Graduate Research Assistant

Job Posting Title:

E3 Alliance UT Graduate Research Assistant

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Hiring Department:

College of Education

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

20

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FLSA Status:

Exempt from FLSA

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Earliest Start Date:

Jan 01, 2027

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue Until May 15, 2027

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Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General Notes

About E3 Alliance:  

E3 Alliance is a nonprofit organization leading the charge in the relentless pursuit of education transformation for Texas students. Founded in 2006, E3 Alliance is a Texas-based education collaborative that leverages data to serve as a catalyst to impact educational outcomes for all students—cradle to career. Partnering with school, community, and business leaders, E3 Alliance brings together diverse voices to collaborate and build a strong, equitable education pipeline that delivers a trained and educated workforce while creating long-term, systemic change. 

Our Core Values: Trustworthy | Resolute | Collaborative | Intentional

At E3 Alliance, we value both the effectiveness of remote work and the importance of in-person collaboration. E3 Alliance offers flexibility of working remotely or coming into an office. Some in-person meetings are required. 

Purpose

E3 Alliance is looking for a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) to support research projects through data analysis, literature review, and reporting. This placement is in partnership with E3 Alliance and the University of Texas at Austin. The GRA will work with E3 Alliance research staff to prepare data, review evidence, create clear summaries and visuals, and help communicate findings to technical and non-technical audiences.    

Responsibilities

Data Analysis

• Clean, organize, validate, and document data from approved sources.
• Create and maintain reproducible analytic scripts and workflows.
• Analyze data and produce clear tables, figures, and other outputs.
• Follow data security, confidentiality, version control, and quality assurance practices.
• Work with E3 Alliance staff to clarify project goals, research questions, timelines, and deliverables.

Literature Review

• Conduct literature reviews, research scans, and evidence syntheses aligned to project needs.
• Identify credible sources, track citations, and extract key findings.
• Summarize themes, limitations, implications, and practical takeaways.
• Prepare annotated bibliographies, evidence maps, memos, or short narrative summaries.

Reporting and Storytelling

• Draft research memos and summaries, research report sections, slide content, and technical notes.
• Create or update charts, tables, graphics, and other report-ready visuals.
• Translate technical findings into clear language for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Participate in check-ins, share progress, raise questions, and incorporate feedback.

Required Qualifications

• Enrolled in UT-Austin Graduate Program (Eligible for Graduate Research Assistant positions through UT)
• Demonstrated experience cleaning, transforming, analyzing, and documenting quantitative data for research, evaluation, policy, or programmatic purposes.
• Proficiency using R to create reproducible analytic workflows, including clear scripts, code comments, and organized outputs.
• Ability to interpret research questions, define appropriate analytic approaches, and produce accurate tables, figures, and written summaries.
• Experience conducting literature reviews, including identifying credible sources, extracting key findings, and synthesizing evidence.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with administrative datasets, public datasets, longitudinal data, cohort definition and creation, subgroup analyses, and data validation methods.
• Experience creating polished data visualizations, dashboards, slide content, or report-ready graphics that follow organizational style and accessibility expectations.
• Knowledge of statistical modeling, program evaluation, or applied research methods relevant to education, policy, or systems-level analysis.
• Experience working with Texas education data, specifically work in the Texas Education Research Center (ERC)
• Comfort working independently in a project-based role and maintaining clear communication about progress, assumptions, questions, and risks.

Skills

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical findings into clear narratives for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Excellent attention to detail and commitment to data quality, documentation, and confidentiality.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with research staff, participate in regular check-ins, incorporate feedback, manage work across project-based assignments, and complete deliverables in a timely fashion.
• Knowledge of and ability to adhere to FERPA, HIPAA, and Human Subjects Research requirements, policies, and best practices for sensitive, confidential, and protected data and materials.

Salary Range

$1,894.61 per month for a Master’s student

$2,399.86 per month for a Ph.D. student

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Please confirm your eligibility for this position here: http://www.utexas.edu/hr/student/student_acad_employment.html

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

Students in this position may choose to enroll in the UTSaver voluntary retirement programs.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.