Job Title: Research Professional (RP)

Location: Chicago, IL

Salary Ranges: $59,000–62,000 annual salary, additional $2,000 professional development fund

Terms: Seeking a Research Professional for a period of at least one but ideally two years

Projects: Projects include global innovation, China's economic growth, and technological revolution in the US service sector

Expected Start Date: To be determined - Summer 2027

Department: Becker Friedman Institute

Job Summary

The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) is seeking to hire a full-time Research Professional to work with Professors Chang-Tai Hsieh and Erik Hurst on ongoing and new research projects related to global innovation, China's economic growth, and technological revolution in the US service sector. Applicants must be available to begin work in July 2027. The Research Professional’s responsibilities will span all stages of research, including collecting data of in both tabular and spatial formats, developing algorithms that clean and organize data, conducting statistical analyses, running simulations, and preparing manuscripts and presentations.

Successful candidates will work directly with Professors Chang-Tai Hsieh and Erik Hurst as part of BFI's Predoctoral Research in Economics Program (PREP). The program is intended to serve as a bridge between college and graduate school for students interested in empirical economics. Applicants must have completed a Bachelor’s degree by June 2027 and have strong quantitative and programming skills. Candidates with research experience are strongly preferred, especially those with experience in programming and numerical optimization software. The ideal candidate would begin on July 1, 2027 and work for BFI for one or two years before applying to graduate school in Economics or another quantitative social science. BFI offers competitive salary and employee benefits.

Responsibilities

Cleans and analyzes data.
Writes or finalizes replicable data files or scripts for publication.
Ensures compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies, procedures, directives, and mandates. Analyzes possible solutions using standard procedures.
Assists with writing data analysis plans and contributes to preparing study registration documents.
Supports the implementation of field experiments including supporting the design and implementation of surveys, and monitoring the quality of data collected, when needed.
Supports with writing of grant and policy reports and assists with drafting presentations of research findings.
Takes responsibility for the following non-laboratory duties: transcribing and coding data; developing data collection instruments; presenting research; and recruiting and scheduling research subjects. Acquires higher-level skills and knowledge in the process.
Maintains technical and administrative support for a research project.
Analyzes and maintains data and/or specimens. Conducts literature reviews. Assists with preparation of reports, manuscripts and other documents.
Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.

Experience: 3 months to one year of work experience in a related job discipline. Experience gained through coursework may be counted as relevant experience.

Experience in econometrics.
Advanced coursework in Economics or Mathematics.
Familiarity in analyzing large data sets, applying econometrics methods.
Knowledge of machine learning techniques in data analysis.
Familiarity with statistical analysis packages such as Stata, R, or Python.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines.
Work both independently and as a team member.
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
Understanding of academia and higher education in a research and teaching environment.

Application Documents

Resume/CV
Cover letter
Writing Sample
Transcripts (unofficial accepted)
Two professional references