"Pre-Doctoral Research Specialist"

Job Description Summary

Wharton School Overview
Founded in 1881 as the world's first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With campuses in both Philadelphia and San Francisco, Wharton has over 850 staff, a faculty population of more than 235 renowned professors, and 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students. Each year 13,000 professionals from around the world advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education's individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 104,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. Wharton is home to a dynamic community of staff, bringing a wide range of skills, experiences, and perspectives. To learn more, visit www.wharton.upenn.edu.

The Mack Institute for Innovation Management is continuously seeking new ways to support cutting-edge research and train a new generation of management scholars. Building on successful programs of other Wharton research centers, the Institute is launching a program for predoctoral research fellowships in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship. These are full-time staff-level research specialist positions, ideal for highly qualified college graduates who are motivated to acquire the research skills, experience, and credentials needed to apply for a full-time PhD program. Awards will cover the predoctoral researcher's salary and benefits for a maximum of two years.

Job Description

The predoctoral research fellow will support faculty research on various topics, and work under the direct supervision of 1-2 Wharton faculty members on projects they have proposed/received funding for. Faculty will serve as their fellow's mentors, with the goal of ensuring that the fellow is well prepared to advance into top-tier PhD programs. For this position, the faculty mentors will be Professor Manav Raj and Matteo Tranchero. Manav Raj primarily studies how digital transformation affects competition. Matteo Tranchero researches how big data technologies like AI change the innovation process in companies.

Job responsibilities include:

• Reviewing relevant literature and providing detailed outlines and/or literature reviews;
• analyzing data requirements and researching data sources;
• designing and implementing surveys and experiments;
• scraping data from websites; processing large files with raw data;
• designing, merging, cleaning, and maintaining research databases and database dictionaries;
• performing statistical and econometric analyses;
• designing and implementing machine learning algorithms;
• preparing supporting materials for faculty research papers such as literature reviews, graphs, tables, data descriptions, appendices, etc.

Qualifications

• BA/BS in Business, Economics, Statistics, Finance, Mathematics, Computer Science or another closely related discipline and 1-2 years of experience is required, or an equivalent combination of educaiton and experience.
• Proven and sophisticated coding and data analysis skills are required.
• Independent thinking, a deep understanding of empirical social science research and statistics, and self-motivation are critical for this position. The ability to work proficiently in most phases of data management and data analytics is essential.
• Previous experience as a research assistant or in pursuing independent research is preferred.

This is a full-time, limited-term position typically intended for recent graduates who are seeking predoctoral research experience. This position is contingent upon funding and is designed for a duration of 2 years and cannot be extended beyond the initial term.

The term for this position is July 1, 2026- June 30, 2028. Annual salary is in the range of $57,000 -$60,000 plus benefits.

This position is a full-time, limited-term appointment intended for up to two years (July 1, 2026- June 30, 2028) and is not eligible for extension beyond this term.

Job Location - City, State
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School
Wharton School

Pay Range
$44,500.00 - $57,000.00 Annual Rate