How to Apply

Please submit a cover letter and resume as a single document to be considered for this position. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline your skills and related experience.

NOTE:  This is a one year, fixed term appointment. The position may be extended conditional on continuation of funding.

Job Summary

The Population Studies Center (PSC) in the Institute for Social Research (ISR) at the University of Michigan invites applications for a full-time position of Research Area Specialist (Intermediate) The Research Area Specialist will collaborate with investigators to create the Longitudinal, Intergenerational Family Electronic Microdatabase (LIFE-M). Funded by the National Science Foundation, LIFE-M will combine information for four generations of U.S. families linked together using vital records and census information. LIFE-M will be pioneering new data linking methods and launching new efforts to document changes in intergenerational mobility and health over the 20th century. In addition, the data are uniquely suited for the study of long-run effects of early childhood interventions and changes in public policies.

Responsibilities*

The Research Area Specialist will work independently and as part of a team, and there will be opportunities for an interested candidate to participate in econometric and statistical analysis of the linked data and other tasks including, but not limited to:

• Design pipelines for data cleaning, standardization, and linking; implement new data linking methods in collaboration with researchers.
• Expand data linkages to new data sources.
• Develop Code for Machine Learning algorithms to link millions of birth certificates to other administrative data and census data.
• Data analysis using different statistical software.
• Work with Project Manager and Post Docs to develop and refine code for data linking methods.
• Gather data, supervise data collection and verification, and have oversight for literature reviews.
• Perform data analysis and interpret results from birth certificate and death certificate linkages for LIFE-M.
• Monitor integrity of data collection and use of protocols and procedures for the LIFE-M Cause of Death linking in collaboration with subcontractors.
• Formulate research methods and suggests options for improving quality, identify potential problems, recommend and implement solutions on faster and more reliable linking methods.

Required Qualifications*

• A Bachelor’s degree in economics, public health, information science or another relevant field and 4-5 years of related experience.
• Strong data analysis skills in R, STATA and other statistical  software programs.
• Strong computing skills, including the ability to learn new software packages quickly.
• Demonstrated continuous development of programming and analytic skills.
• Demonstrated creativity and flexibility in applying skills toward identifying and resolving data management and analysis issues.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Personal commitment to high quality work with the ability to work as part of a team and individually while meeting deadlines.

Desired Qualifications*

• A Master’s Degree in economics, public health, information science or another relevant field and 4-5 years of related experience.
• More than 4-5 year of prior experience with quantitative data analysis.
• Experience with text analysis, machine learning, and/or data mining.
• Experience working with restricted data and data safeguarding procedures.
• Experience and familiarity with work in interdisciplinary social science settings.
• Experience working with large and complex datasets.

Additional Information

The Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the diverse people of Michigan, to maintain the excellence of the university, and to ground our research in varied disciplines, perspectives, and ways of knowing and learning.

PSC is a unique, world-renowned social science research center that conducts investigator-initiated research on theoretical and applied problems of social and scientific importance (please see our website:www.psc.isr.umich.edu/).

U-M EEO/AA Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.