Postdoctoral Research Fellow- Law School

Job Summary

The University of Michigan Law School seeks a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to support the empirical research initiatives of the Dean. The fellow will work closely with the Dean and affiliated faculty to design and conduct quantitative research on topics at the intersection of law, public policy, and social science.

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct empirical research projects related to law, public policy, and social science.
• Clean, manage, and analyze large administrative and research datasets.
• Develop quantitative data analysis pipelines using tools such as Python, Stata, R, or similar statistical programming languages.
• Assist with occasional projects working with administrative data to inform operational decision-making and strategic planning within the law school.
• Contribute to the preparation of academic manuscripts, policy reports, and conference presentations.
• Conduct literature reviews and assist in the development of new research proposals.
• Collaborate with faculty researchers and support the supervision of research assistants.
• Help develop research infrastructure, including reproducible data workflows, documentation, and collaborative research systems.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Economics, Statistics, Political Science, Public Policy, Sociology, or a closely related quantitative social science field.
• Strong background in quantitative research methods and causal inference.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Python, Stata, R, or similar statistical programming languages.
• Experience working with large administrative or observational datasets.
• Strong written and oral communication skills with the ability to contribute to academic publications.
• Demonstrated comfort using emerging technologies, including AI-enabled tools, to enhance research.
• Ability to work independently while managing multiple research tasks and deadlines.

Desired Qualifications

• Research experience in empirical legal studies, criminal justice, labor markets, education policy, or related fields.
• Prior experience collaborating on multi-author academic research projects.
• Interest in contributing to interdisciplinary research initiatives within the law school.