Project Scientist Series Pool Ad - Open Ranks in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Position overview

Salary range :

Positions may be full or part-time and may be with or without salary.

Application Window

Open date : July 1, 2025

Most recent review date : Monday, Oct 13, 2025 at 11 : 59pm (Pacific Time)

Applications received after this date will be reviewed by the search committee if the position has not yet been filled.

Final date : Tuesday, Jun 30, 2026 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

Project Scientist

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles, anticipates openings for ambitious independent Ph.D. researchers in its various divisions. These openings will be at the level of Assistant Project Scientist or above (associate and full rank), depending upon the candidate's qualification.

Criteria for the Project Scientist Series :

The Project Scientist Series make significant and creative contributions to a research or creative project related to Surgery. They carry out research or creative programs with supervision by a member of the Professor or Professional Research Series.

The divisions include : Foot and Ankle Surgery, General Orthopaedics, Hand Surgery, Joint Replacement, Musculoskeletal Oncology, Pediatric Orthopaedics, Spine Surgery, Sports Medicine, and Trauma Surgery.

Duties : The position will perform independent research under the direction of the Principal Investigator. The Assistant Project Scientist will also be responsible for helping to supervise graduate and undergraduate student researchers, preparing manuscripts for publication in scientific journals, and assisting with the preparation of grant proposals.

Additional Duties :

• Ability to work on multiple projects efficiently and effectively. Ability to work independently on scientific projects. Assist with preparation of grant proposals.
• Preparation of manuscripts for publication in top-tier scientific journals.
• Required to communicate well with other scientists worldwide.
• Candidate should have demonstrated years of research experience in an academic setting or equivalent.
• Experience in small animal surgical procedures, if required.
• Experience of a specific laboratory procedure, data processing as required in the study.
• The candidate will report directly to the Principal Investigator and will successfully carry out experiments and analyze the data generated with minimal supervision.
• Equipment maintenance, if needed.
• Required to communicate well with other scientists worldwide.
• Ability to help and train various personnel in data analysis and make significant contributions to the design and execution of other laboratory members' experiments.

Requirements : This position requires a Ph.D. in a relevant field.

The Project Scientist position is an academic non-faculty position. Initial appointments are for one year and renewal is dependent upon funding and availability. While salary and rank will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Interested candidates should apply through UC RECRUIT : https : / / recruit.apo.ucla.edu / JPF10437

To be considered for a position, submit the required application materials :

The University of California seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the people of California, to maintain the excellence of the University, and to offer our students richly varied disciplines, perspectives and ways of knowing and learning.

The posted UC salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See Table 37 https : / / www.ucop.edu / academic-personnel-programs / compensation / 2024-25-academic-salary-scales.html . The salary range for this position is $74,700-$143,200; according to candidate's qualifications and experience, and the division's requirements. This position includes membership in the basic sciences compensation plan which provides for eligibility for additional compensation. https : / / medschool.ucla.edu / sites / g / files / oketem456 / files / media / documents / SOM-Imp-Proc-32015.pdf

Cultural North Star : The shared values of the DGSOM are expressed in the Cultural North Star, which was developed by members of our community and affirms our unswerving commitment to doing what's right, making things better, and being kind. These are the standards to which we hold ourselves, and one another. Please read more about this important DGSOM program at https : / / medschool.ucla.edu / cultural-north-star

UC Regents Statement on Ethical Values and Standards of Conduct : All aspects of searches are confidential and all candidates are expected to review and abide by UC Regents Policy 1111 on Statement on Ethical Values and Standards of Conduct https : / / regents.universityofcalifornia.edu / governance / policies / 1111.html

Anti-Racism Roadmap : The David Geffen School of Medicine Anti-racism roadmap is our co-created path to ensuring racial justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. We are committed to actively dismantling structural racism in our organization as described in more detail at : https : / / medschool.ucla.edu / diversity-anti-racism-roadmap

The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, bullying and other demeaning behavior, discrimination, exploitation, or intimidation. With this commitment as well as a commitment to addressing all forms of academic misconduct, UCLA conducts targeted employment reference checks for finalists to whom departments or other hiring units would like to extend formal offers of appointment into Academic Senate faculty positions. The targeted employment reference checks involve contacting the finalists' current and prior places of employment to ask whether there have been substantiated findings of misconduct that would violate the University's Faculty Code of Conduct. To implement this process, UCLA requires all applicants for Academic Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload the form entitled "Authorization to Release Information" into RECRUIT as part of their application. If the applicant does not include the signed authorization to release information with the application materials, the application will be considered incomplete. As with any incomplete application, the application will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, only finalists (i.e., those to whom the department or other hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer) considered for Academic Senate faculty positions will be subject to targeted employment reference checks.

The University of California 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. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see : UC Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action Policy.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications

This position requires a Ph.D. in a relevant field.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.

Cover Letter

Statement of Research

Statement of Teaching (Optional)

Reference check authorization release form - Complete and upload the reference check authorization release form

UCLA Mission Statement - As the nation's premier public research university, UC's mission is the creation, dissemination, preservation and application of knowledge for the betterment of our global society. We have a particular responsibility to the people of the state of California which we express in the excellence of the education we provide, the impact of the research we do, the comprehensive, life-saving medical services we provide, and the public service mission we are devoted to. The University of California promotes the social mobility of its students, equips them with the tools and experience that furthers their ambitions, and regards their accomplishments across the life span as evidence of the profoundly positive impact of higher education.

The UCLA campus has expressed these goals in its strategic plan as follows :

Deepen our engagement with Los Angeles

Expand our reach as a global university

Enhance our research and creative activities

Elevate how we teach

Become a more effective institution

Prompt for candidates for recruitment :

Reflecting on your personal and professional experiences, highlight your past contributions and future commitments to advancing UCLA's mission as embodied in the 2023-28 strategic plan. These accomplishments and ambitions may be discussed in the context of describing your teaching, scholarship, and service

Reference requirements

Name and email address only

Apply link :

https : / / recruit.apo.ucla.edu / JPF10437

Help contact : cristinagomez@mednet.ucla.edu

About UCLA

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.

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 condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy

UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties

Job location

Los Angeles, CA