Assistant Project Scientist

Position overview

Position title: Assistant Project Scientist

Salary range: A reasonable salary estimate for this position is $38.03/hourly or $79,400/annual.

The posted UC academic salary scales UC Academic Salary Scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and/or step at appointment. See the following table for the salary scale for this position Salary Scale.

Application Window

Open date: October 5, 2026

Next review date: Friday, Oct 23, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Tuesday, Oct 5, 2027 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The Design Lab is hiring a part-time (25% effort) Assistant Project Scientist to lead research on the California Air Resources Board (CARB) project evaluating how infill development can reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions statewide. Sitting at the intersection of land-use planning, transportation policy, environmental justice, and data science, this role turns complex data into actionable, climate-smart growth strategies for California state, regional, and local agencies.

This position will be conducting quantitative and spatial analysis using R or Python to model socioeconomic microdata, parcel-level zoning, and transportation networks. Day to day, that means working with datasets like American Community Survey (ACS) microdata, LEHD/LODES, CalEnviroScreen, ACE, and AFFH to build small-area VMT models, GHG accounting frameworks, and gravity-based accessibility metrics for employment and essential services.

Beyond the modeling side, this position will lead interdisciplinary literature reviews across urban economics, environmental science, public health, and transit policy, distilling findings into clear policy briefs, technical reports, and decision frameworks for state agency leaders. Environmental justice is central to everything we do here, so this position will also focus on operationalizing equity metrics to ensure our policy recommendations account for housing affordability, gentrification, and displacement risks in infill planning.

Qualifications Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

A doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in urban planning, transportation planning, environmental policy, geography, public policy, economics, statistics, data science or a closely related field is required.

Preferred Qualifications Familiarity with the academic and practitioner literature on VMT, GHG emissions, and the built environment, including the role of land use intensity, density, and mixed-use development in reducing automobile dependence.

Understanding of infill development concepts, transit-oriented development (TOD), place type frameworks, or regional planning designations such as Priority Development Areas (PDAs), Green Zones, or Mobility Hubs.

Knowledge of telework and remote work trends and their interaction with VMT and job accessibility metrics.

Application Requirements

Document Requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Statement of Research

Reference Requirements

• 3-5 required (contact information only)

Apply link: https://apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF04666

Help contact: [email protected]

About UC San Diego The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

As a university employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

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