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Position Summary:
The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute ( VTTI ) seeks a qualified and ambitious professional with a strong background in psychology, human factors engineering, public health, epidemiology, behavioral pharmacology, and/or transportation safety to conduct applied research on all aspects related to impaired driving and mobility. With the rapidly changing marijuana legalization climate and continued public harm resulting from alcohol-impaired driving, this individual will play a critical role in saving lives and informing public policy through leading-edge transportation safety research. This individual will join a team of motivated and passionate researchers in the institute's growing impaired driving research area. As a Research Associate, the ideal candidate will have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to play a leading role in the design, execution, and reporting of small to large-scale research efforts. This individual will engage collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams while also having the ability to work independently, work closely with research sponsors, seek out and secure research funding opportunities, and play a critical role in existing efforts.
Research projects will include a variety of transportation topics with emphasis on alcohol, marijuana, illicit, over-the-counter, and prescription drugs. A primary research focus will be investigating the effects of marijuana on driving performance. In addition, as this position resides within the Center for Vulnerable Road User Safety at VTTI , the successful candidate may also have opportunities to work on projects related to the safety and mobility of the broad array of VRU including: senior drivers, novice/teen drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, etc..
Research projects often leverage a number of VTTI's unique technological capabilities and infrastructure. VTTI is a world leader in naturalistic, on-road driving research, and a variety of projects will utilize VTTI's internally-developed data acquisition systems ( DAS ). The DAS enables unobtrusive measuring of driver behavior, vehicle operation, and the environment. Other projects may include the Virginia Smart Road, a unique, state-of-the-art, full-scale closed test-bed research facility managed by VTTI and owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation. The team is currently working on several projects that involve working closely with national, state, and local officials to understand the effects of impaired driving policy and conducting innovative field research. The applicant can also expect to work on projects that involve in-vehicle data collection, questionnaire/survey development, semi-structured expert
interviews, focus groups, and other forms of qualitative and quantitative data collection. While this position is focused on impaired driving research, the candidate is also expected to contribute, as appropriate, to the broader research agenda of the Center for Vulnerable Road User Safety, and VTTI in general.
The successful applicant will be able to balance complex work which includes cycles of field and/or office work in a fast-paced, yet rewarding, environment. Individuals will be expected to simultaneously manage and/or contribute to multiple research projects and varying project demands. Experience related to transportation, addiction, alcohol, drugs, policy, and/or toxicology is preferred. Proficiency with statistical analyses and analysis software packages is also desired. The ideal applicant will also have project management experience. The applicant must be motivated by improving transportation safety, improving and saving the lives of society's most vulnerable individuals, and contributing substantially to VTTI's mission. VTTI provides opportunities for professional advancement and a pay for performance structure.
Duties and responsibilities:
-Aid in the development of proposals
-Oversee the daily operations of a project including schedule and budget maintenance
-Interact with a variety of research participants
-Assist with the conceptualization and creation of work plans, protocols, and procedures
-Review and critique research plans and reports
-Coordinate and collaborate with subcontractors and interface with stakeholders
-Manage large data sets
-Manipulate and analyze data
-Evaluate the completeness and quality of collected data
-Interpret results and develop robust conclusions
-Write research reports
-Present research findings
-Research and assist in the composition of literature reviews
-Travel to research sites (requirement fluctuates but will generally be

Required Qualifications:
-Master's degree in Psychology, Human Factors Engineering, Experimental and Human Factors Psychology, Industrial Engineering, Public Health, or related degrees. Candidates with a lesser degree and significant experience in lieu of master's degree will also be considered.
-Thorough understanding of experimental design and analytical methods
-Proficiency with descriptive and inferential statistical analysis techniques
-Excellent writing skills
-Excellent verbal communication skills, both one-on-one as well as to large groups
-Strong organizational skills
-Desire to work in a fast-paced, flexible research environment

Preferred Qualifications:
-Ph.D. in Psychology, Human Factors Engineering, Experimental and Human Factors Psychology, Industrial Engineering, Public Health, or related degrees
-Experience in transportation or related field
-Experience related to alcohol, drugs, addiction, and/or toxicology
-Field data collection experience
-Experience with statistical packages such as SAS , SPSS , and R.
-Proficiency with programming languages such as Matlab and SQL
-Project management experience including budget tracking



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