Job Posting Title:Research Associate
----Hiring Department:Population Research Center
----Position Open To:All Applicants
----Weekly Scheduled Hours:40
----FLSA Status:Exempt from FLSA
----Earliest Start Date:Immediately
----Position Duration:Expected to Continue Until Aug 31, 2027
----Location:UT MAIN CAMPUS
----Job Details:General NotesThis position is available from beginning July 15th, 2026, but there may be flexibility in starting date and is funded for 1 year.
Purpose The Research Associate is expected to work on research projects related to higher education policy and social stratification in higher education. The projects will require in-depth experience working with state administrative data and other largescale education data sets, including experience cleaning and merging raw data files, and a track record producing research findings of interest to policymakers, practitioners, and academic audiences.
Responsibilities - Data cleaning and management
- Data analysis and research design
- Produce scholarly research, including articles, research reports, and presentations
- Project management and organization, including collaborating with research team and directing the efforts junior team members
- Collaborate on grant writing
- Other duties as assigned
Required Qualifications- Ph.D. in Education, Social Sciences, or related field
- 3 years of experience working with state administrative data, including cleaning and producing derived data files from raw data files
- Research experience using variety of statistical methods to examine effects of education policy and practices
- Strong programming skills in Stata
- Experience publishing quantitative research in education and/or social science journals
Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
Preferred Qualifications- 3+ years of experience using Texas Education Research Center data (state administrative data from Texas)
- Demonstrated expertise and/or credentials in statistics and data sciences
- Demonstrated expertise in higher education policy
Salary Range (REQUIRED)- $80,000 + depending on qualifications
Working Conditions - Typical Office Environment
- Remote work allowable within Texas
Required Materials - Resume/CV
- 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor; please note that finalists for this position will be required to have three letters from professional references-minimum of 2 external to UT Austin--attesting to candidate's record of independent research
- Letter of interest
- Example Stata code (do file) for cleaning largescale administrative data
- Writing sample: Example scholarly publication, preferably published in peer-reviewed education or social science journal
Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.
Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.
Employment Eligibility:Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.
Retirement Plan Eligibility:The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length. This position has the option to elect the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) instead of TRS, subject to the position being 40 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.
Background Checks:A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.
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