How to Apply
A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position.
Job Summary
The Data Science for Dynamic Intervention Decision-Making Center seeks a user experience (UX) Research Specialist to assist Dr. Benson and Dr. Mark Newman with a research project focused on "Personalized Feedback Visualizations for Just-In-Time Adaptive Interventions," that will be conducted in Ann Arbor, MI. The goals of the project are to: 1) conduct co-design sessions involving asking individuals to talk about their experiences with quitting smoking and to help design mobile app-based personalized feedback visualizations that would be (or have been) helpful for smoking cessation, and 2) conduct a quantitative proof of concept study using the co-design results to develop visualization prototypes that systematically vary in their design features to examine which are best for generating useful insights and promoting engagement with mobile app-based self-regulatory activities among individuals attempting to quit smoking.
The UX Research Specialist will contribute to the design and refinement of visualizations that reflect dynamic information about participants' health behavior experiences. The role is deal for someone with experience designing behavior change tools, personal informatics, and /or personal data visualizations - especially in health, psychology, or mobile contexts.
Strong UX and data visualization skills are essential, and experience with conducting and analyzing qualitative interview data would be highly valued.
The Data Science for Dynamic Intervention Decision-Making Center (d3center) is an interdisciplinary collective of interventions in healthcare and education. d3c strives to cultivate a bottom-up, interactive, team-oriented workplace that values, above all else, how people work together in the service of developing and disseminating novel data sciences tools that matter. As we develop the methodological toolkit scientists need to address today's biggest public health challenges, we're building an open-source ecosystem for sharing tools and collaborating with and training scientific partners to implement our methodology to solve real-world problems. Through partnerships with stakeholders around the world, we will catalyze a new generation of evidence-based, technology-powered treatments that improve health and education outcomes for everyone.
Responsibilities*
Responsibilities will include fulfilling any duties associated with the personalized feedback visualization studies, including:
- Collaborating with Drs. Benson and Newman to conceptualize and design personalized feedback visualizations that integrate various smoking cessation-related data streams (e.g., smoking urges, stress, emotions, engagement in self-regulatory strategies). This will involve translating insights from the personal informatics, emotion science, and behavior change literatures into design concepts that are clear, engaging, and accessible.
- Contributing to the development of the co-design sessions, recruiting participants, conducting interviews with participants, and cleaning and analyzing data.
- Contributing to the quantitative proof of concept study including assisting with the design of the personalized feedback visualization prototypes, assembling study materials, recruiting participants, and cleaning and analyzing data.
- Contributing to the preparation of reports, design documentation, academic manuscripts and grant proposals.
Required Qualifications*
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in UX Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Information Design, Psychology, Public Health, or a related field. Those working toward such a degree will also be considered.
- Experience with user-centered design methods, including co-design and iterative prototyping
- UX study design, participant recruitment, leading co-design sessions and conducting semi-structured interviews
- Analysis of semi-structured co-design and interview data
- Experience designing digital interfaces, ideally with a portfolio demonstrating health-or behavior-related visualizations or other personal informatics tools
- Excellent visual communication and information design skills
- Proficiency with design tools (e.g., Figma)
- Ability to work well in both team-based and independent settings
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to translate research insights into intuitive user experiences
Desired Qualifications*
- Experience designing or evaluating mobile health (mHealth) or digital behavior change interventions
- Familiarity with just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) or intensive longitudinal data (e.g., ecological momentary assessments)
- Knowledge of persuasive technology frameworks
Modes of Work
Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.
Additional Information
The Institute for Social Research (ISR) at the University of Michigan seeks to create a community of respect and authentic collaboration by recruiting and retaining individuals that represent a variety of voices as a reflection of our commitment to serve the people of Michigan, to maintain the excellence of the university, and to ground our research in varied disciplines, perspectives, and ways of knowing and learning.
Expected commitment is 5-15 hours per week (depending on project stage) from August 2025 through February 2026, with an extension possible based on fit with future project needs.
This is an in-person position, located in Ann Arbor, MI
Background Screening
The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
U-M EEO Statement
The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.