Green Card Research Associate Jobs
Research Associate roles at universities, pharma companies, and national labs regularly support EB-2 and EB-3 green card sponsorship through the PERM labor certification process. Landing sponsorship means finding employers with an established immigration program and a qualifying full-time position tied to your degree field.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Join the 2025 AIA Firm Award Winner shaping a more sustainable future. LPA is a collective of designers, engineers, and researchers committed to tackling the biggest issues of our time. Our "No Excuses" integrated design approach was recognized by the AIA as “a trailblazer in sustainable, high-performance architecture". At LPA you’ll be part of the team that is changing the way the industry thinks about design and carbon emissions, built around the belief that we only achieve our goals when everybody has a seat at the table and all input is valued. We’re currently seeking a Design Researcher to join our Sustainability + Applied Research team. This role is ideal for someone trained in social science, design research, or another research field related to the built and natural environment who is interested in applying research to real world design challenges.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Working across market sectors, the Junior Design Researcher will help interdisciplinary design teams better understand people, behavior, and the built environment and translate those insights into design. We’re looking for a problem seeker as much as a problem solver. Someone who brings curiosity, initiative, and an innovative mindset to their work by looking beyond the initial question to identify what needs to be better understood, asking thoughtful questions, and finding creative ways to investigate complex challenges. This person should demonstrate sound judgment in interpreting evidence and determining how research can be appropriately applied to design, along with the ability to make complex research understandable and useful to non-expert audiences.
- Conduct literature reviews to gather, evaluate, and synthesize multidisciplinary research in response to project and research questions.
- Develop research briefs, presentations, visuals, and other resources that translate research findings into clear, digestible insights and practical implications that designers and clients can easily understand and apply.
- Look across projects and research findings to identify recurring patterns, opportunities, and questions worth investigating further.
- Help build LPA's internal research knowledge base, making previous studies, findings, and resources easier for teams to access and reuse.
- Help develop and refine research tools and methodologies that can be used consistently across projects.
- Support and facilitate pre-design research and stakeholder engagement, including surveys, interviews, workshops, and other methods for understanding user needs and behaviors.
- Support and coordinate post-occupancy evaluations (POEs), including outreach, data collection, analysis, and reporting.
- Analyze qualitative and quantitative data to identify patterns, themes, and meaningful findings.
- Work with design teams to establish measurable project goals and identify ways to evaluate design outcomes.
- Explore creative approaches to investigating research questions when established methods or data are not readily available.
- Communicate research findings and lessons learned through internal presentations and, as experience grows, external publications, presentations, and thought leadership.
- Perform other duties as applicable.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
What We're Looking For:
- MS or PhD in environmental psychology, applied research, design research, social science, data science, or a related field
- Proficiency in Microsoft Project and Excel.
- Strong written communication and verbal presentation skills
- Experience with mixed-methods research
- Experience with online research tools
- Experience conducting literature searches or literature reviews
- Basic descriptive statistical or data analysis experience
- Data visualization or other graphic skills for communication of data
- Awareness of current research ethics and equity, diversity, and inclusion topics
- Entrepreneurial energy, comfortable with some ambiguity.
- Proactive attitude, prepared to ask questions, and always looking for opportunities to improve.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Additional Research training or certifications
- Human Subjects Research Training (current certification not required)
- LEED, WELL, EDAC, or similar certifications
- Design or engineering training or certifications
- Experience in any of the following: GIS, Power BI, AI for research, research in AR/VR/XR, grant writing, Adobe Creative Suite
- Experience in or excitement to learn how to facilitate meetings and workshops
- Understanding of a typical architectural design process, from concept and schematic design, design development and construction documentation, construction, and post-occupancy.
- Education in or excitement to learn more about sustainability topics such as energy performance, carbon emissions, material impacts, and resiliency, and find ways for human-environment research to better inform sustainable design.
WHAT WE OFFER
At LPA, your growth and contributions matter. We foster a collaborative culture where creative ideas are valued, and voices are heard.
- Mentorship from Managing Directors, Design Directors, and senior team members across disciplines.
- Career development support, including professional development grants and in-house training.
- Ongoing education through LPA+U courses and Tech Talks focused on innovative, sustainable practices.
- 8 paid hours of volunteer time each year.
- Opportunities to propose and lead projects that impact your local community, including more than $1 million since 2015 in Habitat for Humanity builds, scholarships, and other pro bono community projects.
- Access to our Professional Development Grants program, created to encourage professional development and further LPA's collective knowledge as a firm. Over the life of the grant program, we have invested $1,196,890 and impacted 848 LPA employees.
LPA is an integrated design firm with offices in California and Texas, focused on creating forward-thinking, sustainable spaces that make a positive impact. We believe great design begins with great people, which is why we foster a supportive, collaborative environment where creativity, curiosity, and professional growth are encouraged. Our culture values diversity, promotes wellness, and supports a healthy work-life balance. At LPA, we offer competitive salaries and a robust benefits package—including health and dental insurance, retirement and financial planning, wellness initiatives, and flexible work/life programs. This position is eligible for an annual bonus. If you are hired at LPA, your base salary is based on factors such as geographic location, skills, education, experience and/or project complexity. We believe in the importance of pay equity and consider the internal equity of our current team members as part of any final offer. LPA uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of new hires.
Notice To Recruitment Agencies And Recruiters
Please note that LPA does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or employment agencies. In the absence of a signed contract, LPA will not agree to pay any recruiter fee. In the situation an agency or recruiter submits a candidate or resume without a previously signed agreement and/or without LPA’s request, LPA explicitly reserves the right to hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers, are deemed to be the property of LPA.
COMPENSATION
- Compensation Range: $70K - $85K
INTRODUCTION
Join the 2025 AIA Firm Award Winner shaping a more sustainable future. LPA is a collective of designers, engineers, and researchers committed to tackling the biggest issues of our time. Our "No Excuses" integrated design approach was recognized by the AIA as “a trailblazer in sustainable, high-performance architecture". At LPA you’ll be part of the team that is changing the way the industry thinks about design and carbon emissions, built around the belief that we only achieve our goals when everybody has a seat at the table and all input is valued. We’re currently seeking a Design Researcher to join our Sustainability + Applied Research team. This role is ideal for someone trained in social science, design research, or another research field related to the built and natural environment who is interested in applying research to real world design challenges.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Working across market sectors, the Junior Design Researcher will help interdisciplinary design teams better understand people, behavior, and the built environment and translate those insights into design. We’re looking for a problem seeker as much as a problem solver. Someone who brings curiosity, initiative, and an innovative mindset to their work by looking beyond the initial question to identify what needs to be better understood, asking thoughtful questions, and finding creative ways to investigate complex challenges. This person should demonstrate sound judgment in interpreting evidence and determining how research can be appropriately applied to design, along with the ability to make complex research understandable and useful to non-expert audiences.
- Conduct literature reviews to gather, evaluate, and synthesize multidisciplinary research in response to project and research questions.
- Develop research briefs, presentations, visuals, and other resources that translate research findings into clear, digestible insights and practical implications that designers and clients can easily understand and apply.
- Look across projects and research findings to identify recurring patterns, opportunities, and questions worth investigating further.
- Help build LPA's internal research knowledge base, making previous studies, findings, and resources easier for teams to access and reuse.
- Help develop and refine research tools and methodologies that can be used consistently across projects.
- Support and facilitate pre-design research and stakeholder engagement, including surveys, interviews, workshops, and other methods for understanding user needs and behaviors.
- Support and coordinate post-occupancy evaluations (POEs), including outreach, data collection, analysis, and reporting.
- Analyze qualitative and quantitative data to identify patterns, themes, and meaningful findings.
- Work with design teams to establish measurable project goals and identify ways to evaluate design outcomes.
- Explore creative approaches to investigating research questions when established methods or data are not readily available.
- Communicate research findings and lessons learned through internal presentations and, as experience grows, external publications, presentations, and thought leadership.
- Perform other duties as applicable.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
What We're Looking For:
- MS or PhD in environmental psychology, applied research, design research, social science, data science, or a related field
- Proficiency in Microsoft Project and Excel.
- Strong written communication and verbal presentation skills
- Experience with mixed-methods research
- Experience with online research tools
- Experience conducting literature searches or literature reviews
- Basic descriptive statistical or data analysis experience
- Data visualization or other graphic skills for communication of data
- Awareness of current research ethics and equity, diversity, and inclusion topics
- Entrepreneurial energy, comfortable with some ambiguity.
- Proactive attitude, prepared to ask questions, and always looking for opportunities to improve.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Additional Research training or certifications
- Human Subjects Research Training (current certification not required)
- LEED, WELL, EDAC, or similar certifications
- Design or engineering training or certifications
- Experience in any of the following: GIS, Power BI, AI for research, research in AR/VR/XR, grant writing, Adobe Creative Suite
- Experience in or excitement to learn how to facilitate meetings and workshops
- Understanding of a typical architectural design process, from concept and schematic design, design development and construction documentation, construction, and post-occupancy.
- Education in or excitement to learn more about sustainability topics such as energy performance, carbon emissions, material impacts, and resiliency, and find ways for human-environment research to better inform sustainable design.
WHAT WE OFFER
At LPA, your growth and contributions matter. We foster a collaborative culture where creative ideas are valued, and voices are heard.
- Mentorship from Managing Directors, Design Directors, and senior team members across disciplines.
- Career development support, including professional development grants and in-house training.
- Ongoing education through LPA+U courses and Tech Talks focused on innovative, sustainable practices.
- 8 paid hours of volunteer time each year.
- Opportunities to propose and lead projects that impact your local community, including more than $1 million since 2015 in Habitat for Humanity builds, scholarships, and other pro bono community projects.
- Access to our Professional Development Grants program, created to encourage professional development and further LPA's collective knowledge as a firm. Over the life of the grant program, we have invested $1,196,890 and impacted 848 LPA employees.
LPA is an integrated design firm with offices in California and Texas, focused on creating forward-thinking, sustainable spaces that make a positive impact. We believe great design begins with great people, which is why we foster a supportive, collaborative environment where creativity, curiosity, and professional growth are encouraged. Our culture values diversity, promotes wellness, and supports a healthy work-life balance. At LPA, we offer competitive salaries and a robust benefits package—including health and dental insurance, retirement and financial planning, wellness initiatives, and flexible work/life programs. This position is eligible for an annual bonus. If you are hired at LPA, your base salary is based on factors such as geographic location, skills, education, experience and/or project complexity. We believe in the importance of pay equity and consider the internal equity of our current team members as part of any final offer. LPA uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of new hires.
Notice To Recruitment Agencies And Recruiters
Please note that LPA does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or employment agencies. In the absence of a signed contract, LPA will not agree to pay any recruiter fee. In the situation an agency or recruiter submits a candidate or resume without a previously signed agreement and/or without LPA’s request, LPA explicitly reserves the right to hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers, are deemed to be the property of LPA.
COMPENSATION
- Compensation Range: $70K - $85K
See all 17,041+ Green Card Research Associate Jobs
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Green Card Sponsorship as a Research Associate
Match your degree to the PERM job requirements
PERM requires the employer to define minimum education requirements before filing. If your research position requires a master's in a specific science or engineering field, confirm that requirement is in the job description before your employer submits to DOL.
Target institutions with active PERM filing history
Universities, federal contractors, and pharmaceutical research divisions file PERM petitions most frequently for Research Associate roles. Prioritize employers in these sectors when applying, since they already have HR infrastructure and legal counsel for employment-based green card cases.
Clarify EB-2 versus EB-3 eligibility with your employer early
Research Associates with a master's degree often qualify under EB-2, which can mean shorter wait times for many nationalities. Clarify which category your employer plans to file under before the PERM recruitment period begins, since switching later resets the clock.
Use Migrate Mate to filter research jobs by sponsorship history
Search Research Associate openings on Migrate Mate to surface employers with documented green card sponsorship activity. This saves time compared to cold-applying and discovering late in interviews that a lab has never run a PERM case.
Understand the PERM recruitment audit window
DOL requires employers to run a defined recruitment process before filing PERM. Your employer must complete and document those steps within 180 days of filing. Ask your HR contact when recruitment closes so your start date aligns with the expected PERM submission timeline.
Verify your prevailing wage category using the OFLC Wage Search
PERM filings for Research Associate positions are tied to a DOL wage level, typically Level I or II depending on supervisory duties and publication requirements. Use the OFLC Wage Search to check the wage level assigned to your job zone before negotiating your offer.
Green Card Research Associate: Frequently Asked Questions
Do Research Associate positions typically qualify for EB-2 or EB-3 green card sponsorship?
Most Research Associate roles qualify under EB-3 if the position requires a bachelor's degree, or under EB-2 if a master's degree or higher is the defined minimum requirement. Employers at universities and pharmaceutical firms often file EB-2 for postdoctoral or lab-lead research roles. The classification is determined by the job's minimum requirements, not your personal credentials, so confirm the category your employer intends to file before accepting an offer.
How does green card sponsorship through PERM differ from H-1B sponsorship for Research Associates?
H-1B visa is a temporary nonimmigrant status with a three-year initial period and annual lottery exposure. PERM-based green card sponsorship leads to lawful permanent residency with no renewal cycle. At the EB-3 level, there is no annual cap on petition approvals, though visa bulletin backlogs can affect nationals from India and China. The PERM process also locks in a priority date that protects your place in line even if you change employers under portability rules.
How long does the full EB-2 or EB-3 green card process take for a Research Associate role?
The PERM labor certification stage alone takes roughly six to eighteen months, depending on whether DOL audits the application. After an approved I-140, nationals from most countries outside India and China can file for adjustment of status within one to two years. Indian and Chinese nationals face longer visa bulletin waits. The total timeline from PERM filing to green card approval commonly spans two to five years for most Research Associate applicants.
Which employers sponsor green cards for Research Associate roles most frequently?
Research-intensive universities, National Institutes of Health-affiliated institutions, large pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and federally funded research centers run PERM cases for Research Associates more consistently than other employer types. These organizations have in-house immigration counsel and recurring research hiring needs that make sponsorship economically viable. You can find Research Associate jobs with documented sponsorship activity by searching on Migrate Mate, which filters postings by employment-based green card history.
Can I switch Research Associate employers after my I-140 is approved without losing my priority date?
Yes, under AC21 portability rules, you can change employers once your I-485 adjustment of status application has been pending for 180 days, provided the new role is in the same or a similar occupational classification. Research Associate roles often qualify for portability when moving between universities, labs, or pharma employers in the same scientific discipline. USCIS evaluates portability on a case-by-case basis, so document the similarity between your old and new job duties carefully.