Summary: The research assistant will join a project that investigates whether online retailers treat consumers fairly. Within this role, you will develop, document, and maintain advanced software for automatic data collection (web-crawling). You will also learn how retailers collect consumer data and gain understanding of algorithm decision making in online retailing. Schedule to be coordinated with supervisor and to work around class schedule. Must be willing to work a flexible schedule to achieve project goals. Main Responsibilities:

• meeting with the principal investigator to define functional specifications
• learning about business practices in online retailing
• learning about technology and programming tools
• designing algorithms and flowcharts
• developing and optimizing code
• testing and deploying programs
• troubleshooting, debugging, maintaining programs
• developing technical documentation

Qualifications The successful candidate must

• be currently enrolled as a student at USC
• have good communication skills
• be professional, reliable, and of high personal integrity
• be able to work independently or as part of a team
• maintain confidentiality and respect intellectual property
• be able and willing to learn independently and quickly
• be proficient in Python and HTML
• understand computer networking / internet protocols
• understand client-server architectures

Other preferred but not required qualifications:

• familiarity with java / javascript and linux / unix
• understanding of computer architecture
• experience with academic research
• interesting in learning from academic research
• experience with formal software development processes

Compensation: Ranging from $15.00 to $20.00 per hour, depending on qualifications. Period: August To November, 2021. Benefits to the successful candidate: You will further develop highly-employable skills and will learn how business use digital marketing in real life, which may help you prepare for jobs in a wide range of companies. At the same time, you will explore academic research and build a precedent that could help you in case you want to pursue an academic career. Instructions: Please use handshake (job 4803297) to submit a CV/Resumé, a list of references, and a cover letter (recommendation letters are optional). When writing your cover letter, please answer the following questions.

• What is your current student status? (e.g., senior, master of science/arts)
• What is (are) your major(s)?
• If any, what is (are) your minor(s)?
• What is your expected graduation date:
• Why are you interested in this position?
• Have you worked on-campus before? If so, list the department and supervisor.
• What coursework relevant to this project have you taken and what was your GPA in each course?
• What applications have you coded in Python (if any)?
• What applications have you coded in computer languages other than Python (if any)?