Literacy Researcher - Education

Overview

Are you passionate about supporting and partnering with educators to improve educational opportunities and outcomes, with a focus on English language arts/literacy instruction? Are you looking for opportunities to use your experience, knowledge, and research skills to support educators to improve teaching, learning, and the systems that support them? Are you an enthusiastic collaborator, eager to work closely with colleagues and grow your skill set? Do you value working directly with practitioners through applied research and examining questions of critical interest to educators?

SRI Education is committed to designing and implementing high-quality research, evaluation, and technical assistance (i.e., providing research-grounded support to educators). We investigate and influence critical questions and issues in K–12 and postsecondary education, improving systems, enhancing instruction, addressing student wellbeing, and supporting diverse learners. We seek to hire a Literacy Researcher with expertise in designing and conducting research who can lead small projects or large tasks focused on English language arts (ELA)/literacy as well as support projects across other education content areas.

This position is fully remote within the U.S., however if you prefer onsite and are located near an SRI office, we may accommodate a hybrid work schedule.

Responsibilities

• Work on an interdisciplinary team to evaluate and/or provide technical assistance for large-scale improvement efforts. These are likely to include professional learning programs or the development of new resources designed to support foundational skills, reading comprehension, multilingual learners, writing from source material, and disciplinary literacy at scale.
• Lend ELA/literacy expertise to projects on an ad hoc basis (provide occasional consultation or targeted contributions around topics such as: literacy assessment, measuring literacy-focused instructional practice, review of ELA curricular materials, and/or reviewing and synthesizing current literacy research.
• Provide project management to ensure that project goals are met by establishing systems for and managing large tasks on complex projects (e.g., survey collection and analysis; training and leading a team to conduct classroom observations) and assisting with budgeting and management activities.
• Communicate data and findings effectively to a variety of technical and non-technical audiences to move ideas into action.
• Consider diverse perspectives and experiences in our work.
• Contribute to or lead proposal writing efforts that contribute to SRI’s mission and generate innovative proposal ideas to advance the field of literacy education.
• Mentor and support colleagues to help staff grow professionally and celebrate successes.
• Engage in professional learning through ongoing project-embedded mentorship and professional development opportunities to meet your own professional goals.

Qualifications

Required qualifications:

• Cover letter is required: In your cover letter, in addition to describing what interests you about this position, please include information about your training and experience in ELA/literacy
• PhD in education or social sciences discipline OR a similar master’s degree and 5 years’ experience conducting research and/or providing technical assistance
• Demonstrated expertise in ELA/literacy through some combination of coursework, prior work experience, and a dissertation or publications on the topic
• Experience with multiple research and/or technical assistance methods, such as:
  • Research methods may include large-scale surveys, experimental research, or case study methods, with strong preference for experience in K-12 school settings
  • Technical assistance methods may include activities such as contributing to needs sensing, conceptualizing technical assistance plans, designing educator professional learning activities, or developing tools to support data use and/or use of evidence-based practices in K-12 school system
• Capacity to support and lead multiple projects simultaneously and change focus as priorities shift through use of strong organizational skills and relational practices
• Prior experience generating well-structured, clear, and concise verbal and written communications focused on research and project activities for a broad range of audiences
• Willingness to travel 5-6 times per year for school site visits, with many visits lasting for 3-4 days each
• Due to contract requirements, U.S. citizenship is required.

Desired qualifications: one or more of the following: 

• Teaching experience (K–12) in the US public education system, especially in historically underserved communities
• Expertise in studying systems change, at the school, district, or state levels
  • Multilingual, multicultural experiences and exposure to multiple perspectives
  • Expertise and experience in any of the following areas related to ELA/literacy:
  • Foundational literacy (e.g., phonological awareness, phonics, fluency)
  • Reading comprehension
  • Classroom instructional practice
  • English language arts/literacy instructional materials/curriculum
  • Measuring instructional quality (e.g., through structured classroom observations)
  • Pre- or in-service K–12 teacher professional learning
  • Literacy assessment
  • Intervention and/or multi-tiered systems of support
  • Instructional leadership (e.g., collaborative use of data)
  • Culturally sustaining practices
  • Multilingual learners
  • Use of artificial intelligence in writing instruction or assessment

The salary range is: $95,232/yr-$135,680/yr. Salary ranges will vary and are based on several factors, including geographic location, market competitiveness and equity amongst internal employees in similar roles. Positions may also qualify for SRI's Pay for Outstanding Performance program or the annual Performance Based Compensation program. SRI also has a competitive benefits package, to view details please go to https://www.sri.com/resources/benefits/. SRI will accept applications until the position is filled.

SRI is an independent nonprofit research institute headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., with a rich history of supporting government and industry. We create and deliver world-changing solutions for a safer, healthier, and more sustainable future. For almost 80 years, we have collaborated across technical and scientific disciplines to discover and develop groundbreaking products and technologies and bring innovations and ideas to the marketplace.