Job Description

About the Lab

The Tech & Society Lab at NYU Stern, led by Jonathan Haidt and managed by Zach Rausch, is the research home of one of the most influential bodies of work on technology, adolescent mental health, and social behavior. The Lab sits at the intersection of rigorous academic research and real-world impact — generating the evidence base that drives policy, shapes public discourse, and informs the work of The Anxious Generation Movement organization. We are in an active growth phase, expanding our research agenda, team, and institutional footprint.

The Role

The Tech & Society Lab is seeking a Senior Research Scientist specializing in statistics and quantitative research methods. This person will serve as a methodological leader across the Lab, helping ensure the rigor of our quantitative work, advising researchers on statistical questions, conducting and overseeing sophisticated analyses, and critically evaluating influential research in the field.

The Senior Research Scientist will work across the Lab's research portfolio, including projects on smartphones, social media, education, mental health, and other emerging technologies. Familiarity with research on social media, AI, gaming, gambling, or related technology-use questions is desirable but not required. More important is intellectual curiosity and an interest in developing substantive expertise in these areas. The role would involve roughly 70% statistics/methods and 30% research.

This role is particularly well suited to a statistician who enjoys collaborative research: moving between methodological consultation, quality assurance, original analysis, research criticism, and substantive scientific questions.

Key Responsibilities

1. Provide Statistical Quality Assurance Across the Lab

• Review statistical analyses, methods, tables, figures, and quantitative claims before publication.
• Verify that statistical results are accurately interpreted and communicated with appropriate precision and caution.
• Identify potential errors, ambiguities, robustness concerns, or weaknesses in statistical reasoning.
• Review work produced by Lab researchers, collaborators, contractors, and students.
• Help establish consistent standards and best practices for statistical reporting across Lab projects.

1. Serve as a Statistical Advisor to Lab Researchers

• Advise researchers on study design, model selection, measurement, statistical inference, robustness testing, and interpretation.
• Help determine appropriate analytical strategies when methodological choices are unclear or contested.
• Provide consultation on causal inference, longitudinal analysis, quasi-experimental methods, survey analysis, and other quantitative approaches.
• Support researchers in understanding unfamiliar or technically complex statistical methods.

1. Evaluate and Critique Published Research

• Conduct rigorous methodological evaluations of influential studies related to technology and society.
• Assess whether statistical analyses support the conclusions drawn by authors, journalists, policymakers, and other commentators.
• Collaborate with subject-matter experts to produce critiques, responses, working papers, and, where appropriate, peer-reviewed publications.
• Take primary responsibility for assessing the statistical and methodological components of such critiques while working with other Lab researchers on substantive interpretation.

1. Lead and Collaborate on Quantitatively Sophisticated Research Projects

• Conduct original analyses using large-scale longitudinal, survey, administrative, and quasi-experimental datasets.
• Lead projects requiring substantial statistical or methodological expertise.
• Collaborate on natural experiments, policy evaluations, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and other quantitative projects.
• Develop reproducible analytical workflows and clear statistical visualizations.
• Contribute to manuscripts and lead or co-author methodological and empirical publications.

1. Support Research Across Technology Areas

• Conduct and synthesize research on relationships between digital technologies and youth mental health, education, development, and well-being.
• Identify important datasets, natural experiments, policy changes, and opportunities for original research.
• Lead or collaborate on evidence reviews, empirical papers, working papers, and public-facing research products.
• Track important developments in these literatures and advise the Lab on where stronger evidence is needed.

1. Write and Co-Author Academic and Public-Facing Outputs

• Contribute to academic manuscripts, white papers, policy briefs, reports, and research memos.
• Draft methods and results sections for academic publications.
• Collaborate with Lab leadership to translate quantitative findings into accessible public-facing outputs.
• Support essays, Substack pieces, op-eds, and other public communications that explain the implications of research on GGP.

In compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary range for this position is $100,000-$250,000. New York University considers factors such as (but not limited to) the specific grant funding and the terms of the research grant when extending an offer.

Qualifications

Required

• PhD in statistics, psychology, sociology, education, neuroscience, economics, public policy, or a related field, or equivalent research experience.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills.
• Experience working with large datasets.
• Proficiency in R, Python, Stata, SPSS, SAS, or equivalent statistical tools.
• Strong understanding of research design, statistical inference, and the interpretation of observational data.
• Excellent writing and communication skills.
• Ability to translate complex research findings for academic, policy, and public audiences.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects at once.
• Excellent judgment about which research questions matter most and how evidence should be interpreted.

Preferred

• Experience with international or large-scale datasets such as PISA, OECD, WHO, Gallup, NCES, CDC, or similar sources.
• Experience with survey research, longitudinal analysis, quasi-experimental methods, or policy evaluation.
• Experience conducting systematic reviews or meta-analyses.
• Prior experience coordinating multi-institution research collaborations or external research partnerships.
• Ability to engage with fast-moving public debates while maintaining scholarly rigor and caution.

Application Instructions

Apply via Interfolio by uploading a cover letter, CV, and two letters of reference.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

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NYU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its recruitment and hiring process without regard to age, alienage, caregiver status, childbirth, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, domestic violence victim status, ethnicity, familial status, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital status, military status, national origin, parental status, partnership status, predisposing genetic characteristics, pregnancy, race, religion, reproductive health decision making, sex, sexual orientation, unemployment status, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis. All interested persons are encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels.

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