Career Opportunities
Thank you for your interest in career opportunities with the University of Chicago Urban Labs! Urban Labs has a strong commitment to using science in service of cities to improve the quality of urban life. We regularly seek out passionate, data-oriented, public service minded individuals to join our team.
For more information on Urban Labs' career opportunities, culture and recruiting process, please see the frequently asked question section below.
Current Opportunities
Energy & Environment Lab
- Job Title: Summer Research Assistant – Energy & Environment Lab (2025)
- Desired Start Date: TBC
The E&E Lab is seeking Summer Research Assistants (RAs) with strong research, methodological, and programming skills to support large-scale environmental policy research projects. The RAs will work on a portfolio of economics projects, designed to evaluate the impact of promising energy and environmental interventions. Typical research projects involve the analysis of environmental and energy data, utilizing quasi-experimental and experimental methods to provide government partners with guidance on key policy questions.
Please apply here: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/energyandenvironmentlab/jobs/6270113003
Inclusive Economy Lab
- Job Title: Communications Manager
- Desired Start Date: TBC
- Requisition Number: JR27469
The University of Chicago Inclusive Economy Lab is seeking a Communications Manager to work with the Executive Director, Faculty Director, and Leadership Team to craft communications strategies; academia, non-profit and community-based organizations, and other community groups; and identify and implement externally facing opportunities and initiatives to enhance the impact of the Inclusive Economy Lab's work. The Manager has primary responsibility for the external positioning of the Inclusive Economy Lab brand, including having key input on messaging, media relations, non-profit community, and other partners, as well as management and implementation of the external relations plans fo the Lab. The Director leads and manages the responsibilities dedicated to external relations and communications work as well as any external resources and is the primary liaison with Harris School of Public Policy and University of Chicago communications, and civic engagement teams.
- Job Title: Policy Research Intern
- Desired Start Date: 06.02.2025
- Requisition Number: JR28784
Policy Research Interns will assist project staff various tasks on a research project. We are looking for motivated individuals who are passionate about evidence-based policy and promoting economic stability and opportunity. This internship is a great opportunity to help you improve your research and job readiness skills, while contributing to rigorous research at IEL
Timeline
- We will begin reviewing resumes in January on a rolling basis.
- Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis until all positions are filled.
- Candidates asked to participate in interviews will be contacted starting in February until March 31st.
- Job Title: Policy Research Data Analyst Intern
- Desired Start Date: TBC
- Requisition Number: JR28783
The Policy Research Data Analyst Interns will assist project staff with quantitative data analysis tasks for their various research projects. We are looking for motivated individuals who are passionate about evidence-based policy and promoting economic stability and opportunity. This internship is a great opportunity to help you improve your research and data analysis skills, while contributing to rigorous research at IEL.
Timeline
We will begin reviewing resumes at the end January on a rolling basis until available positions are filled. Candidates asked to participate in the interview process will be contacted by the end of March.
- Job Title: Grants and Contracts Administrator
- Desired Start Date: TBC
- Requisition Number: JR28564
Job Summary
The job performs routine pre-award and/or post-award activities relating to grant and contract proposals and funding within a department or unit. Pre-award activities include research, preparing applications, and editing proposals. Post-award activities include compliance monitoring, payment processing, and salary allocations. Performs work with guidance from others.
- Job Title: Human Resources Coordinator
- Desired Start Date: TBC
- Requisition Number: JR28613
This Human Resources Coordinator performs a broad range of task to design, implement, and monitor a variety of human resource programs. Responsibilities are within the human resources function as a generalist or in a combination of disciplines, allowing the staff to acquire higher-level skills.
FAQs
For our three most common research roles--Project Associate, Research Manager, and Research Analyst--please refer to the responsibilities outlined below:
- Project Associates support large-scale social policy research projects designed to test the effectiveness of promising interventions by supporting a Research Manager or Research Analyst.
- Research Managers work directly with leading social science researchers, local policymakers, frontline practitioners, and a dedicated team of research analysts, data scientists, and administrative staff to implement ambitious field experiments.
- Research Analysts apply a variety of statistical modeling and data techniques to datasets in real-world settings, and contribute to all facets of data collection & cleaning, model development, analysis, and interpretation of results.
Urban Labs also hires for other positions in research, IT, and operations. We encourage you to view opportunities below.
You may be asked to submit multiple documents, including a Cover Letter, Writing Sample, and Unofficial Transcripts from the highest degree program received. Please see the job description for the exact documents required for that job. All materials should be submitted to the Workday system. Refer to the job requisition number on the job description to apply to the correct position.
All of our positions require a cover letter. In the cover letter, we encourage you to elaborate on your relevant achievements and describe your interest in the position.
We appreciate your interest in Urban Labs and look forward to reviewing your application. Due to the high-volume of applications that we receive, although we try, we may not be able to respond to all individual inquires.
Urban Labs employees are committed to creating a collaborative, high energy office that is open and welcoming to individuals of all backgrounds and life experiences, and prioritize developing a workforce that is as diverse as the city in which we work.
While we are affiliated with the University of Chicago, we are not located in Hyde Park. We have an office in downtown Chicago, which allows us to work more closely with our public sector partners.
In addition, Urban Labs also has an office in New York City that focuses on Crime and Education work. The New York Office works in close collaboration with the Crime and Education Labs in Chicago.
Urban Labs is a set of highly collaborative Labs and as such, we all work together towards a common mission of science in service of cities.
If you have questions about the Workday Application System, click here.
If you have specific questions that were not answered in our above frequently asked questions section, please contact us at urbanlabs@uchicago.edu Thanks!
