Postdoctoral Associate (Civic Science Fellowship) (Van Bavel Lab)

About the Center

The Center for Conflict and Cooperation at New York University is a global scientific and educational hub dedicated to promoting inclusive, sustainable, and pluralistic societies around the globe. We bring together scientists worldwide and across disciplines to understand the social dynamics of intergroup conflict and cooperation–including polarization, intergroup discrimination, civic engagement, cross-divide collaboration, and belonging–and their interconnectedness with topics like misinformation, democracy, A.I. technology, and social media. Through extensive outreach and inclusive education, we share our insights with the broad public, empowering society to be its own catalyst of change. We collaborate with policymakers, organizations, and civil society to translate our findings into real-world solutions for issues like democratic backsliding, inequity/inequality, and biased technology.

Overview

The Postdoctoral Associate will join the Center as a full-time researcher for 18 months, co-creating original civic science supported by the Rita Allen Foundation. This appointment is part of the Civic Science Fellows program, a cohort-based initiative that supports emerging leaders in bridging scientific research with real-world civic impact.

All Postdoctoral Associates will engage as a cohort in a learning program and community, developed in collaboration with the network and an interdisciplinary committee of advisors. Postdoctoral Associates meet virtually weekly for shared learning and activities, using a framework of five pillars developed by the program's Practice and Science of Civic Science.

The Postdoctoral Associate will work closely with the Center's director, benefit from an unparalleled international network of 250+ collaborators across 80 countries, and contribute to projects with measurable scientific and societal impact.

This position falls within the 2026–27 Civic Science Fellows cohort. The Postdoctoral Associate will have opportunities to connect with other Civic Science Fellows and contribute to broader cross-cutting civic science themes.

During the 18-month cohort learning period, Postdoctoral Associates dedicate approximately 75 percent of their time (~30 hours/week) to their host institution project, and 25 percent (~10 hours/week) to shared learning and networking activities, including periodic convenings.

The Postdoctoral Associate will:

• Lead the co-design and implementation of a Fellowship project in close collaboration with the Director of the Center for Conflict and Cooperation
• Create at least one substantial, concrete civic science work product to capture new knowledge and share it with a broader community by the end of their Fellowship (e.g., research, peer-reviewed publication, online research course)
• Participate in a range of collaborative programs that support learning from one another and from other experts in the field, and which provide opportunities for Fellows to share their work and build community. These include:
  • Virtual and in-person convenings, including weekly virtual Fellows Labs (September 2026–February 2028) and an in-person Civic Science Fellows and Partners Convening in February 2027 (timing tentative).
  • Fellows peer coaching circles throughout the core cohort period

For more details, please visit civicsciencefellows.org.

Start date: September 1st, 2026

Duration: 18 months

The fellow will receive full benefits and will be eligible for subsidized on-campus housing, subject to availability.

About the Civic Science Fellows Program

This position is part of the national Civic Science Fellows program (civicsciencefellows.org), a funded initiative established in 2020 to catalyze progress toward a future where all people can shape science and benefit from its power and promise. The program is building an interdisciplinary network of journalists, bench and social scientists, community-facing practitioners, content creators, public-interest organizations, and funders to develop evidence-based, human-centered approaches to build meaningful collaboration between science and diverse communities.

Key Research Areas and Potential Projects

The Postdoctoral Associate’s project will be co-designed in collaboration with the Center Director, tailored to the Fellow’s unique expertise and interests. Illustrative directions include:

• Investigating how AI systems — including large language models and recommendation algorithms — can unintentionally amplify extreme beliefs and affective polarization, and designing strategies to promote more reflective human–AI interactions.
• Designing and empirically testing AI-powered civic tools, such as personalized chatbots that increase civic knowledge and reduce bias
• Studying how AI sycophancy shapes public trust in information, institutions, and science, with implications for democratic deliberation
• Conducting field experiments or intervention tournaments targeting civic engagement among youth or historically underrepresented communities
• Co-designing training modules with educational partners (e.g., VOXPOP, which reaches 40,000+ students) to cultivate civic leadership skills such as perspective-taking and intellectual humility
• Investigating how conflict on social media platforms shapes offline behaviors and local communities across different cultural and political contexts

What the Center Offers

• Direct mentorship from world-leading researchers in social/personality psychology, political psychology, and AI & society
• Integration into a global network of 250+ collaborators across nearly 80 countries, with active cross-national research projects
• Access to NYU's unique position as a globally networked university with academic centers on six continents and the largest international student body in the U.S.
• Participation in the Center's international speaker series (70+ speakers from 20+ countries) and weekly research team meetings
• Opportunities for policy engagement, including with institutions such as the White House, the WHO, and the United Nations
• Public dissemination infrastructure
• Connections to civil society and tech industry partners working on democracy, equity, and online harm reduction
• A stimulating, interdisciplinary research environment in the heart of New York City

This position is based in New York and the selected candidate will be expected to work onsite as of their effective start date.

In compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary range for this position is $62,500-$75,000. New York University considers factors such as (but not limited to) the specific grant funding and the terms of the research grant when extending an offer.

Required:

• Master’s degree required; doctoral degree strongly preferred in psychology, computational social science, political science, communication, or a closely related field
• Exposure to applied or practitioner settings, preferably in policy or the technology sector
• Strong quantitative research skills; experience with experimental methods, survey design, or large-scale behavioral data
• Experience using computational tools (e.g., Python, R) for behavioral or social data analysis
• Demonstrated interest in the societal implications of technology, social behavior, trust, misinformation, or polarization
• Commitment to civic science: a genuine drive to connect scientific work to public benefit, community needs, and policy relevance
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to translate research for broad audiences

Strongly Preferred:

• Familiarity with natural language processing, AI/ML methods, or large-scale digital trace data
• Demonstrated experience with or sustained interest in social science application and civic engagement within diverse communities
• Experience with open science practices (pre-registration, data sharing, reproducible workflows)
• Experience working in large, international teams and settings
• Multilingual fluency is an asset

Applications should be submitted through the Interfolio and must include:

• A cover letter (max 1 page) describing your research background, your interest in civic science, and the project direction(s) you would most like to explore at the Center
• A current CV
• Three writing samples, preferably including a published paper, manuscript under review, policy report, or public-facing research product.
• Contact information for three references (letters will be requested from finalists only)

We respect our applicants’ time. If you’re not sure whether you are a good fit for the position, feel free to email us your resume at nyu.vanbavel.lab@gmail.com for initial feedback.

Review of applications will begin June 1st, 2026 and continue until the position is filled. We strongly encourage applications from candidates from underrepresented backgrounds, international scholars, and those with lived experience in the communities affected by the issues we study.