A 24-month Research Associate fixed-term contract.
The Kaleidoscope project is a year-long longitudinal study of approximately 300 adolescents and families, collecting multi-platform behavioural trace data across gaming platforms alongside ecological momentary assessment, qualitative measures, and randomised controlled trials of family-facing wellbeing interventions. Working in close collaboration with the PI, you will take joint ownership of the project's technical infrastructure and quantitative analyses, while also playing an active role in participant recruitment, onboarding, and retention. The project is designed for genuine intellectual partnership, with substantial scope to specialise and pursue independent research directions within the scope of digital wellbeing.
You will take ownership of the quantitative and technical infrastructure of the Kaleidoscope project, working in close collaboration with the PI and a Research Assistant who leads participant recruitment and day-to-day engagement. Based on your expertise and interests, you will lead elements of the data collection pipeline and analytical strategy - together building a rigorous, end-to-end research programme. This includes contributing to and maintaining data collection systems (REST APIs, SQL databases, mobile-based ESM tools), ensuring data pipelines are robust, well-documented, and version-controlled, and leading advanced quantitative analyses of intensive longitudinal and behavioural trace data using causal inference and multilevel modelling approaches.
You will contribute to the design and analysis of randomised controlled trials testing family-facing interventions emerging from the study's qualitative findings, and co-author reproducible open science manuscripts including writing and maintaining analysis code in R or Python.
- A PhD in a relevant discipline (e.g., computational social science, psychology, human-computer interaction, data science)
- A strong publication track record in relevant venues, commensurate with career stage
- Demonstrated use and commitment to open science embedded throughout the research process (e.g., registered reports, open data, and reproducible workflows)
- Experience analysing intensive longitudinal data (e.g., ESM/EMA), including multilevel modelling approaches
- Experience conducting research with human participants in a longitudinal context, including recruitment, onboarding, and retention
- Strong programming skills in R and/or Python, including writing clean, documented, version-controlled code suitable for collaborative and reproducible research
- Experience with or strong knowledge of causal inference methods (e.g., DAGs, potential outcomes framework)
- Familiarity with data infrastructure at a practical working level (e.g., REST APIs, SQL databases)
- Experience with intervention design and/or randomised controlled trials
Don’t worry if you don’t fit this profile perfectly! Our researchers come from all walks of life and through many twists and turns. We choose candidates on the basis of your overall potential to make a positive impact on the project, and on society through the project.
Project-specific benefits
- Joint intellectual ownership of a well-resourced, end-to-end research programme - spanning elements of participatory research, RCTs, data infrastructure, and intensive longitudinal data monitoring
- A productive publishing environment with a strong expectation of sustained lead- and co-authored output throughout the post, in topics aligned with the applicant’s career goals
- Active mentorship and dedicated time for career development, including support for fellowship and grant applications
- Co-supervision of a full-time Research Assistant, with additional student supervision opportunities available
- Work at the intersection of psychology, human-computer interaction, and psychiatry, collaborating with researchers across Imperial's Dyson School of Design Engineering and Department of Psychiatry
- Deep embedding in open research practices including registered reports, open data, power simulations, reproducible workflows
- Engagement opportunities spanning general public, press, and industry stakeholders
- A well-resourced project — including a substantial participant compensation budget, conference attendance funding, and a full suite of gaming hardware
Wider Imperial Benefits
- The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to continue science for humanity.
- Grow your career: gain access to Imperial’s sector-leading dedicated career support for researchers as well as opportunities for promotion and progression.
- As a member of research staff you have 10 development days to use to develop your skills and explore your career prospects
- Sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 41 days off a year and generous pension schemes).
- Be part of a diverse, inclusive and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources to support your personal and professional wellbeing.
Application Process
We welcome pre-submission inquiries to evaluate fit for the role. Please contact: Dr Nick Ballou – [email protected] with “Postdoc - Digital Wellbeing” in the Subject Line, your inquiry, and please attach a CV and writing sample. We may schedule an informal video meeting and recommend that you apply or not.
In the full application, you are asked to include a publication, preprint, or well-documented code repository from a project that best demonstrates your skills in empirical research on technology use, wellbeing, or a closely related area.
In your cover letter, describe your specific contribution, the methodological decisions involved, and how the work connects to your broader research agenda.
Notifications for shortlisted candidates will be sent out by July 31, with interviews taking place between Aug 5–19.
Further Information
Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have not yet been officially awarded will be appointed as a Research Assistant.
This is a full-time post (35 hours per week) for 24 months based in the Dyson School of Design Engineering. The successful applicant will be embedded in Prof Sebastian Deterding’s Motivational Design Lab (5 PhD students), but work most closely with Dr Nick Ballou’s Kaleidoscope Lab team (1 PI, 1 Research Assistant, and this postdoctoral role) as well as colleagues from the Psychiatry Department (Dr Martina Di Simplicio).
The successful applicant will directly communicate with and study adolescents, and must follow safeguarding procedures, and thus requires a DBS check. As this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, at the appropriate level, will be required for the successful candidate.
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