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Employer: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Expires: 09/27/2021
Position OverviewBlueprint Labs, formerly known as the School Effectiveness and Inequality Initiative (SEII), isrecruiting several Research Fellows based at MIT in Cambridge, MA. Blueprint Labs is a growingteam of professionals devoted to using data, economics, and analytic tools to generate insights touncover the consequences of policy choices and improve society. Based in the Department ofEconomics at MIT, Blueprint Labs consists of over 18 academic affiliates who represent leadingeconomic thinkers, ten full-time staff members, and six graduate researchers. Blueprint Labs worksclosely with leading academic, government, and nonprofit institutions across the country togenerate pioneering research that informs policy and practice in education, health care, and theworkforce.We are seeking motivated, independent, and organized Research Fellows to support market designresearch and other initiatives. Fellows receive a full-time appointment with Blueprint Labs, aresearch lab based at the MIT Department of Economics. The fellowship is a full-time positionlocated on MIT’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Fellows will work closely with one or more of Blueprint Labs Directors Joshua Angrist, David Autor,and Parag Pathak, Professor Daron Acemoglu, and our collaborators at universities across thecountry, including Berkeley, the University of Chicago, and Harvard University. This position alsooffers the opportunity to work collaboratively with other Blueprint Labs research staff. PreviousFellows have gone on to an Economics or related Ph.D. program, K-12 education, consulting, tech,government, and beyond. Curious to learn more? Check out “A Day in the Life at SEII” (note that we’renow called Blueprint Labs!).Research Fellows receive a full-time, one-year appointment that is renewable annually (contingenton funding). An employment term of two years is strongly preferred. We expect all Fellows to startfull-time by June 15, 2022 and prefer a part- or full-time start date in spring 2022. The salary rangeis $51,500-$52,500.Principal Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions**)Research Fellows will work on 1-2 research projects with MIT faculty members and additionalaffiliated faculty. Specific responsibilities include constructing data sets and preparing data foranalysis, conducting analysis in Stata, R, and/or Matlab (or similar) to answer research questions,presenting results and engaging in discussion in weekly team meetings, and editing papers forpublication. Fellows can also expect to interact with our external partners, manage advanced codebases, and write about results for different audiences. Other duties will arise as needed. Thisposition requires a high level of independent judgement and presents opportunities forprofessional development and on-the-job learning.This position will be based in-person in our Cambridge, MA office, subject to change with MIT’sCOVID-19 policies. This position is not eligible for any visa sponsorship.Qualifications & SkillsMINIMUM REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:- Education: A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in economics, computer science, mathematics,statistics, or a related field.- Experience: Minimum 2 years’ specialized experience with quantitative data analysis,research methods, and/or social sciences research (which may include coursework orexperience gained as an undergraduate).- Skills: Programming skills, particularly around data analysis, cleaning, and simulations.- Responsibility and Judgement: Deals with confidential information and/or issues usingdiscretion and judgement.PREFERRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:- Education: coursework or experience in market design, game theory, and/or econometrics- Experience: Knowledge of Stata, Matlab, and/or R, and previous research experience,acquired through a research assistantship or an independent research project, are stronglypreferred. Some background or willingness/ability to learn Stata is particularly important.Prior work with education data, academic writing and involvement in previouspublications, and policy experience are preferred as well.