Research Associate (General)

Harvard University • Boston, MA

6h • Hybrid

About The Position

Harvard Business School (HBS) is seeking multiple Research Associates (General) starting in Summer 2026 to support assigned faculty members leading projects across a variety of business topics. These topics include the Harvard Business School AI Institute, Julie Battilana's Research on Social Innovation & Change, and the Managing the Future of Work and US Competitiveness Project. The Research Associate position reports directly to faculty supervisors and an administrative manager in the Research Staff Services office. Ideal candidates will be comfortable in an environment that requires a high level of independence, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to use discretionary judgment.

Requirements

• Ability to read academic, subject-specific information and write a reasoned and thoughtful analysis, as well as produce a creative interpretation, is a must.
• Bachelor’s degree with a GPA above 3.5 is required.
• Proven evidence of independent research in specific advanced field of study.
• Evidence of prior high-quality, original academic writing, and background in analysis and interpretation of relevant data, research, news, and literature is helpful.
• The candidate must have extremely high standards in terms of quality of work, attention to detail, strong organization skills, and absolute commitment to task completion.
• Must be able to balance multiple tasks and shifting priorities under tight deadlines at an accelerated pace when necessary.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with navigating a complex organization, such as Harvard Business School.

Responsibilities

• Work under the general direction of HBS faculty on topics central to HBS research agenda. Provide subject-area knowledge, analysis and interpretation to faculty member. Identify and explore a wide-range of questions related to faculty’s research agenda.
• Write cases, case supplements, project reports, and policy memos from start to finish creating original writing based on subject-area expertise, research, and interviews, and write articles for applicable business audiences such as Harvard Business Review.
• Develop, design, conduct, analyze, and implement research using data science knowledge and prior knowledge of requested statistical packages. Perform statistical programming. Experience with NLP.
• Manage and manipulate data using requested packages, such as STATA, Python, R, or MATLAB.
• Ensure compliance with department, University, and federal regulations. Complete work with only general direction. Be aware of department, School, University policies and potential outside research policies.
• Under general direction of faculty member, must be able to take complex research ideas, concepts, and methodologies and apply them to new projects and situations. Must be able to structure assignments and keep faculty member informed as necessary, using own judgment.
• Build trust and collaboration by being present on-site and engaging directly with colleagues and various constituents.
• Responsible for other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Generous paid time off including parental leave
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance coverage starting on day one
• Retirement plans with university contributions
• Wellbeing and mental health resources
• Support for families and caregivers
• Professional development opportunities including tuition assistance and reimbursement
• Commuter benefits, discounts and campus perks

What This Job Offers

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