Skip Navigation

Working at MIT offers opportunities that just aren’t found anywhere else, including generous and unique benefits that help to ensure that MIT employees are healthy, supported, and enjoy a fulfilling work/life balance. Discover more about what it's like to work at MIT.

We welcome people from all walks of life to bring their talent, ideas, and experience to our community. We value diversity and strongly encourage applications from individuals from all identities and backgrounds – like yours. If you want to be part of our exceptional, multicultural, collaborative, and inclusive community, then take a look at this opportunity.

(Senior) Research Associate
  • Job Number: 21490
  • Functional Area: Research - Other
  • Department: Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
  • School Area: Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences
  • Employment Type: Full-time (Hybrid)
  • Employment Category: Exempt
  • Visa Sponsorship Available: No
  • Schedule: M-F, 8:30 A.M. - 5:30 P.M.


Job Description

(SENIOR) RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), to support J-PAL’s mission to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Will write publications that “translate” economic research into lessons for policymakers around the world; support senior staff in creating materials for policy outreach, including publications, evaluation summaries, presentations, grant proposals, policy memos, blogs, social media content and newsletters, and website content among other sector-specific work; develop in-depth knowledge of J-PAL’s Science for Progress (SfP) initiative and work closely with the SfP initiative manager and co-chairs (Paul Niehaus, UCSD, and Heidi Williams, Stanford). The position offers an opportunity to gain strong understanding of the existing evidence base in metascience and science funding allocation, synthesize lessons to develop written briefs and presentations, and engage in meetings with relevant stakeholders. As a member of J-PAL’s RET group, a portion of time will be dedicated to group-wide inputs. This may include internal tasks such as creating public goods; assisting with trainings; knowledge management; supporting recruitment and hiring; supporting work on diversity, equity, and inclusion; and undertaking professional development opportunities. 

Job Requirements
REQUIRED: a bachelor’s degree (master’s preferred) in economics, political science, statistics, public policy, a life or physical science, or related fields; training in statistics, econometrics, and/or quantitative impact evaluation methods, and microeconomics; and four years of work experience (which may include experience gained as an undergraduate).  Job #21490


6/28/22