Pre-Doctoral Technical Associate (Aggregate Confusion Project)

Description

The Aggregate Confusion Project within the Sustainability Initiative at the MIT Sloan School of Management are seeking highly skilled, collaborative, and motivated individuals to work as full-time research staff (Pre-Doctoral Technical Associate). The position will be based at the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, MA. The selected candidate(s) will gain exposure to and training in a broad set of research approaches and methodologies useful for applying to graduate programs.

Pre-doc associates will be fully integrated into the local research community. They will interact with research scientists, post-docs, faculty, and other PAs. The faculty will provide mentorship and support the PA through the process of preparing for and applying to PhD programs.

Please visit Predoc.org for more information about what a predoc is, for advice about applying to graduate programs in business and economics, and to find other predoctoral opportunities across a consortium of universities and research institutions.

Qualifications

The position is ideally suited for candidates planning to pursue a PhD degree in Sustainable Finance. The ideal candidate will have

• Completed or are on their way to complete a 4-year undergraduate degree and/or Master’s degree in Economics, Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, or related fields;
• A strong quantitative background;
• Strong programming skills and experience in Python (R and Stata are a plus but not needed);
• Interest in machine learning and NLP;
• Ideally past experience as a research assistant and/or independent work on a research project related to Economics/ Finance/ Sustainability (e.g., thesis);
• The ability to independently and diligently solve challenging problems;
• Diligence and a love for precision and detail in, e.g., data cleaning;
• Reliability (e.g. with respect to promised deadlines, to-do lists); and
• Good written communication skills (e.g., providing proactive and clear updates by email).

Application Instructions

• One-page cover letter describing your motivation for undertaking the pre-doc position, previous relevant coursework, research experience, and future academic and/or research aspirations;
• Programming background (specify which software and statistical packages, e.g., Python; give details on how extensive your knowledge is, e.g., learned in a course or applied on a research project);
• CV
• Academic transcript (unofficial is fine)
• Sample of code which you have written;
• Writing sample. This can be any research paper or term paper that you think best reflects your abilities

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. All applications received by March 31st, 2023, will be given full consideration. Shortlisted applicants will be asked to participate in an interview and coding exercise. We will only notify shortlisted applicants. Candidates must possess valid work authorization at the time of hire.  MIT does not sponsor work authorization for this position. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin. MIT’s full policy on Nondiscrimination can be found here.

Background Check Policy
Employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background check, including possible verification of any findings of misconduct (or pending investigations) from prior employers.