"Postdoctoral Research Associate"

Princeton University's Initiative for Data-Driven Social Science (DDSS) invites applications for the Postdoctoral Research Associate role. DDSS supports technical and methodological innovation in quantitative and computational social science, addressing a diverse array of new data and analytic challenges, facilitating impactful multidisciplinary collaboration, scholarly advancement, and the creation of tools and public goods.

Requirements Applicants must have (or expect to have at time of appointment) a PhD in the social sciences, statistics, computer science, or related fields, and their interests must fall at the technical forefront of quantitative social science. Candidates should offer state-of-the-art technical or methodological skills, applying innovative techniques in the examination of substantive social science research questions. In addition to innovation, candidates will be evaluated on their potential to create public goods and their capacity for interdisciplinary engagement.

Responsibilities This role's emphasis is on making substantive technical and methodological contributions that either directly or indirectly support DDSS-supported projects or its mission. Candidates will be able to apply and further develop their technical skills in a dynamic research environment. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work closely with our engineers and other research staff. Projects may include software package creation and maintenance, data engineering, development and/or implementation of advanced statistical methodologies, and supporting research on high performance and cloud computing.

The successful candidate will also be expected to offer 2-3 advanced technical or methodological workshops each semester, assist in organizing research-based events (e.g., speaker series, symposia, or reading groups), present their work at research methods and field-specific seminars, assist with DDSS projects on occasion, and offer consultation to faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers from the social sciences on topics related to the candidate's area of expertise. Three days per week can be dedicated to independent research. Postdoctoral research associates work under the direct supervision of the Director for Research and Strategy and DDSS Faculty Director.

Area of expertise is open, but preference will be given to candidates with expertise in one or more of the following: software package development and maintenance in R; record linkage/entity resolution; data privacy techniques; large data processing and high performance computing; advanced causal inference and statistics; computer vision and novel applications of machine learning.

Advanced knowledge of R or Python is required. Intermediate knowledge in C/C++ and/or at least one SQL dialect is preferred.

Apply online at https://www.princeton.edu/acad-positions/position/40801.

Review of applications will begin on December 1, 2025, and will remain ongoing until the position is filled.

Application Requirements:

1. Cover letter
2. C.V.
3. 1-2 page research statement, specifying research interests and example training workshops candidate could offer
4. 1-2 research papers
5. contact information for two references

Appointments are for one year with the possibility of renewal pending satisfactory performance and continued funding. The appointment will be through the Department of Politics.

This position is subject to the University's background check policy. The work location for this position is in-person on campus at Princeton University.