Job Abstract

The Department of Linguistics at Berkeley supports a broad view of language and diverse approaches to its analysis. Faculty and students investigate many different areas of language structure and use, engaging with linguistic theories through methods that include computational modeling, corpus linguistics, experimental procedures, fieldwork, and formal analysis.

The Assistant/Associate Researcher will be responsible for leading the Script Encoding Initiative, housed within the Linguistics Department at UC Berkeley. The Script Encoding Initiative is a longstanding project that works with historic and minority script communities to help them gain a digital footing.

The Assistant/Associate Researcher’s primary responsibility will be overseeing encoding projects in partnership with the nonprofit organization, the Unicode Consortium. This work involves interfacing directly with Unicode in regular multi-stakeholder meetings, identifying and supervising independent experts working on script digitization, and conducting research for scholarly and public outlets on language and technology.

The Assistant/Associate Researcher’s tasks will include:
? Hiring and supervising of a part-time Project Policy Analyst
? Acting as a representative and proponent of the proposals in the two standards committees, the Unicode Technical Committee (composed largely of computer companies) and the ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2 and its Working Group 2 (composed of experts and national body representatives)
? Assist individuals (who are not SEI-funded) and other groups in preparing script proposals
? Producing research publications and public writing on issues of script digitization
? Maintaining and expanding the content on SEI’s website
? Strategy setting for SEI, as well as designing events and workshops
? Grant-writing to bring in continued support for SEI
? Launching and overseeing small research grants program

• PhD or equivalent international degree

• Well-versed in writing systems, so as to understand the wide-ranging needs of the script communities with whom SEI works
• Technical expertise in text encoding and/or other aspects of language digitization, so as to provide detailed feedback on Unicode proposals
• Be sensitive to regional language politics and be prepared to serve as a mediator in cases of conflict with user communities
• Have a track record of research and community outreach in this space, and possess knowledge of the various academic, nonprofit, and industry stakeholders working on multilingual technologies
• Direct familiarity with the Unicode Standard is highly desired
• Advanced graduate work in history of technology, applied linguistics, communication, digital humanities, or other related areas is required

• 3 required (contact information only)

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The excellence of the institution requires an environment in which the diverse community of faculty, students, and staff are welcome and included. Successful candidates will demonstrate knowledge and skill related to ensuring equity and inclusion in the activities of their academic position (e.g., teaching, research, and service, as applicable).

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

Please refer to the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy and the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy.

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

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.