Research Associate II

Job Summary

The Drexel Wireless Systems Laboratory (DWSL) in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering seeks a highly motivated Research Associate to provide day-to-day technical leadership and help advance the laboratorys research educational and outreach activities. This position is ideal for an independent and collaborative researcher who enjoys developing new research directions building experimental systems mentoring students and cultivating interdisciplinary partnerships.
Working closely with the faculty director the Research Associate will help translate broad research opportunities into focused projects functioning prototypes student research experiences scholarly publications and competitive proposals. The successful candidate will have meaningful opportunities to shape the laboratorys technical direction and to build a visible record of research leadership mentorship publication and collaboration.

The laboratorys research will be organized around three complementary themes:
Experimental wireless systems and platforms including software-defined radio RF systems antennas embedded platforms testbeds and reproducible wireless experimentation.
Intelligent wireless sensing and communications including integrated sensing and communications localization AI-enabled wireless systems edge intelligence resilient networking and digital twins for wireless experimentation.
Interdisciplinary RF and connected technologies including wearable and fabric electronics RF-enabled healthcare technologies wireless sensors and collaborative applications spanning engineering computer science and biomedical engineering.

Candidates are not expected to have expertise in every area. Applicants with depth in one or more themes and an interest in working across disciplinary boundaries are encouraged to apply.

The Research Associate will conduct hands-on research guide undergraduate and graduate researchers contribute to laboratory-based instruction develop scholarly and proposal materials and represent the laboratory through demonstrations outreach activities and collaborations with academic government and industrial partners.

Essential Functions

• Research and Technical Leadership:
  • Conduct independent and collaborative research within the laboratorys primary research themes.
  • Identify focused and feasible research questions develop research plans and lead projects from initial concept through experimentation analysis and dissemination.
  • Design develop evaluate and integrate hardware and software platforms for experimental wireless research including software-defined radios embedded computing platforms wireless sensors RF instrumentation simulation environments and research software.
  • Develop prototypes preliminary results reusable experimental capabilities and other foundations for publications collaborations and future sponsored research.
  • Remain current with emerging research trends and help identify promising directions that strengthen the laboratorys scholarly visibility and competitiveness for external funding.
  • Establish sound practices for reproducible experimentation technical documentation software management and research continuity.
• Student Mentoring and Team Development:
  • Provide day-to-day technical guidance for undergraduate and graduate students working in the laboratory.
  • Help students define achievable research questions design experiments analyze results troubleshoot technical problems and communicate their work effectively.
  • Organize student project teams and establish a regular cadence of project planning technical review and feedback.
  • Review student technical reports publications presentations posters demonstrations and software or hardware deliverables.
  • Develop onboarding materials and research practices that enable students to become productive contributors to the laboratory.
  • Foster an inclusive collaborative safe and intellectually engaging research environment. Research Development and Scholarly Communication.
  • Contribute to peer-reviewed publications conference papers technical reports invited presentations demonstrations and other scholarly outputs.
  • Coordinate collaborative writing and help maintain steady progress from experimental results to publication.
  • Identify relevant funding opportunities and contribute technical concepts preliminary results figures project plans and narrative material for proposals.
  • Help develop new interdisciplinary research initiatives and cultivate productive relationships with academic government community and industrial collaborators.
  • Contribute to future sponsored projects as opportunities develop including technical planning execution documentation and communication of results.
• Educational Support:
  • Support selected laboratory-intensive simulation-based and project-based courses within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
  • Develop or improve laboratory exercises demonstrations instructional materials software examples and experimental platforms related to the laboratorys technical areas.
  • Assist students with wireless embedded RF simulation and software-development activities associated with laboratory or project-based learning.
  • Participate as appropriate in selected instructional activities consistent with departmental needs and the terms of the appointment.
• Laboratory Infrastructure and Operations:
  • Maintain a reliable documented and accessible experimental environment for student and faculty research.
  • Support the effective use and routine care of software-defined radio platforms RF measurement equipment embedded systems computing resources research servers and associated software.
  • Maintain technical documentation software repositories equipment-use practices and appropriate laboratory safety procedures.
  • Recommend prioritized improvements to laboratory capabilities and coordinate technical implementation of approved upgrades.
• Outreach and Research Visibility:
  • Develop and support compelling laboratory demonstrations research showcases campus events and outreach activities.
  • Help communicate the laboratorys work to prospective students collaborators sponsors and broader audiences.
  • Participate in activities involving K-12 students educators community partners and other visitors as appropriate.
  • Represent the laboratory professionally in internal and external technical meetings and collaborative activities.
  • Other Duties Perform other research educational laboratory and outreach duties consistent with the scope of the position.
• Initial Areas of Emphasis During the initial appointment period the Research Associate will work with the faculty director to:
  • Establish a focused portfolio of technically feasible research initiatives aligned with the laboratorys primary themes.
  • Develop experimental platforms prototypes preliminary results and reusable research capabilities that support scholarly publication and future proposals.
  • Establish effective structures for student onboarding mentorship project review documentation and research continuity.
  • Strengthen the laboratorys pipeline of undergraduate and graduate research participation.
  • Develop reusable instructional resources and demonstrations that connect the laboratorys research with education and outreach.
  • Expand the laboratorys scholarly visibility and develop new interdisciplinary collaborations.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering Computer Science or a closely related field orthe equivalent combination of education and work experience. (Please review the Equivalency Chart for additional information.)
• Minimum of 1-2 years of experience.
• Exceptional candidates with an MS degree and substantial research and technical leadership experience may also be considered.
• Demonstrated research experience in wireless communications RF systems signal processing networking embedded systems wireless sensing or a related discipline.
• Strong programming experience using Python and at least one additional technical language or environment such as MATLAB or C.
• Strong analytical organizational and technical writing skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently set priorities and translate broad objectives into concrete technical outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability or strong potential to mentor undergraduate or graduate student researchers.
• Ability to document technical processes coordinate collaborative work and follow projects through experimentation analysis and dissemination.

Preferred Qualifications

• In one or more of the following areas:
  
  • Software-defined radio and wireless prototyping
  • Wireless communications and digital signal processing
  • RF measurement and characterization
  • Antenna design and testing
  • Embedded systems printed circuit board design or IoT platforms
  • Machine learning and artificial intelligence for wireless systems
  • Wireless sensing localization or integrated sensing and communications
  • Computer networking distributed systems or resilient wireless systems
  • Linux-based research computing environments
  • Containerized and reproducible computing environments
  • Scientific writing and publication
  • Technical proposal development
  • Laboratory course development or instructional support
  • Student research-team leadership

Physical Demands

• Typically sitting at a desk/table
• Typically standing walking
• Typically bending crouching stooping
• Lifting demands 25lbs

Location

• University City - Philadelphia PA

Additional Information
This position is classified as Exempt grade K. Compensation for this grade ranges from$60240.00 - $90350.00 per year. Please note that the offered rate for thisposition will vary based on thesuccessful candidates qualifications and experience department budget and an internal equity review.

Applicants are encouraged to explore the Professional Staff salary structure and CompensationGuidelines & Policies for more details on Drexels compensation information about benefits please review Drexels Benefits Brochure.

Special Instructions to the Applicant
Please make sure you upload your CV/resume and cover letter when submitting your application.

A review of applicants will begin once a suitable candidate pool is identified.