"Pre-doctoral Researcher - Technical Associate (Lawrence Schmidt, Taha Choukhmane) 2025/2026"

Professors Lawrence Schmidt and Taha Choukhmane are looking for one or more highly skilled and motivated individuals to work as our full-time research assistant for a period of at least one year, ideally two. The appointment will start ideally in June or July 2026, though we are open to earlier and later start dates as well. The job will entail close collaboration at all stages of the research process on new and ongoing empirical projects which utilize large, rich microeconomic datasets to address questions in the fields of asset pricing, household and consumer finance, behavioral economics, macroeconomics, and micro-econometrics. This position offers the opportunity to gain exposure to and training in a broad set of economic research topics and statistical methodologies before pursuing a PhD in economics or finance. The chosen candidate will also gain valuable experience analyzing large and unique datasets (including restricted-use government administrative records on individual incomes and firm operating activity, textual analysis of patents, and proprietary company data), and working with programs such as Stata, R, Python, and GIS. The chosen candidate will also make connections with faculty at several other institutions involved in the research projects, and will have the opportunity to take courses and attend seminars at MIT.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Collect, clean, and manage large-scale microeconomic datasets, including restricted-use government administrative records on individual incomes and firm operating activity, proprietary company data, and patent textual data
• Develop and maintain data processing pipelines using Stata, R, Python, and GIS software
• Write, test, and debug complex code for data manipulation, merging datasets from multiple sources, and creating analysis-ready files
• Document all data processing steps and maintain organized file systems for research projects
• Conduct econometric and statistical analyses on large-scale datasets to address research questions in asset pricing, household finance, behavioral economics, and macroeconomics
• Generate tables, figures, and visualizations of empirical findings
• Interpret preliminary results and identify patterns in data that warrant further investigation
• Conduct literature reviews to identify relevant academic papers and synthesize findings
• Prepare detailed technical memos documenting methodologies, results, and recommendations
• Participate in regular research meetings with Professors Schmidt and Choukhmane to discuss project progress, results, and next steps
• Coordinate with faculty at other institutions involved in collaborative projects

Bachelor’s Degree in Economics or related field (the position may be of interest to those with a background in Statistics, Computer Science, or Engineering), Master’s degree preferred; minimum 2 years’ specialized experience with qualitative data analysis and/or research methods, social sciences (which may include experience gained as an undergraduate.; exceptional programming skills and experience, especially in Stata, R, or Python (experience with a low level language such as C or Fortran is also a plus but not a requirement for the position); ability to work independently to solve problems. The position is ideal for students who are planning to pursue a PhD or advanced Master’s program in Economics, Finance or a related field. Visa sponsoring will not be available for this position. Candidates should have authorization to work in the US for the duration of the appointment. Please also indicate in your cover letter whether or not, as of June 30, 2026, you will have been a resident in the US for at least 3 years (this is a requirement for working with Census restricted-use data). The pay range for Technical Associate I is $50,000-$63,000.

Application Instructions

If you are interested, please provide the following documents:

• A one page cover letter briefly describing your academic career and future study goals.
• A CV
• A transcript
• A writing sample. This could be any research paper or term paper that you think best reflects your abilities
• A sample of code which you have written

NOTE: Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Candidates should have authorization to work in the US for the duration of the appointment.

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