Project description
The project aims to follow the integration of new mathematical concepts across the school curriculum, from 1st to 12th grade (children aged 7 to 17), and to characterize inter-individual variability in typical and atypical learning trajectories. It combines behavioral games and assessments with psychometric modelling as well as with fMRI in a large pediatric cohort, with the aim of building one of the largest open datasets on brain development for mathematics.
The successful candidate will be the front-face of the project, playing a central role in participant recruitment, data collection and curation, as well as in organizing the team’s technical infrastructure. S/he will recruit participants (children aged 7-17) and liaise with schools, teachers, and families. S/he will organize and participate in behavioral testing and fMRI data collection sessions. S/he will structure and maintain the team’s codebase in an organized GitHub repository, and create documentation for experimental protocols and analysis pipelines. S/he will also contribute to the project management, and to the construction, organization, and maintenance of the project’s behavioral/imaging dataset.
Candidate profile
- Master’s degree in cognitive science or related field, or engineering degree.
- Comfortable with several programming languages.
- Strong interest in organizing and documenting code, data, and workflows.
- Interest in developmental cognitive science or education is a plus.
- Solid interpersonal skills; comfortable interacting with children, families, and school staff.
- Fluent French (spoken and written) is required, given the extensive liaison with schools and families.
- Autonomy and rigor.
Duration: 2 years, Expected starting date: October–December 2026
Location: NeuroSpin, Gif-sur-Yvette (Paris-Saclay), France
Salary: commensurate with experience
Application package
- CV
- A cover letter explaining how your previous experience is relevant to this project (in French)
- Two letters of reference
Please specify the project in the email subject line “MathOMeter RESEARCH ASSISTANT” and send your application package to Marie Amalric (marie.amalric@inserm.fr) and Giovanna Santoro (giovanna.santoro@cea.fr). Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
