Doctoral Research Intern — AI, Leadership & Behavioral Assessment

Practice Ground by Virbela is building AI-powered simulations where managers practice difficult workplace conversations and receive structured, behavior-based feedback and coaching.

We’re looking for an exceptional PhD student or doctoral candidate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Organizational Behavior, Leadership, Assessment, or a closely related field to help strengthen the science underlying the product.

This is not a traditional research-assistant role. You’ll work directly with Virbela’s founder and product team and influence a live product being used to develop real managers and leaders.

What you’ll do

• Refine competency models, behavioral indicators, and behaviorally anchored rating scales.
• Improve simulation scenarios, scoring rubrics, and assessment logic.
• Analyze pilot and learner data for reliability, validity, scoring quality, and developmental outcomes.
• Help design validation studies and research partnerships.
• Translate current I/O research into practical product decisions.
• Contribute to technical documentation, white papers, conference submissions, and potentially publishable research.
• Explore responsible uses of generative AI in behavioral assessment, simulation, and coaching.

You might be a great fit if you

• Are currently pursuing a PhD in I/O Psychology, Organizational Behavior, Management, Quantitative Psychology, or a related discipline.
• Have strong foundations in assessment, psychometrics, competency modeling, leadership, validation, or quantitative methods.
• Can operate comfortably between rigorous research and messy real-world product problems.
• Are an excellent writer and communicator.
• Are curious about AI and want to help shape how it is used in leadership development.
• Have experience with R, Python, SPSS, or similar tools — helpful, but not required.

Why this role is different

You’ll work directly with Alex Howland, PhD, founder of Virbela, on questions such as:

• Can AI simulations reliably measure meaningful leadership behavior?
• What evidence should we require before making developmental claims?
• How do we turn an AI conversation into defensible behavioral evidence?

You won’t be several organizational layers removed from those questions. You’ll help answer them.

What you’ll get

• Authorship on white papers and conference submissions.
• Access to real simulation and pilot data.
• Mentorship from a consulting psychologist and an I/O partner.

Structure

Remote. Approximately 10–20 hours per week, initially 4–6 months with the possibility of extending.

January 2027 start (earlier possible for the right candidate).

Hours flex around the academic calendar. Students on F-1 visas should confirm CPT eligibility with their school.

Try it before you apply

See the product for yourself at practiceground.ai before applying.

How to apply

Priority review of applications received by November 6.

When you apply, please use the Experience Summary field to briefly tell us:

1. Your PhD program and current year/stage.
2. The research or applied work you’ve done that is most relevant to behavioral assessment, psychometrics, leadership, simulation, or AI.
3. What interests you about the measurement problems behind AI-powered leadership simulations.

Compensation: $30–$40/hour, based on experience and qualifications.

Practice Ground is a product of Virbela, Inc.

Virbela is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other protected characteristics.