Position Information

NY HELPSNo

55-b/c EligibleNo

AgencyMental Health, Office of

TitleResearch Scientist 4 - AI Expert, Nathan S. Kline Research Institute, P28408

Occupational CategoryOther Professional Careers

Salary Grade27

Bargaining UnitPS&T - Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PEF)

Salary RangeFrom $111708 to $137590 Annually

Employment Type Full-Time

Appointment Type Permanent

InternshipNo

Jurisdictional Class Non-competitive Class

Travel Percentage 0%

Schedule

Workweek Mon-Fri

Hours Per Week 40

Workday

From 6 AM

To 6 PM

Flextime allowed? No

Mandatory overtime? No

Compressed workweek allowed? No

Telecommuting allowed? No

Location

County Rockland

Street Address Nathan S. Kline Research Institute for Psychiatric Research

140 Old Orangeburg Road

City Orangeburg

StateNY

Zip Code10962

Job Specifics

Duties Description The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (NKI) is a dedicated research facility of the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) located on the grounds of Rockland Psychiatric Center in Orangeburg, NY. NKI is affiliated with the New York University Langone Medical Center (NYULMC), located in midtown Manhattan. Applications are currently being invited for a full-time Research Scientist 4.

Web Presence & Digital Infrastructure
• Maintain, update, and enhance NKI's WordPress/CMS-based website (ensuring content accuracy, performance, security, and WCAG 2.1accessibility compliance.
• Collaborate with department stakeholders to publish and maintain research updates, news, and program information in a timely manner and in alignment with Institute branding, policies, and procedures.
• Monitor site operational and security health, manage plugins, apply updates, and coordinate with hosting infrastructure for uptime and performance.
• Develop lightweight web tools or forms that support departmental needs (e.g., intake forms, resource portals, dashboards).

Workflow Analysis & Process Automation
• Conduct structured workflow discovery sessions with department heads and staff across NKI (administration, business office, HR, grants management, lab operations).
• Document current-state processes, identify inefficiencies, redundancies, and manual bottlenecks.
• Design and implement automation solutions using AI tools, scripting (Python/PowerShell), and low-code platforms (Power Automate, Jira automation, etc.).
• Measure and report on efficiency gains and compliance post-implementation; iterate based on feedback and results.

AI Implementation & Research Support
• Serve as NKI's internal champion for practical AI adoption, staying current on emerging tools, APIs, frameworks, guidelines and regulations.
• Partner with Principal Investigators to understand research workflows and identify high-value AI integration points — including literature review, data preprocessing, annotation pipelines, and report generation.
• Configure, deploy, and support approved AI tools, such as LLM-based assistants, automated summarization and image/data analysis pipelines, for research and research administration use.
• Contribute to NKI's in-house AI infrastructure initiative (LLM stack including Ollama, LiteLLM, Open-WebUI) and help expand access to researchers in a HIPAA/FISMA-compliant manner.
• Develop documentation, training materials, and onboarding guides so staff and researchers can confidently leverage AI tools independently.

Compliance & Documentation
• Ensure all web and AI systems adhere to HIPAA, FISMA, and NYS OMH data governance requirements.
• Perform post-approval monitoring of AI-related solution for effectiveness and adherence to risk-management requirements.
• Maintain technical documentation in Confluence (SOL space) for all implemented solutions, workflows, and tool configurations.
• Participate in IT change control processes (CCR framework) for any production system modifications.

Minimum Qualifications Minimum Non-Competitive: bachelor’s degree and five years of professional research experience in an appropriate field.

Substitutions: master’s degree in an appropriate field may substitute for one year of experience, and Ph.D. in an appropriate field may substitute for an additional year of experience.

Additional Comments All OMH employees receive a generous benefits package including:
• NYS medical, dental, & vision insurance
• Access to tuition assistance programs
• Excellent opportunities for advancement & professional growth
• Paid time off – 13 paid vacation days in the first year, 5 paid personal days, 13 paid holidays, & paid sick leave
• NYS Retirement programs

Background checks will be required.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Demonstrated professional experience independently performing technical administration, web administration, IT operations, systems analysis, research computing, or related functions within an established organization. Such experience is typically gained through at least two years of progressively responsible applied work and must include direct responsibility for work products, systems, or services.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical activities or serving as a primary technical contributor, including independently assessing needs, recommending solutions, implementing improvements, resolving issues, and communicating results to stakeholders.
• Hands-on experience independently administering and maintaining WordPress environments, including content publishing, site configuration, plugin management, troubleshooting, security and performance monitoring, and basic theme customization.
• Demonstrated experience applying generative AI or large language model technologies, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or similar tools, to address research, operational, administrative, or organizational needs in a professional setting.
• Experience designing, developing, implementing, or maintaining scripts and automations using Python or a comparable scripting language.
• Demonstrated ability to work directly and transparently with Institute leadership, Principal Investigators, researchers, and operational stakeholders to understand business and research needs, establish expectations, communicate progress and risks, and deliver practical, supportable technical solutions.
• Ability to explain technical concepts, options, limitations, risks, and recommendations clearly to individuals with varying levels of technical expertise, both verbally and in writing.
• Experience developing and maintaining technical documentation, standard operating procedures, knowledge base content, implementation records, training materials, or similar operational documentation.
• Experience working with ticketing, service management, and knowledge management platforms such as Jira Service Management, Confluence, ServiceNow, or equivalent systems.
• Experience supporting research programs, investigators, research data platforms, or scientific computing environments. Experience within a higher education IT organization, academic medical center, healthcare research organization, or comparable regulated environment is preferred.
• Familiarity with clinical research or neuroimaging data workflows and technologies, including DICOM, BIDS, REDCap, XNAT, or comparable research systems.
• Experience integrating AI services through APIs, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or Hugging Face-based libraries, or deploying and supporting self-hosted LLM technologies such as Ollama, LiteLLM, or Open WebUI.
• Experience with workflow and process automation platforms such as Power Automate, Jira automation, Zapier, n8n, or comparable technologies.
• Practical knowledge of and experience with Docker, containerized applications, and basic Linux administration.
• Strong knowledge of data privacy, information security, responsible AI, and regulated data-handling requirements in regulated environments. Experience working within HIPAA, FISMA, NIST, New York State, or comparable compliance and cybersecurity frameworks is preferred.
• Academic background or professional research experience in cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology, biomedical informatics, data science, or a related field is preferred.

Additional Comments:
This position is eligible for a Downstate Adjustment of $4,150.

NOTE:
1. In order to be eligible for appointment and to maintain employment, you cannot be listed as an excluded individual or entity on any of the Federal and/or State Medicaid and Medicare exclusion lists (or excluded from any other Federal or Federally assisted program). If you are appointed and subsequently listed as an excluded individual or entity on any of these lists (or excluded from any other Federal or federally assisted program), you may be terminated from your employment.

2. If appointed you may be required to become an enrolled Medicare provider; obtain and provide to your employer a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number issued by the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES); and otherwise actively participate to the degree necessary to allow for your services to be billed through Medicare and Medicaid. If you are appointed and you lose the ability to bill through Medicare and Medicaid, you may be terminated from your employment.

Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.

How to Apply

Name Human Resources

Telephone

Fax 845-398-5837

Email Address employment@nki.rfmh.org

Address

Street Nathan Kline Research Institute

140 Old Orangeburg Road

City Orangeburg

State NY

Zip Code 10962

 

Notes on ApplyingTo be considered for this position, please copy the link below into a new browser window to complete the Office of Mental Health Employment Application, indicate the Title, Vacancy ID #, and Location of the position you are applying for in the subject line of your email or fax, and submit it along with your resume and other application materials via fax or email to:

Andrea Smith, Human Resources Specialist 2
Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research
140 Old Orangeburg Road
Orangeburg, NY 10962
Fax to 845-398-5418
Email to employment@nki.rfmh.org

https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/employment/docs/employment-application.pdf

The Mission of the New York State Office of Mental Health is to promote the mental health of all New Yorkers, with a focus on providing hope and supporting recovery for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances. Applicants with lived mental health experience are encouraged to apply. OMH is deeply committed to supporting underserved individuals, organizations, and communities. To this end, OMH is focused on implementing activities and initiatives to reduce disparities in access, quality, and treatment outcomes for underserved populations. A critical component of these efforts is ensuring OMH is a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees' unique attributes and skills are valued and utilized to support the mission of the Agency. OMH is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.