Senior Institute Associate

Senior Institute Associate, Institute for Technology Law and Policy (Tech Institute) – Georgetown University Law Center

Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy (Tech Institute) is a hub for policymakers, academics, advocates, and technologists to study and discuss how to center humans and the social good, using technology as a tool. We train the next generation of lawyers and lawmakers with deep expertise in technology law and policy and provide non-partisan insights to policymakers on issues relating to new and emerging technologies. With the leading academic program for law and technology in the United States, we also foster interdisciplinary approaches to solving complex technology law and policy problems. The Tech Institute also identifies and creates opportunities for technology to improve access to justice.

Job Overview

Tech Institute seeks to hire a talented Senior Institute Associate to help Professors Paul Ohm and Meg Leta Jones design and teach an innovative new course that will give students from across Georgetown the knowledge and hands-on skills they need to launch successful and impactful careers in technology policy. They will assist Professor Ohm in designing and teaching other innovative courses at the intersection of technology, law, and policy and assist the Tech Institute Executive Director in planning and coordinating convenings and in communications with granting organizations and prospective grantors.

The Senior Institute Associate will devote their primary responsibility and majority of time to the new course, tentatively entitled the “Foo Law Lab,” in which students from across Georgetown University will work together in interdisciplinary teams on high-impact, hands-on technology policy projects. Georgetown, one of the birthplaces of the law school clinic and home of the nation’s oldest tech policy law clinic is the ideal institute for expanding experiential learning from legal to technological education. Students in the Lab will consult with and serve partners such as nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and individuals, selected to maximize both pedagogical value and societal and individual impact. These students will develop, lead, organize, and execute hands-on projects with close guidance from the Professors and the Senior Institute Associate.

The Senior Institute Associate will work closely with Professors Ohm and Jones to implement their vision for the Lab. The Senior Institute Associate will co-design every aspect of the course with the professors, working on project management, curriculum design, and communications tasks. Project management tasks will include partner solicitation, project scoping, selection of tools and platforms, project planning, advising, and execution. Curriculum design tasks will include syllabus development, reading selection and preparation, discussion note preparation, and grade rubric development. The Senior Institute Associate will attend every class meeting and will meet with students and partners outside class to mentor and monitor progress. Communications tasks will include working with Professors Ohm and Jones to capture and promote what the course is accomplishing to various audiences including prospective students, donors, the Georgetown faculty and administration, and educators at other institutions.

While the majority of the Senior Institute Associate’s time will be spent designing and helping lead the Lab, in addition, they will assist Professor Ohm teach other innovative courses and lessons. For example, they may help with Computer Programming for Lawyers, a course that teaches introductory Python to 75 Georgetown Law students each year. They may also help Professor Ohm teach lessons in monitoring internet communications using packet sniffers and protocol monitors, to law students and practicing lawyers. They may also help Professor Ohm design new lesson plans and courses, perhaps relating to machine learning or content moderation.

The Senior Institute Associate also will support the programmatic and other activities of the Tech Institute. For this work, they will report to the Tech Institute Executive Director. Tasks will include planning and coordinating Tech Institute convenings, preparing communications for granting organizations and prospective grantors, and supporting student-facing programs for the Tech Institute’s three degree programs (J.D., LL.M., and M.L.T.).

The Senior Institute Associate will have deep technological expertise developed from formal training (for example, undergraduate or graduate degrees), self-directed learning, or work experience. No specific technological skills are required, but applicants should deeply understand some of the key technologies involved in modern technology policy debates – for example, information platforms, social networking services, internet communications, smartphones and internet of things devices, and machine learning. The Senior Institute Associate will also have excellent oral and written communications, organizational, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.

Work Interactions

Reporting to the Executive Director of the Tech Institute and interacting with Professors Ohm and Jones on a regular basis, the Senior Associate will interact closely with the staff and leadership of the Institute for Technology Law and Policy; and will work with student RAs and with others in various Centers, Departments, and Institutes across the Georgetown Campuses.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in relevant field
Required technical skills and knowledge include ● Some experience with computer programming in any language, and ● Experience with internet and other networking technologies.
3 to 5) or more years of relevant work involving project management
Excellent oral and written communications skills
Excellent organizational skills
Excellent problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills
Motivation, enthusiasm, and self-drive
Preferred qualifications

Experience teaching or project management in education setting
Experience working on issues surrounding the role of technology on society – for example, privacy policy, consumer protection, internet governance, cybersecurity, or technology platform policy
Experience in Python, Javascript, or similar modern programming or scripting language
Experience with packet sniffing, protocol monitoring – for example, mitmproxy, reverse engineering, static code analysis, and similar skills
Experience with virtual machines and cloud computing – for example, AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud)
Work Mode: Hybrid. Please note that work mode designations are regularly reviewed in order to meet the evolving needs of the University. Such review may necessitate a change to a position’s mode of work designation.