Post-Doctoral Research Associate for the Human Pleasure Project

Post-Doctoral Research Associate for the Human Pleasure Project

The Human Pleasure Project (part of For Goodness Sake LLC; PI: Joshua Buckholtz PhD) is seeking a Full-time Post-Doctoral Research Associate for exciting projects focused on the science of human pleasure and flourishing. For Goodness Sake LLC has developed an online, resource-based intervention that improves women’s’ sexual agency, advocacy and pleasure. The Human Pleasure Project was created to identify the cognitive mechanisms through which person-centered interventions that enhance sexual pleasure and agency increase overall well-being. 

Primary Objectives:

• Understand how the experience of sexual pleasure and agency influence other forms of well-being, such as social connectedness, positive affect and hedonic responsiveness, stress resilience, self-efficacy, and productivity. 
• Uncover latent patterns of individual difference in the experience sexual pleasure and well-being
• Discover how beliefs about pleasure develop, spread and change within social networks 
• Create novel objective measures for assessing multiple aspects of reward, motivation and belief (e.g., hedonic insight, granularity, implicit attitudes toward pleasure). 

The candidate will have the opportunity to work with very large existing datasets (>500,000 participants) and gain experience designing and implementing longitudinal mechanistic intervention studies in large, nationally representative samples. The candidate will be expected and encouraged to produce first-authored publications, and we will do everything we can to support your career. This is a full-time position based in Cambridge, MA (though remote work will be considered for exceptional candidates). The position offers a competitive salary, a healthy work/life balance, and a great benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life and gym.

Responsibilities

The Post-Doctoral Research Associate’s primary responsibilities will include: (1) designing novel experimental tasks; (2) data acquisition via web-based cognitive testing; 3) data analysis and manuscript preparation; 4) development and implementation of smartphone-based deep phenotyping for use in mechanistic and intervention studies. Other responsibilities include working with Lab Manager to develop and maintain a research infrastructure and assist with administrative/regulatory activities (e.g. IRB protocols). 

Requirements

Ph.D. or equivalent with background in a psychological science discipline (especially social/affective psychology). Individuals with other quantitative backgrounds (e.g. cognitive neuroscience, data science, bioengineering, statistics) and computer science will also receive consideration. Candidates should have proficiency with basic computing packages such as MS Word and Excel; expertise with advanced statistical software (e.g. R, Python) and techniques (e.g. multivariate statistics, time-series analysis, computational modeling) is required. 

Familiarity with any of the following will confer a considerable advantage: experience with the objective assessment of implicit bias and/or latent beliefs about self and others; experience with social network analysis, Machine Learning/Natural Language Processing, latent variable analysis (e.g. latent class/profile analysis). 

Strong interpersonal skills, prior research experience, high level of organization with careful attention to detail, and technical expertise are absolutely required. This position requires a high degree of motivation and self-sufficiency, although extensive training and supervision will be provided.

Details

To apply, please email a brief cover letter describing relevant experience, research interests and career goals, CV and contact information to Dr. Joshua Buckholtz (PI, Human Pleasure Project; Head of Research, For Goodness Sake LLC) at jobs@fgsake.org.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

For Goodness Sake conducts large-scale scientific research to gather discoveries about taboo parts of life from tens of thousands of people. We then spread that knowledge through user-centered, radically open and honest online experiences.

OMGYES.com is our flagship product, tastefully and straightforwardly presenting the array of ways women have discovered to have more sexual agency, confidence and pleasure. Psychology Today called OMGYES, "warm, wise, tasteful and fun." The London Times called it, "nothing less than the next wave of an unfinished sexual revolution."

We’ve enjoyed great success and profitability from an increasing rate of organic word-of-mouth growth and MDs and clinicians recommending OMGYES. Our next phase of growth is to scale our process so we can research and create impact in other important parts of life.