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
Soundability Lab is recruiting a Research Associate to support two ongoing non-clinical research projects focused on making healthcare environments more accessible and inclusive for people with sound-related disabilities.
The position will support evaluation of:
- Sona, a wearable system designed to selectively block or manage noise in order to improve healthcare worker comfort, communication, and satisfaction in noisy clinical environments.
- A tablet-based real-time captioning system designed to support deaf and hard-of-hearing patients, companions, and clinicians during primary care interactions.
The Research Associate will help design, coordinate, and conduct non-clinical studies with physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and other healthcare workers. Studies may include simulated healthcare encounters, usability evaluations, interviews, surveys, focus groups, workflow observations, and interviews over Zoom. The role will involve participant recruitment and scheduling, development of study materials, data collection, qualitative and mixed-methods analysis, synthesis of findings, preparation of reports and manuscripts, and support for future grant proposals.
This is a non-clinical research position. The studies will involve healthcare professionals and healthcare scenarios, but the work will be conducted in non-clinical or simulated settings and will not involve providing clinical care.
Required Qualifications*
- Bachelor's degree in health, medicine, biomedicine, public health, computer science, human-computer interaction, engineering, information science, or a related field.
- At least one year of experience conducting research or evaluation studies with healthcare professionals, patients, disabled people, or other human participants.
- Experience with one or more of the following: semi-structured interviews, usability studies, survey design, participant recruitment, qualitative coding, mixed-methods data analysis, or writing research findings.
- Strong communication skills and ability to interact professionally with physicians, nurses, healthcare workers, disabled participants, and interdisciplinary collaborators.
- Ability to work independently, manage multiple study tasks, maintain organized documentation, and follow human-subjects research protocols.
Desired Qualifications*
- Experience evaluating digital health, accessibility, AI, AR/VR, mobile, wearable, or web-based tools.
- Familiarity with healthcare settings, clinical workflows, medical communication, or simulated healthcare environments.
- Experience with accessibility research, disability studies, deaf and hard-of-hearing communities, or sound/noise-related disability.
- Experience with qualitative analysis tools, survey platforms, transcription workflows, or mixed-methods research.
- Engineering or technical experience, including prototyping, website development, "vibe-coding", or evaluating technical systems with users.
- Interest in AI tools and their potential benefits, risks, and evaluation in healthcare contexts.
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.
U-M EEO Statement
The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.