JOE Listings (Job Openings for Economists)

August 1, 2019 - January 31, 2020

Thumbtack.com

This listing is inactive.
San Francisco Office
Analytics
Lead Economist

JOE ID Number: 2019-02_111463469
Date Posted: 09/26/2019
Date Inactive: 01/31/2020
Position Title/Short Description
Title: Lead Economist
Section: Full-Time Nonacademic
Location: San Francisco, California, UNITED STATES
JEL Classification: D0 -- General
Keywords:
applied microeconomics
industrial organization
labor

Status Update: Listing Closed - Enough Applications Submitted
Full Text of JOE Listing:

Lead Economist at Thumbtack (San Francisco)

Have you ever tried to hire a plumber? How about a house cleaner? If you have, chances are it took you way longer than it should. In the era of instant-everything, it’s crazy that you still have to waste an entire afternoon researching, calling and vetting local service professionals whenever you need one. The market for hiring them is huge — $700B in the US alone — but the process is inefficient and largely offline.

Thumbtack is transforming this experience end-to-end, building a marketplace that matches millions of people with local pros for almost any project. In making these connections, not only do our customers get more done every day, our pros are able to grow their businesses and make a living doing what they’re great at.

About the Economics Team
Economists at Thumbtack contend with challenging marketplace design and inference problems. They leverage the full toolkit of modern applied economics to produce data insights that inform product features or policies that drive growth and build long-run value for our many customers. They also help explain the platform to policy makers and the broader public.

About the Role
Your work will shape and improve the core product from the front to the back. In addition to gleaning insights from rich observational data, you will work with the experimentation and engineering teams to test these hypotheses using traditional A/B as well as market-based field experiments. You will also apply your training doing in-house consulting to help other teams get traction on deep problems that they are grappling with. You will have the opportunity to work with teams across the company; we will match hires to roles that suit their interests and skills. Potential areas of collaboration include market design, ranking, mechanisms for matching customers and pros, dynamic pricing and monetization, program evaluation and experimental design, reputation system and fostering marketplace trust and safety, and measuring online/offline marketing effectiveness.

Responsibilities
Work closely with sundry teams to design, scope, execute, and rigorously evaluate thoughtful experiments and field tests of product, marketing, or policy changes.
Engage in econometric consulting with a strong focus on causal inference. Use hypothesis-driven statistical modeling with observational and experimental data to provide insights to help with managerially relevant problems.
Facilitate a deeper scientific understanding of our marketplace and promote that throughout all of the company.
Drive the collection of new data and the refinement of existing data sources.
Must-Have Qualifications
If you don't think you meet all of the criteria below but still are interested in the job, please apply. Nobody checks every box, and we're looking for someone excited to join the team.

Ph.D in economics or related quantitative field, with an emphasis on modern empirical methods and causal inference
Minimum of 0-5 years of experience in industry, consulting, government or academic research. Applicants with considerably more experience, including mid-career, are also strongly encouraged to apply.
Proficiency with analytical tools like R, Stata, Python, MATLAB, SAS, or EViews
Familiarity with relational databases and SQL
Ability to work in a fast moving business environment.
Effective verbal and written communications skills.
Nice-to-Have Qualifications
Internships or other previous work experience, especially at a platform company
Experience designing and running surveys
Time series modeling
Programming skills in C/C++/Java/Python

More About Us
Thumbtack is a local services marketplace – one of the largest in the U.S. – that helps millions of people hire local professionals. With hundreds of unique service categories, customers can find a Thumbtack pro for almost anything: landscapers, DJs, personal trainers, even piano teachers. And in making these connections, we empower local pros too. Helping them get new customers and make a living doing what they’re great at.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in San Francisco, Thumbtack is backed by over $420 million in investment from Sequoia Capital, CapitalG, Tiger Global Management, Javelin Investment Partners and Baillie Gifford.

Thumbtack embraces diversity. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and do not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, citizenship, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Application Requirements:
  • Letters of Reference
  • External Application Link