University of Texas at Austin

Position Title/Short Description

Full Text of JOE Listing:

The Department of Economics is hiring one full-time Postdoctoral Research Fellow to start in Fall 2026 to work with Associate Professor Peter Bergman. The Fellow will contribute to a research program focused on AI applications for economic mobility, including randomized evaluations of AI-driven interventions in housing, education, and workforce development, and on building evaluation infrastructure for AI deployments in social-sector organizations. The researcher would work 75% of their time on our projects and 25% on their own, with opportunities to leverage our partnerships to spin off their own projects.
Responsibilities

Designing and managing randomized controlled trials

Algorithmic design

Coding algorithms and estimators

Drafting and revising research papers for peer-reviewed journals

Creating presentations and contributing to grant proposals

Required Qualifications
Ph.D. in economics, public policy, or a closely related quantitative field (completed no more than three years before the start date, or having completed all requirements for the Ph.D. by the start date)

Strong training in causal inference and empirical research methods

Proficiency in Stata, R, Python, or similar

Preferred Qualifications
Experience with field experiments, applied microeconomics (education, housing, labor), administrative data, or AI/machine learning applications in social science research.