Predoctoral Research Assistant

Texas A&M • College Station, TX

11d • Onsite

About The Position

The Predoctoral Research Assistant will work with Dr. Andrew Fieldhouse of Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School and Dr. Karel Mertens of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas to build, verify, and document a narrative dataset of postwar changes in federal R&D tax policy. This is an 11-month appointment on a funded research project measuring the economic returns to federal investment in research and development. The role includes a funded research visit to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, with travel as needed.

The position is intended for a highly motivated aspiring PhD student interested in economics, finance, or related social sciences and an academic research career. The assistant will conduct archival and legislative research; verify policy changes against primary sources; maintain supporting data and documentation; and contribute to writing, analysis, literature reviews, and research materials. The role requires careful attention to detail, strong writing and editing, independent critical thinking, and the ability to collaborate. Work may be required on weekends or outside normal hours.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in economics or finance completed by the start date.
• Excellent writing and editing skills, including the ability to explain technical material in plain prose.
• Comfort reading dense primary-source documents, including legislative and legal text.
• Working proficiency with Excel for assembling, cleaning, and documenting data series.
• Meticulous attention to detail, high ethical standards, and high tolerance for verification work.
• Willingness to learn and acquire new skills as needed.
• Consistency in maintaining integrity and trust in professional interactions.
• Discretion and sound judgment when handling sensitive or confidential information.
• A proactive, can-do attitude and creative approach to problem-solving.
• Ability to work independently and think critically, not just carry out instructions.
• Ability to work cooperatively with others.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.

Nice To Haves

• Programming and data management skills in Stata, Python, R, SAS, or MATLAB.
• Relevant coursework such as econometrics, statistics, public economics, public finance, macroeconomics, innovation, or fiscal policy.
• Quantitative research experience.
• Research experience with primary-source documents, such as legal, legislative, or archival/historical documents.
• Experience with LaTeX/Overleaf, copy editing, or bibliographic reference management.
• Interest in pursuing graduate study in economics or finance.

Responsibilities

• Fact-check and verify a narrative record of postwar federal R&D tax policy changes against primary sources, including congressional committee reports, hearing transcripts, Joint Committee on Taxation documents, Treasury materials, and presidential statements.
• Conduct archival and legislative research, incorporating evidence from congressional hearings and JCT revenue estimates into the narrative record.
• Work with the Principal Investigator and Co-Project Lead to classify policy changes as exogenous or endogenous to short-run macroeconomic conditions.
• Assemble and maintain supporting data series and document sources and coding decisions so the dataset is replicable.
• Rewrite narrative entries in clear, consistent prose.
• Assist with drafting the introduction and methodology sections of the working paper.
• Conduct targeted literature reviews and summarize related work.
• Prepare tables, figures, and appendix material documenting the narrative record.
• Support faculty with short-term research-related tasks, including data retrieval, literature reviews, and paper editing.

Benefits

• Medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life and AD&D, flexible spending accounts, and long-term disability insurance; Texas A&M contributes to employee health and basic life premiums.
• 12–15 days of annual paid holidays.
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month.
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
• Free exercise programs and release time for health and wellness.
• Free LinkedIn Learning training, webinars, and limited financial support to attend conferences and workshops.
• Educational release time and tuition assistance for completing a degree while a Texas A&M employee.
• Living Well employee wellness program.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level