"Assistant Project Scientist - Nutrition Policy Institute (AP 25-35)"

Application Window

Open date: October 30, 2025

Next review date: Friday, Jan 2, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Monday, Feb 2, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

Position Overview

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) offers a unique recruitment opportunity for Assistant Project Scientist to work on studies related to youth cardiometabolic health; school physical activity and nutrition programs (recess, PE, school meals); and nutrition and physical activity policy implementation science. Potential research projects include examining longitudinal trends in student cardiorespiratory fitness; determining changes in elementary school recess minutes and related practices pre-/post-passage of state-wide recess law in California; and determining the impact of school lunch program changes in New York City Public schools on student school meal participation.

Location Headquarters: UC ANR, NPI, UC Office of the President at 1111 Franklin Street, Eleventh floor, Oakland, CA 94607.

Major duties and responsibilities of the Assistant Project Scientist will include collecting, cleaning, and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data; designing and managing studies; supporting grant writing efforts; and presenting and publishing research through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.

The Assistant Project Scientist will also have the opportunity to develop grant writing and mentorship experience. This is an excellent opportunity for a candidate with expertise in quantitative methods and public health nutrition and physical activity who would like to develop expertise in areas such as natural experiments, drawing causal inference from observational data, randomized controlled trials, school health policy, qualitative methods, and implementation science. The Assistant Project Scientist will also develop and conduct applied research and evaluation that is consistent with UC ANR's Strategic Vision and NPI's Strategic Plan and disseminate findings and recommendations to inform programs and policy.

Reporting Relationship: The Assistant Project Scientist will report administratively and directly to the NPI Director.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

Education: A minimum of a doctorate degree in community nutrition, nutritional epidemiology, public health, health policy or a related field is required at the time of appointment. Preferred background includes experience with state and federal nutrition assistance programs.

Additional Qualifications:

• Applicants need to meet appointment criteria for the respective University of California academic title series and evidence for success in meeting required academic advancement criteria as per UC Academic Personnel Manual
• Experience in design and execution of community/public health nutrition research projects.
• Experience in grantsmanship, including submitting NIH and other federal and foundation grants, and history of conducting research and evaluations.
• Primary authorship in peer-reviewed journals and academic conference presentations of research findings.
• Qualitative and quantitative research skills which include research design, sampling plans, and sample size calculations, data collection methodology and data analysis methods, and interpretation of findings.
• Strong statistical training with experience in longitudinal analyses. Experience and high proficiency using statistical analysis software: Stata, SAS, or R.
• Ability to produce well designed presentation materials using PowerPoint or other related software applications.
• Ability to work on multiple simultaneous projects, prioritize, and complete work efficiently in the face of competing demands. Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communications skills are required.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.
• This is not a remote position.
• We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time. Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. at the time of hire.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with advanced quantitative methods (i.e. causal modeling, difference-in-differences, g-computation) and/or qualitative research
• Experience with qualitative software: NVivo, Dedoose, AtlasTI

Skills Required to be successful Project Scientists require skills in the following:

Technical Competence & Impact

• Review the literature to inform study design and measures.
• Design and direct the development of detailed protocols and instruments for data collection including plans for testing of measurement methods.
• Train and supervise other data collectors.
• Coordinate data management.
• Determine appropriate analysis techniques for each dataset and research question.
• Conduct and supervise analyses using one or more statistical programs commonly used in public health.
• Prepare data tables to summarize quantitative findings and summaries for qualitative data.
• Identify federal and non-federal funding opportunities; develop and write proposals as part of a collaborative team; and recruit collaborators.

Communication

• Prepare and deliver oral presentations to summarize research findings for research, professional, and lay audiences.
• Prepare manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
• Prepare interim and final reports and project summary materials (including fact sheets and policy briefs) for funders, community stakeholders, and policy makers.

Salary & Benefits

SALARY: The salary will be in the Project Scientist Series in Assistant Rank Step 1 - $76,700/year. For information regarding the Project Scientist represented series salary scales, please refer to https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/represented-july-2025-scales/t37-b.pdf. This is a represented position.

The Project Scientist position is a definite term appointment. This position is guaranteed for 2 years with the possibility for renewal for a third year. The position will be extended based on the continued need for the position, performance and availability of funding. The merit cycle is every two years. The performance in the position will be evaluated annually.

Benefits: The University of California offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance, retirement plans, two days per month paid vacation, one day per month paid sick leave, and holidays. For more information, refer to the UC Benefits website at: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/index.html.

How to Apply

If interested in this position, please visit: https://recruit.ucanr.edu/ and choose 'applicants' (refer to position #25-35).

Closing Date: To assure full consideration, application packets must be received by January 2, 2026 (open until filled).

Questions? Contact Mikyla Perez via mikperez@ucanr.edu

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter
• Statement of Research and Extension - Please submit a 2-page Statement of Research and Extension Interests including how your current and/or past research and extension experience could contribute to, or be applicable to, the needs of the local community. Provide examples of potential goals and outcomes from your research and extension activities.
• References - Please submit a page of 3-5 references with contact information (include phone # and email address)
• College Level Transcripts - Electronic transcripts or legible scanned copies (PDF) of original transcripts will be accepted. Transcripts must identify course work completed, grades earned, degrees conferred and confer dates. Please DO NOT send transcripts that are password protected.

Reference requirements

• 3-6 required (contact information only)

Job location

Oakland, CA