University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Job Description Summary

The Penn Wharton Budget Model is building a world class repository for economic and public policy data.  We have developed a sophisticated scraping engine that collects, standardizes, and stores data from a variety government and non-profit sources.  We offer access to this data via a custom API behind and a robust user interface.

Job Description

The Director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model Data Warehouse is a technical leadership position that will interface directly with other key University offices to strategically and collaboratively build the PWBM data warehouse and make it a premier resource for policy information and analysis.  The candidate will provide extensive computer programming support for PWBM’s core functions, including: identifying and collecting new content; organizing and standardizing collected econometric data; and advising on database design and optimizations. The candidate will have responsibility for policy work including contributing to the development of research products such as policy briefs and large-scale reports, and representing the Penn Wharton Budget Model to external stakeholders to explain the econometric models and data findings coming out of the data warehouse.

*This position is contingent upon funding.

Qualifications

• BA or MS in computer science, mathematics, engineering, or a related technical field is desired but not required; seven years of experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Key qualifications will be determined as part of the interview process, including demonstration of problem solving, technical knowledge and a code review. In addition, the following qualifications are highly desirable:
• Ability to provide technical leadership and programming expertise in database and programming languages, including SQL, C, Python, Matlab, Stata, VBA, and R.
• Experience in managing complex technical projects involving large data sets.
• Demonstrated experience in usage and understanding of public data sets, including those produced by Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Federal Reserve, and other government agencies.
• Experience in managing complex technical projects involving large data sets.

Responsibilities

25% - Provide technical and administrative leadership for launching and running a new data warehouse within the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

20% - Utilize expert programming skills (including SQL, C, Python, Matlab, Stata, VBA, and R) to develop macroeconomic models related to the Federal Reserve, the US and global economies, and foreign central banks, as well as econometric models of financial investment risk and financial markets.

20% - In collaboration with the Faculty Director and other data warehouse staff, provide data and analysis for the creation of in-depth and high-profile signature products (produced on an 18-24 month cycle) that address critical public policy problems, and serve to present and explain the data, analysis, and modeling to external stakeholders.

15% - Liaise with other technology offices on Penn’s campus, including Wharton WRDS and Wharton Computing, to develop a strategy for building the data warehouse and procuring, cataloging, and sharing data sets.

10% - Provide data and analysis support for research by PWBM’s research staff, including research for PWBM policy briefs.

5% - Supervise junior research assistants and data analysts, and assist with training students in statistical applications and optimization software.

5% - Perform additional duties as assigned.

Working Conditions

Office, library, computer room.

Physical Effort

Typically sitting at a desk or table.

Job Location - City, State
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School
Wharton School

Pay Range
$108,411.00 - $205,981.00

Affirmative Action Statement

Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

Special Requirements

Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.