Associate AI Analyst

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building:
• Salary Range: $70,000 - $80,000

Position Summary

Reporting to the Emerging Technologist; the Associate AI Analyst will be responsible for promoting the adoption and understanding of artificial intelligence technologies across the university. This role involves advocating for the use of AI in various departments, showcasing the benefits and potential of AI applications, and ensuring the university stays at the forefront of using AI technologies in research, teaching and learning and administration.

The Emerging Technologies team is a fast-paced, startup inspired group that develops extremely innovative solutions to some of the most challenging problems in higher education and research.

The ideal candidate will be the following:

• 
  Researcher - You are an intellectually curious individual that is always in 'information gathering' mode. You can drive top-down requests as well as build foundational knowledge that can be used later during presentations.
• 
  Technologist - You will need to build a deep understanding of a broad range of technologies and are able to pick up new technologies quickly.
• 
  Executive Communicator - You must be able to summarize and present information in a concise, yet thorough, manner. Communications vary widely and include formal emails, written papers, ad-hoc technical demos, and formal presentations.
• 
  Project Management - You will participate in research investigations, document findings and complete projects to conclusion with guidance.

The successful candidate will be highly intelligent, insanely curious and have an unbridled thirst for figuring out new technologies, and innovative approaches to solve hard problems.

Responsibilities

• 
  Advocacy & Awareness (with guidance): Assists in explaining AI concepts, use cases, and benefits to faculty, staff, and students; helps prepare slides, one-pagers, and demos.
• 
  Intake & Triage: Helps review incoming AI ideas/requests, captures requirements, documents use cases, and routes items to the Emerging Technologist or senior team members.
• 
  Training & Events Support: Coordinates logistics, sign-ups, and materials; co-facilitates introductory workshops; collects feedback and updates FAQs and learning resources.
• 
  Research Scans: Monitors trusted sources for basic AI/ML, LLM, and tooling updates; summarizes findings and maintains a lightweight "what's new" log for the team.
• 
  Prototype Support: Assists in configuring no-/low-code AI tools, prompt iterations, and basic evaluations; prepares demo datasets and test scripts under supervision.
• 
  Content & Knowledge Base: Drafts short articles, quick-start guides, and case snippets; maintains a prompt library and tips repository.
• 
  Collaboration & Coordination: Schedules stakeholder meetings, takes notes, tracks action items, and follows up to ensure tasks move forward.
• 
  Governance & Risk Hygiene (entry level): Uses checklists to document data classification, privacy/ethics considerations, and accessibility basics; escalates questions to senior staff.
• 
  Metrics & Reporting: Gathers attendance, satisfaction, and basic adoption metrics; contributes to monthly summaries and dashboards.
• All other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent required.
• Minimum 0-2 years of related experience (relevant internships, research assistantships, co-ops, or entry-level roles in technology, data, or communications welcome).
• Foundational understanding of AI/ML concepts and modern AI tools (e.g., LLM chat, embeddings, prompt basics) and enthusiasm to learn quickly.
• Ability to communicate technical ideas clearly to non-technical audiences-strong writing, slide prep, and presentation support skills.
• Demonstrated organization, attention to detail, and follow-through in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment; ability to juggle multiple tasks.
• Collaborative mindset with comfort taking direction and asking for help; strong interpersonal skills for working across academic and administrative units.
• Familiarity with at least one of: basic Python or SQL, spreadsheets for data wrangling, or no-/low-code automation tools.
• Awareness of data privacy, accessibility, and ethical use considerations; willingness to follow checklists and escalate issues.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal and networking skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment.
• Demonstrated excellence in a variety of competencies including teamwork/collaboration, analytical thinking, communication and influencing skills, and technical expertise.
• Ability to work with changing priorities and with multiple projects.
• Ability to be precise and attentive to detail is essential.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work weekend and off-hour work on occasion.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's in Computer Science, Information Science, Data/Information Management, Communications, or related field.
• Hands-on exposure to LLMs (API or platform), prompt design, and simple evaluation approaches (e.g., rubric-based checks).
• Experience supporting trainings or workshops (co-facilitation, materials prep, LMS updates) and coordinating events.
• Portfolio of short writings (how-tos, blog posts, case summaries) or examples of slide decks/tutorials.
• Familiarity with collaboration and versioning tools (e.g., Git/GitHub basics), Jupyter/Notebooks, or common analytics/reporting tools.
• Experience in higher education or research settings.
• Project coordination exposure (task tracking, simple timelines) and comfort with stakeholder communications.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.