Research Assistant/​Associate - Remote Linguistics Research

About the Role

We're hiring a Research Assistant/Associate to join our innovative team at Newcastle University. This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the ESRC/NSF-funded project, "INvestigating and Treebanking Scots And Yiddish Together (InTSaYT)." As a Research Assistant/Associate, you will engage in exciting research that combines syntax, diachronic linguistics, psycholinguistics, and computational linguistics. This position is designed for individuals who are passionate about language processing and research.

What You'll Do

• Correct the output of a syntactic parser on modern and historical Yiddish.
• Collaborate with the computational linguistics team at the University of Pennsylvania.
• Design observational experiments using the resulting corpus and analyze results.
• Prepare project publications, including academic papers and project reports.
• Engage in the general research life of the School of Psychology and contribute to project meetings.

Requirements

• PhD in Psycholinguistics, Syntax, Computational Linguistics, or a related discipline (for Associate Level).
• Nearing completion of a PhD in a relevant field (for Assistant Level).
• Strong knowledge of theoretical syntax and experience analyzing naturally occurring data.
• Familiarity with R or comparable statistical programming languages.
• Demonstrable experience writing up research for publication.
• Ability to navigate UNIX/LINUX systems or a willingness to learn quickly.
• Some knowledge of a Germanic language other than English, and/or ability to quickly learn Yiddish.

Nice to Have

• Proficiency in Yiddish.
• Knowledge of information theory and additional mathematical background.
• Experience with phrase-structure-parsed corpora (e.g., Penn Treebank-format).
• Background in psycholinguistics, particularly processing, production, and memory.
• Familiarity with computational linguistics methods, particularly parsing and POS-tagging.

What We Offer

• Generous holiday package with the opportunity to buy more leave.
• Great pension schemes and health and wellbeing initiatives.
• Supportive and inclusive work environment.
• Opportunities for professional development and collaboration.
• Flexible start date in May 2026.

This Research Assistant/Associate role is a fantastic opportunity for individuals looking to advance their careers in linguistics and research. If you are excited about the prospect of working remotely while contributing to groundbreaking research, we encourage you to apply!