Postdoctoral Associate in Early Literacy Research and Development

Position Information

Position Title: Postdoctoral Associate in Early Literacy Research and Development

Department: Learning and Instruction

Posting Link: https://www.ubjobs.buffalo.edu/postings/62946

Job Type: Full-Time

Position Summary

The University at Buffalo (UB), The State University of New York (SUNY), invites applications for a Postdoctoral Associate to join the Center for Early Literacy and Responsible AI (CELaRAI), an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) funded national research and development (R&D) center supported.

CELaRAI is a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary initiative focused on advancing responsible artificial intelligence (AI) for early literacy education, particularly for children in kindergarten through grade 2. CELaRAI brings together researchers across AI, learning sciences, early literacy, and AI ethics to design, study, and scale innovative AI-powered tools that support early literacy development.

The Postdoctoral Associate will support the multidisciplinary R&D project. The position is ideal for a scholar with expertise in early literacy and interest in collaborative research at the intersection of literacy, educational technology, and classroom implementation.

Primary Responsibilities

• Coordinate day-to-day literacy-related research and development activities for the project
• Support the design and refinement of literacy tasks, prompts, scaffolds, and instructional supports related to decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension
• Assist with the design and implementation of research studies in school and classroom settings
• Coordinate data collection, organization, and management across project activities
• Conduct or support qualitative, quantitative, and/or mixed-methods data analysis
• Prepare research materials, protocols, summaries, and project documentation
• Supervise and support graduate and undergraduate research assistants, as needed
• Collaborate with faculty and interdisciplinary project team members across literacy, learning sciences, and technology-related areas
• Participate in regular project meetings, planning sessions, and cross-team coordination
• Contribute to manuscripts, conference presentations, technical reports, grant proposals, and other dissemination products
• Support communication and relationship-building with school and community partners
• Assist with iterative design and refinement processes based on classroom feedback, user data, and research findings

Minimum Qualifications

• An earned doctorate by 8/1/26 in literacy or reading education, child development, early childhood education, learning sciences, or another closely related field, with specific expertise in early literacy
• Demonstrated expertise in early literacy development, assessment, and instruction, especially in one or more of the following areas: decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and/or comprehension
• Experience conducting education or literacy research in schools, classrooms, or other applied learning settings
• Experience with qualitative, quantitative, and/or mixed-methods research design, data collection, and analysis
• Evidence of scholarly writing and dissemination, such as peer-reviewed publications, reports, dissertations, or conference presentations
• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to manage multiple tasks, timelines, and collaborative projects
• Strong written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills
• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively with faculty, teachers, school partners, and research assistants

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in K-2 literacy research, instruction, and/or intervention design
• Experience with design-based research, iterative development, improvement science, and/or user-centered design
• Experience supporting teacher professional learning, instructional coaching, and/or classroom implementation of interventions
• Experience supervising graduate or undergraduate research assistants
• Experience with educational technology, AI-supported learning tools, speech/language data, and/or digital literacy research
• Experience working with multilingual learners, low-income students, and/or historically underserved student populations
• Experience collaborating on interdisciplinary research teams

Salary Range: $60,000 - $65,000

Posted: 2026-06-16

Date to be filled: 2026-08-01