVALENCY STATEMENT: 1 year of higher education can be substituted for 1 year of directly related work experience (Example: bachelor's degree = 4 years of directly related work experience).
Department may hire employee at one of the following job levels:
Research Assistant, I: Requires little to no related experience.
Research Assistant, II : Requires at least 1 year of related experience.
Research Assistant, III: Requires 3+ years of related experience.
- Currently enrolled master's student in computing, informatics, data science, biomedical informatics, or a closely related discipline.
- Intermediate to advanced proficiency in Python and SQL.
- Experience applying NLP or machine learning methods to real-world datasets (e.g., clinical text, scientific text, or similarly complex unstructured data)
- Intermediate to advanced experience with Linux system administration (shell scripting, package management, user and service configuration).
- Ability to execute defined tasks independently while receiving structured technical guidance.
- Availability to attend on-site meetings or work in person for part of the scheduled time.
- This position requires eligibility for a VA appointment to access VA research systems (e.g., VINCI). Due to federal requirements, eligibility may be limited based on citizenship or visa status.
- Experience using or modifying machine learning models such as decision trees, Bayesian models, deep learning architectures, transformers, or LLMs.
- Familiarity with healthcare data standards (e.g., SNOMED CT, LOINC, RxNorm) or electronic health record systems.
- Experience with version control (Git/GitHub) and collaborative software development practices.
Preferences Type Benefited Staff Special Instructions Summary
Please submit your resume or CV, including relevant coursework, work experience, and technical skills. A link to your GitHub repository or portfolio of technical work and writing (peer-reviewed papers or other technical/scientific articles, blogs, etc.) is strongly preferred. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Additional Information
The University is a participating employer with Utah Retirement Systems ("URS"). Eligible new hires with prior URS service, may elect to enroll in URS if they make the election before they become eligible for retirement (usually the first day of work). Contact Human Resources at (801) 581-7447 for information. Individuals who previously retired and are receiving monthly retirement benefits from URS are subject to URS' post-retirement rules and restrictions. Please contact Utah Retirement Systems at (801) 366-7770 or (800) 695-4877 or University Human Resource Management at (801) 581-7447 if you have questions regarding the post-retirement rules.
This position may require the successful completion of a criminal background check and/or drug screen.
The University of Utah values candidates who have experience working in settings with students and possess a strong commitment to improving access to higher education.
Veterans' preference is extended to qualified applicants, upon request and consistent with University policy and Utah state law. Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process will be provided to individuals with disabilities.
Consistent with state and federal law, the University of Utah does not discriminate based upon race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, or protected veteran's status. The University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education program or activity that it operates, as required by Title IX and 34 CFR part 106. The requirement not to discriminate in education programs or activities extends to admission and employment. Inquiries about the application of Title IX and its regulations may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, to the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, or both.
To request a reasonable accommodation for a disability or if you or someone you know has experienced discrimination or sexual misconduct including sexual harassment, you may contact the Director/Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX (OEO). More information, including the Director/Title IX Coordinator's office address, electronic mail address, and telephone number can be located at the: University of Utah NonDiscrimination page.
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As per University of Utah policy 5-108: Transfer of Benefits Eligible Staff Members, a new hire to the University of Utah who is still serving a 12 month probationary period will not be hired into another University of Utah job (a transfer) until the successful completion of the probationary period.
