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Job Description / Duties

The PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder has an opening for an entry-level, part- or full-time, Professional Research Assistant position as a manual quality assurance (QA) specialist with a focus on educational simulation testing.

The successful applicant will join the vibrant and productive PhET team, working closely with the QA team lead. The responsibilities will include:
- Testing early and late stage development sims while reporting any issues found to the PhET team (experience with software programming is NOT required, but some basic experience is helpful for creating useful bug reports).
- Supporting simulation design and development - e.g. analyzing data, being aware of team decisions that result in sim design changes, etc.
- The PhET website when new features are added while reporting any problems to the website developers.
- Helping to adapt and improve the testing process and procedures with the flexible nature of the project.

The ideal candidate will enjoy working with technology and will be capable of quickly and proficiently learning and working with new technologies (devices and computer programs). The ideal candidate will also have strong logical reasoning and have a proficient attention to detail. They will have a solid understanding of basic science and math concepts at the high school level, a very basic understanding of software development, and be able to learn new knowledge and skills in these areas quickly. Finally, they would have good oral and written communication skills, be able to organize large amounts of information, and draw logical conclusions from past experiences.(PhET has a strong software engineering team; there is no requirement to write any lines of code).

- Part-time or full-time candidates will be considered. Full-time is 40 hours per week, and you must be able to work at least 30 hours per week.
- The start date is flexible, and can be as early as April 1, 2021 and as late as July 1, 2021.
- Candidates can work remotely or relocate to Boulder. If working remotely, a high-quality and reliable internet connection is required.

Qualifications / Required Skills

What We Require
•Experience and aptitude using computer games and/or educational simulations.
•High school degree or higher required.

What You Will Need
•Ability to quickly and proficiently work with and learn new technologies (new devices and new computer programs), and enjoy it.
•High attention to detail.
•Ability to reason logically, and to recognize and identify patterns.
•Understanding and enjoyment of math and science concepts at the high school level.
•Excellent oral and written communication skills.
•Excellent organization and teamwork skills.

What We Would Like You To Have
•Experience working in testing or creating computer software.
•Experience working with GitHub, Google Docs, Slack, and Zoom technologies.
•Experience with assistive technologies such as screen reader software.
•Understanding of science and math concepts at the introductory college level.

Additional Information

The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to building a culturally diverse community of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to contributing to an inclusive campus environment. We are an Equal Opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Salary: This is an entry-level position, with a full-time annual salary in the range of $30,000 - $35,000, depending on experience.

Contact Information

Apply at
https://jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDetail/?jobId=28999

Employer Profile

The PhET team designs and develops interactive simulations for teaching and learning science and math, creates activities that couple with the sims, and makes these resources freely available to educators and students on the web. The QA team works closely with PhET’s team of software developers to ensure that all sims behave correctly during use. http://phet.colorado.edu.