Empirical Researcher - School of Law

Overview

Position title: Empirical Researcher

Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step  the following table(s) for the current salary scale(s) for this position: https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). The current base salary range for this position is $55,000 - $79,200. "Off-scale" salaries, which yield compensation that is higher than the published system-wide salary at the designated rank and step, are offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions.

Percent time: 100%

Anticipated start: Summer 2026

Position duration: One-year term position, with the possibility of renewal.

Open date: January 22, 2026

Next review date: Friday, Feb 6, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Sunday, Mar 1, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

The UC Berkeley School of Law is searching for a researcher to work with faculty doing empirical legal research. Researchers will work for 1-2 years with multiple UC Berkeley Law faculty members. Work involves potentially the full scope of activities involved in quantitative empirical scholarship: creating and cleaning datasets, writing and executing code to generate results, creating tables and figures of results, writing and presenting research papers, and generally working to assist descriptive analysis as well as the study of the effects of law and policy.

Applicants will receive mentoring from faculty within a tight-knit research community at UC Berkeley Law and will have access to a broad range of activities at UC Berkeley. This is a good opportunity for candidates interested in spending 1-2 years developing research skills in anticipation of attending law school and/or PhD programs in the social sciences. As such, in addition to providing research mentorship, faculty will help researchers to engage in additional education and training, such as auditing courses, attending research seminars, etc.

Key responsibilities include:

• Collect data through policy research and web scraping (typically in Python)
• Clean and manage large datasets
• Conduct statistical analyses of data using Stata, R, and/or Python
• Prepare literature reviews, background research, and other content for grant proposals and academic papers
• Draft project reports, research protocols, and other project documents

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent international degree) or current enrollment in a bachelor's degree (or equivalent international degree) program

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent international degree.

Preferred qualifications

• Bachelor's or master's degree in economics, Finance, Political Science, Public Policy, Accounting, Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics or similar field requiring substantial quantitative coursework.
• Proficiency programming in more than one of Python, R, Stata, and SQL
• Experience writing in Markdown and LaTeX
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
• Prior experience as a research assistant or fellow in the fields of economics or political science is a plus.

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter - Please describe interests and relevant experience (including your familiarity with programming languages and prior research experience)
• Writing Sample - The writing sample should reflect original empirical analysis.
• Coding Sample (Optional)

Reference requirements

• 3 required (contact information only)

Apply link: /JPF
05264

Help contact: academicpositionskeley.edu

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our public mission of research, teaching, and service, consistent with UC Regents Policy 4400 and University of California Academic Personnel policy (APM 210 1-d). These values are embedded in our Principles of Community, which reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world.

Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive.

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

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