This position offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in cutting-edge research at the intersection of accounting, finance, environmental economics, and spatial economics, working alongside Professor Thomas Rauter and his international co-author network at leading U.S. and European universities. The position is ideal for highly motivated candidates considering a top Ph.D. program in accounting, finance, economics, or related fields, who want to develop the technical and soft skills required for a successful academic career.

The role provides intensive training in empirical research methods, large-scale data analysis, and programming, as well as direct exposure to the academic research process through close collaboration on ongoing projects, presentations, and papers. Past research associates under Professor Rauter have gone on to doctoral programs in accounting, economics, and finance at leading institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago, as well as top European universities. Others have pursued careers at international organizations and in industry.

Research associates are encouraged to further strengthen their academic training by taking Ph.D.-level courses at the University of Zurich and by actively participating in internal and external workshops, seminars, and conferences. The position also provides opportunities to develop an independent research profile and to build a strong foundation for future academic work through close interaction with faculty and collaborators.

• Assisting with data collection and preparation, especially spatial data and firms' financial statement data.

• Assisting in the estimation of Bayesian models to generate the predicted environmental impacts of millions of companies.

• Designing and implementing information experiments.

• Contributing to documenting data and code on GitHub.

• Contributing to drafting presentations, reports, and policy briefs.

• Providing teaching support, assisting in instruction, and updating teaching materials.

• A Master's degree in economics, finance, accounting, data science, computer science, statistics, or a related quantitative field with excellent grades.

• Programming experience in several of the following languages: Python (required), R, Stata, SQL, React, or Node.js.

• Experience with large-scale data analysis, applied statistics, or empirical research.

• Strong project management skills.

• Proven ability to handle several different tasks at one time, successfully complete tasks assigned, and meet deadlines.

• Strong communication skills in spoken and written English.

• (Preferred, but not required) Some exposure to accounting, such as a course during a Bachelor's or Master's degree.

• (Preferred, but not required) Prior experience as a research assistant.

• Opportunities to acquire skills necessary to conduct independent research.

• Support during your Ph.D. application process or non-academic job search.

• A competitive salary in line with University of Zurich standards.

Information on your application