Job Summary

The Research Assistant assists the research team in conducting research projects for the IMAGE project (https://image.a11y.mcgill.ca) in McGill’s Shared Reality Lab and, as required, is responsible for the functional supervision of Undergraduate/Graduate Research Assistants.

Under the supervision of the Research Supervisor and under the technical guidance of senior team members, conducts research and development activities using established protocols, processes, and procedures within the IMAGE platform and its deployment ecosystem.

Key Deliverables Under Current Funding

Contribute to the design and development of textbook diagram experiences for users of the Monarch Android pin array tablet in collaboration with Humanware, including real-world deployment of the IMAGE platform.

Support adoption of IMAGE by external groups by contributing to development, deployment, and technical enablement activities.

Responsibilities

• Under the supervision of the Research Supervisor and with technical guidance from senior research staff, contributes to research and development activities supporting the IMAGE platform and related systems, following established protocols, processes, and methodologies.
• Executes experimental and developmental activities, including maintaining and improving the IMAGE platform through systematic bug identification, security updates, testing procedures, and the implementation of new features across client and server environments.
• Conducts research-driven system integration and prototyping, including the development and evaluation of agentic systems leveraging state-of-the-art large language models (LLMs), and supports experimental deployments and validation processes.
• Maintains and operates research and production environments, including machine learning infrastructure and associated system components, ensuring reliability for ongoing experimental and analytical work.
• Compiles, analyzes, and interprets system performance and usage data to support ongoing research objectives, assess system behaviour, and inform iterative improvements.
• Implements recommended improvements to existing research methods, system architectures, deployment processes, and overall platform performance, based on empirical findings and testing outcomes.
• Contributes to the planning and preparation of research and technical documentation, including experimental design materials, system documentation, and reporting outputs.
• Supports and may provide guidance to junior research contributors, including students and developers, in the execution of assigned research and development activities.
• Participates in the dissemination of research findings, including the preparation of technical reports, documentation, and other knowledge translation materials.
• Performs related administrative and coordination tasks in support of research project activities.

Qualifications

• 
  Bachelor’s degree in software engineering or related field

• 2+ years of software development experience writing code that has been deployed into production for real-world use. (examples required)

• Hands-on experience selecting, integrating, and deploying LLM-based solutions

• Software architecture, design, and documentation, including creating usable solutions when working with less technical designers and HCI practitioners

• Strong proficiency in server-side languages such as NodeJS or Python

• Frontend Web development, e.g.,Typescript/HTML/CSS/Javascript

• Linux command line and scripting

• Familiar with (or able to quickly learn) Docker, containerization, client/server design

• Git, and Github flow method of raising and merging pull requests

• Chrome browser extension development and deployment

• JSON schema definition and use

• Mentoring junior designers/developers

General Requirements

• 
  Quebec resident (mandatory), able to work on-site at McGill downtown Montreal campus at least one day/week

• Fluent English

• Bonus: Experience writing conference and journal papers and presenting results in academic venues

• Bonus: French (spoken and/or written)

• Bonus: Experience working with the blind/low vision community

If you match a number of these, please apply since we can assist you with coming up to speed in some areas. We welcome applications from people who are blind or low vision, with lived experience.

Application Details:

To complete your application, please submit your materials via Workday, including:

1. A brief letter of application, describing your qualifications and relevant experience to the position of interest, along with your dates of availability.

2. Detailed CV with links to online papers and/or project portfolios.

3. Two (2) reference letters.