Pre-Doctoral Research Specialist

The Wharton School

31d•$57,000 - $60,000

About The Position

Founded in 1881 as the world’s first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With campuses in both Philadelphia and San Francisco, Wharton has over 850 staff, a faculty population of more than 235 renowned professors, and 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students. Each year 13,000 professionals from around the world advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education’s individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 104,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. Wharton is home to a dynamic community of staff, bringing a wide range of skills, experiences, and perspectives. To learn more, visit www.wharton.upenn.edu. The Mack Institute for Innovation Management is continuously seeking new ways to support cutting-edge research and train a new generation of management scholars. Building on successful programs of other Wharton research centers, the Institute is launching a program for predoctoral research fellowships in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship. These are full-time staff-level research specialist positions, ideal for highly qualified college graduates who are motivated to acquire the research skills, experience, and credentials needed to apply for a full-time PhD program. Awards will cover the predoctoral researcher's salary and benefits for a maximum of two years. The predoctoral research fellow will support faculty research on various topics, and work under the direct supervision of 1-2 Wharton faculty members on projects they have proposed/received funding for. Faculty will serve as their fellow's mentors, with the goal of ensuring that the fellow is well prepared to advance into top-tier PhD programs. For this position, the faculty mentors will be Professors Emilie Feldman and Paul Nary. The successful candidate will support faculty research in corporate strategy, M&A, private equity, and other adjacent areas as designated by faculty supervisors.

Requirements

BA/BS in Business, Economics, Statistics, Finance, Mathematics, Computer Science or another closely-related discipline and 1-2 years of experience is required, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Coding and programming skills in at least one or more common social science statistical analysis packages such as R, Python, and Stata are required.
Independent thinking, intellectual curiosity, and a thorough understanding of businesses, markets, and economics, as well as self-motivation are highly valued in performing these functions.
This is a full-time, limited-term position typically intended for recent graduates who are seeking predoctoral research experience.
This position is contingent upon funding and is designed for a duration of 2 years and cannot be extended beyond the initial term.
The term for this position is July 1, 2026- June 30, 2028.
Annual salary is in the range of $57,000 -$60,000 plus benefits.
This position is a full-time, limited-term appointment intended for up to two years (July 1, 2026- June 30, 2028) and is not eligible for extension beyond this term.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience as a research assistant or in pursuing independent research is preferred.

Responsibilities

Collecting, cleaning, coding, designing, implementing, and maintaining moderately complex quantitative and qualitative data, and using a variety of statistical and econometric analyses and other research methods, as well as writing research reports, and providing research-related support as required.
Analyzing data requirements and research sources
Performing a variety of statistical and econometric analysis
Designing implementing, and maintaining databases and database dictionaries
Processing large files with raw data
Prepare supporting materials for faculty research papers such as research reports, graphs, tables, data descriptions, appendices, etc.
Design and implement machine learning algorithms
Scrape data from websites
Design and implement surveys and experiments
Review relevant literature and provide detailed outlines and/or literature reviews

Benefits

Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare.
You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.
Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.
Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.
In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.
Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.
Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.
From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.
Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.
Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.
Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.