Postdoctoral Research Assocate

Texas A&M • College Station, TX

19d • Onsite

About The Position

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will work with Dr. Pourya Valizadeh on U.S. domestic food policy research under general supervision. Projects include evaluating SNAP purchase restrictions and studying how food policies affect household purchases of ultra-processed foods. The research uses large transaction-level food purchase data and machine-learning and causal-inference methods.

The position is in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M AgriLife Research in College Station, Texas. It requires on-site presence and is not eligible for remote work; flexible work schedules may be available depending on the role. This is a one-year position funded through grants or contracts, with continued employment contingent on funding availability and satisfactory performance. The salary is $63,000–$66,000, commensurate with experience. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States and must not require employment visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics, completed by the start date.
• Working knowledge of Stata.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work well both in a team and independently.

Nice To Haves

• Research experience on SNAP or other food and nutrition programs.
• Experience with program evaluation methods, such as difference-in-differences and event studies.
• Experience analyzing transaction-level or scanner purchase data, such as Circana or NielsenIQ data.
• Experience working with restricted data in an ADRF or similar secure data environment.
• Strong programming skills in Python and experience applying machine-learning methods.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate SNAP purchase restrictions and other food and nutrition assistance policies.
• Study how food policies affect household purchases of ultra-processed foods.
• Clean and analyze transaction-level purchase data, such as Circana and NielsenIQ data, using econometric and machine-learning methods.
• Work with restricted data in Administrative Data Research Facilities (ADRFs).
• Write journal articles and present findings at conferences and meetings.
• Collaborate with the research team and support grant reports and proposals.
• Perform other research duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Health insurance, with AgriLife contributing to premiums.
• Dental insurance, with AgriLife contributing to premiums.
• Vision insurance, with AgriLife contributing to premiums.
• Life insurance, with AgriLife contributing to premiums.
• Long-term disability insurance, with AgriLife contributing to premiums.
• 12–15 annual paid holidays.
• Up to 8 hours per month of sick leave.
• At least 8 hours per month of vacation.
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
• Access to the Employee Wellness Initiative.
• Ongoing professional development and training through Aspire, LinkedIn Learning, and internally developed programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree