Build the Science With Us
Where curiosity becomes ownership, and ownership becomes impact.
NAIADEL is an interdisciplinary lab launching at the University of Arizona in Fall 2026. We're looking for students, scientists, engineers, and collaborators who want to study and build adaptive intelligence and agency, take on meaningful responsibility early, and help establish rigorous scientific practices and a culture of fellowship (building relationships of reciprocal investment from the beginning).
A Shared Architecture for Ambitious Science.
NAIADEL brings together vision, ownership, fellowship, and excellence to connect theory, experiments, computational models, tools, and people into durable scientific work.
Our culture is organized around four commitments: remain curious, take meaningful initiative, build work that matters, and create a community in which people can develop through contribution and belonging.
Depending on the role, members may design adaptive experiments, develop computational models and artificial agents, conduct clinical research, build research software and data infrastructure, coordinate studies, or contribute to shared scientific resources. The balance evolves with each person's expertise, interests, and growing independence.
Vision: Ask ambitious questions.
We remain open to being wrong, look across disciplinary boundaries, and treat uncertainty as an invitation to investigate rather than something to conceal.
Ownership: Take proactive initiative with support
Members receive meaningful responsibility early, accompanied by clear expectations, guidance, feedback, and growing autonomy.
Excellence: Pair ambition with craft.
We value rigorous reasoning, thoughtful design, reliable engineering, transparent documentation, and reproducible work.
Fellowship: Help others grow with you
We respect different forms of expertise, share knowledge and credit, and contribute to a community built through reliability and reciprocal investment. We invest in one another as learners, teachers, builders, and people.
Members receive role-appropriate guidance, feedback, and opportunities for growth. Trainees and early-career scientists receive close, individualized mentoring in computational modeling, cognitive task design, multimodal neuroscience, and the development of increasingly independent research.
What You Can Expect
- Close, individualized scientific and technical mentoring
- Meaningful responsibility rather than only peripheral tasks
- Opportunities to develop ideas and increasingly independent projects
- Direct feedback, intellectual challenge, and support through steep learning curves
- Recognition and credit that reflect genuine contributions
What We Ask of Each Other
- Curiosity and openness to learning
- Reliability and care for shared work
- Initiative paired with communication
- Willingness to give, receive, and act on feedback
- Respect for different forms of expertise
- Commitment to helping others grow alongside you
| Path | Status | Location | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lab Manager | Filled | Tucson | Details → |
| Post-Bacc Research Associate / Research Assistant | Accepting inquiries | Tucson | Details → |
| Undergraduate Research | Limited openings | Tucson | Details → |
| PhD Students | Accepting for Fall 2027 Cycle | Tucson | Details → |
| Postdoctoral Researchers | Open | On-site or remote | Details → |
| Engineers and Collaborators | Project-dependent | On-site or remote | Details → |
Explore current roles, research pathways, and application instructions.
Lab Manager
The Lab Manager supports the day-to-day coordination and development of the NAIADEL lab. Working closely with Dr. Ging-Jehli, the role combines research coordination, operational organization, and community support. Responsibilities may include coordinating participant recruitment and data collection, maintaining study and lab documentation, supporting IRB submissions and protocol updates, onboarding students and research assistants, organizing meetings and shared workflows, and tracking project materials, deadlines, and administrative tasks. The Lab Manager may also help coordinate lab events and the Gearshift Spotlight Series.
The position is especially well suited to someone who is highly organized, dependable, attentive to detail, and comfortable taking initiative while communicating openly. Depending on the Lab Manager's interests and experience, the role may also include questionnaire programming, literature reviews, behavioral-study development, data organization, and introductory research analysis.
Preferred Qualifications
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Reliability in managing recurring responsibilities and following projects through to completion
- Clear and professional written and verbal communication
- Ability to work independently while asking questions and providing timely updates
- Interest in psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, computational research, or related fields
- Comfort learning new research, documentation, and project-management tools
Prior experience in a research lab, administrative role, event coordination, data management, Python, R, Qualtrics, or web-based behavioral research is welcome but not required.
Email the lab →Research Associate/Assistant
(Post-Baccalaureate) Research Associate will work closely with Dr. Ging-Jehli across both research and lab operations. Responsibilities may include programming behavioral experiments, coordinating studies, managing data and documentation, supporting participant recruitment and data collection, onboarding research assistants, and helping establish the lab's operational infrastructure.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, computer science, statistics, or related field
- Proficiency in Python or R (or both)
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Ability to manage multiple responsibilities reliably and independently
- Commitment of at least one year
Experience with behavioral experiments, computational modeling, data management, web-based research tools, or collaborative software development is welcome but not required.
To apply: Please send a CV or résumé, a brief statement describing your interest and relevant experience, your anticipated availability, and contact information for two references.
Email the lab →Undergraduate Research
University of Arizona undergraduates interested in computational modeling, behavioral research, experimental design, human–AI systems, or scientific infrastructure may apply to join NAIADEL through volunteer research involvement or independent-study credit.
Because meaningful research participation requires sustained training and mentoring, preference will generally be given to students who can commit consistent weekly time for at least two semesters.
To apply: Please submit a brief statement of interest, your résumé or CV, relevant coursework or technical experience, your expected weekly availability, and the type of involvement you are seeking.
Apply via Google Form →PhD Students
The Psychology PhD admissions cycle for Fall 2026 is closed. Prospective applicants interested in joining NAIADEL in a future cycle are welcome to contact Dr. Ging-Jehli before applying to discuss research alignment.
Admission decisions are made through the University of Arizona Psychology PhD admissions process. An informal conversation with the lab does not replace the formal application and does not guarantee admission.
When contacting the lab: Please include your CV, a concise description of your research interests, and a brief explanation of why NAIADEL may be a strong intellectual fit.
Email the lab →Postdoctoral Researchers
Researchers interested in pursuing postdoctoral work with NAIADEL are welcome to inquire about research alignment, external fellowship applications, and potential project-supported opportunities. Please note that an inquiry does not necessarily indicate that a funded postdoctoral position is currently available.
When contacting the lab: Please send your CV, a brief description of your research program and proposed fit with NAIADEL, and one or two representative papers or preprints. Candidates interested in external fellowship support should also indicate the relevant funding mechanism and anticipated timeline.
Email the lab →Engineers & Collaborators
NAIADEL works with software engineers, research engineers, computational scientists, designers, clinicians, educators, and academic or industry collaborators whose expertise complements the lab's research on adaptive intelligence, agency, computational modeling, and human–AI systems.
Engineering contributions may involve behavioral-task development, research software, data pipelines, modeling infrastructure, adaptive agents, scientific documentation, or the Gearshift Fellowship platform. Collaborations may range from focused methodological contributions to longer-term joint research, data collection, grant development, or shared scientific infrastructure.
Please note that a general inquiry does not necessarily indicate that a funded position or contract is currently available. Any active employment or paid contracting opportunities will be listed separately under Current Opportunities.
When contacting the lab: Please include:
- a brief description of your expertise or proposed collaboration;
- the specific project, scientific question, or technical area you would like to contribute to;
- your CV, résumé, portfolio, GitHub profile, or relevant publications;
- the type of relationship you are seeking, such as employment, contracting, academic collaboration, student supervision, or institutional partnership;
- your anticipated availability and preferred timeline.
Proposals are most useful when they identify a concrete point of alignment rather than offering general services.
Email the lab →