Research Specialist

Overview

We seek to hire a talented, independent, and motivated Research Specialist to support the growth of the FFCWS (Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Studies), providing strong technical skills to append contextual and administrative data to the survey as well as data management, quality assurance, and operational support. This position will have a significant role in data quality assurance and programming for the Year 27 wave of data collection, developing new supplemental administrative data files to append to FFCWS data, and providing technical data support and outreach for FFCWS. This position will support Principal Investigators and collaborators, project staff, students, and external researchers using the FFCWS data.The ideal applicant will: (1) have strong programming skills (Stata experience preferred), with the ability to help manage, support, and expand a large archive of contract data; (2) be a self-starter and able to manage projects independently; (3) develop a deep understanding of FFCWS survey data files, efficiently code Stata programs, and quality check data files with meticulous attention to detail; (4) access, preprocess, and append contextual data sources (e.g., Census) to geographic locations of FFCWS survey participants; (5) provide technical support to researchers with clear and concise written and verbal explanations; (6) thrive in a flexible, team-based work environment; and (7) be committed to continued learning and training in areas such as data management and statistical analysis.

This will be a one-year term position, with the possibility of renewal contingent upon continued funding and satisfactory performance. The position will start in summer, 2026 (exact date is flexible). The position is based in Princeton, NJ and will require being in the office at least 3 days a week.

Responsibilities

• Preparing new supplemental contextual and administrative files. Tasks will include developing supplemental files from diverse and complex government and administrative data sources; standardizing new data files to FFCWS variable naming and missing data conventions; quality checking files; and creating technical documentation.
• Shared responsibility for file preparation, quality assurance review, and drafting documentation of Year 27 data.
• Programming, including writing Stata code to 1) review and carefully check quality and consistency of complex, raw survey response data files, 2) convert raw survey response data files to fully-cleaned, well-organized data files following established data release conventions, and 3) review and carefully check quality and consistency of fully-cleaned data files.
• Providing extensive technical support to researchers and data users via email queries, introductory tutorials, and presentations for new data users, including conference travel.

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications:

• Candidates should have experience working with large, longitudinal surveys
• Candidates should have experience with data appendages including based on geographic characteristics (e.g., geocodes, census tracts, counties)
• Successful candidates will have strong organizational skills and attention to detail and will be able to work independently while also knowing when to ask questions
• Candidates are required to have intermediate to advanced skills using Stata OR intermediate to advanced skills using Python, R, or SAS, or SPSS and the desire and ability to quickly learn Stata.
• Candidates should also have experience with Microsoft applications, including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
• Candidates with a Bachelors’ degree will be considered if they have at least 3 years of work experience doing programming for a quantitative social science research project.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in mathematics, statistics, sociology, social work, economics, psychology, public policy or a related field, with at least 2 years of work experience managing and analyzing large social science datasets using Stata software is preferred.
• Prior experience with FFCWS data, or with other large, longitudinal social science datasets (PSID, Add Health, NLSY, etc.) is strongly preferred.

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's qualifications, work experience, education/training, key skills, market, collective bargaining agreements as applicable, and organizational considerations when extending an offer. The posted salary range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate for a full-time position; salaries for part-time positions are pro-rated accordingly.

If the salary range on the posted position shows an hourly rate, this is the baseline; the actual hourly rate may be higher, depending on the position and factors listed above.

The University also offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees. Please see this link for more information.

Standard Weekly Hours

Eligible for Overtime

Benefits Eligible

Probationary Period

Essential Services Personnel (see policy for detail)

Physical Capacity Exam Required

Valid Driver’s License Required

Salary Range