Job Title: Research Professional (RP) 

Location: Chicago, IL 

Salary Ranges: $55,000–62,000 annual salary, additional $2,000 professional development fund. The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

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

Projects: Projects span the design, implementation, and analysis of field experiments, quasi-experiments, and other applied research, as well as research data systems and AI-assisted tool development

Expected Start Date: no later than July 1, 2027; earlier start dates preferred

Department: Becker Friedman Institute 

Benefits Eligible: Yes. The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) is seeking to hire a full-time Research Professional to work for Professor Christopher Blattman as part of BFI’s Development Economics Initiative. The Research Professional will collaborate on new and ongoing research projects with a focus on, but not limited to, the start empirical analysis of field and quasi-experiments. More specifically, the Research Professional will be involved in advanced empirical and theoretical work on violence prevention, on the economics organized crime, as well as other topics on the intersection of development economics and political economy. The role spans multiple stages of the research process: project and measurement design; secure data management and documentation; empirical and theoretical analysis; preparation of papers, presentations, reports, and replication materials; and development of data systems and AI-assisted research tools. The Research Professional is part of the vibrant research environment at The University of Chicago and may attend and participate in seminars and workshops in preparation for a successful academic career. This position requires a commitment of at least one year and applicants must be available to begin work no later than July 2027, with earlier dates preferred.  

BFI's Predoctoral Research in Economics Program (PREP) 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 Stata or R. Experience with other programming tools such as Python or Matlab is also valued. 

Responsibilities:

• Contributing to design, documentation and implementation of research in development economics.
• Clean, manage and analyze research data, following data security and confidentiality requirements.
• Write and maintain reproducible code and research workflows
• Develop research data systems and AI-assisted tools.
• Coordinate with faculty, research staff and external partners on project needs
• Conduct literature reviews and support research planning.

Minimum Qualifications: 

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, statistics, mathematics, public policy or related field with substantial quantitative training. Knowledge of RCTs and econometric analysis is particularly valued.

Experience

• Relevant research, data analysis, or programming experience; experience gained through coursework may count.
• Experience applying statistical or econometric methods and working with large or complex datasets.
• Experience with a statistical analysis package such as Stata, R or Python. Stata and R are strongly preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, excellent organization, and close attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively, balance multiple projects, and meet deadlines.

Preferred Competencies:

Experience and skills:

• Effective use of agentic AI tools (such as Claude Code or Codex) to support coding, data work, documentation, with the judgement to verify output and handle confidential data appropriately.
• Experience with Git, Latex, survey platforms (such as Qualtrics or SurveyCTO) is valued.
• Working proficiency in Spanish is valued (not required)

Working Conditions: 

• This position will perform tasks mostly indoors in an office setting.
• Requires the ability to work independently for periods of eight (8) hours or more.
• May involve short periods weeks of fieldwork

Required Documents:

• Resume/CV (required)
• Transcripts (required)
• Writing sample (required)
• Two professional references (required)

About the Department  

The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics aims to foster frontier research and apply those findings to achieve global impact. BFI brings together researchers from the Booth School of Business, the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics, the Harris School of Public Policy, the Law School, and the entire University of Chicago Economics Community to leverage robust data, apply cutting-edge analytical tools, and uncover novel insights on the world’s most difficult economic problems. BFI then bridges the divide between academic researchers and relevant policy makers by translating and packaging rigorous research into accessible formats and proactively sharing those findings with decision-makers and thought leaders in business, government and nonprofit institutions. In this way, BFI has the potential to play a significant role in meeting the most difficult challenges facing the global community. 

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University’s Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

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