Economist
Apply at source. OpenAI handles the application directly; Houtini doesn't take a fee from candidates or companies. We curate which companies appear; the listings come from yubhub.
What the team is looking for.
We are seeking a highly technical Economist to join the OpenAI Economic Research team studying the real-world economic impacts of AI.
This role is designed for economists with up to 5 years of professional experience post-Ph.D. who are interested in using novel, large-scale datasets to study how AI is reshaping economic systems.
Responsibilities
- Design and execute empirical research using large-scale observational or experimental data.
- Apply causal inference and/or structural modeling techniques to study AI-driven economic change.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate research questions into testable frameworks and applicable takeaways across policy, product, and our organization.
- Produce policy-relevant outputs, including academic papers, technical reports, and briefings.
- Contribute to the development of new measurement approaches for AI’s economic impact.
- Use AI across your responsibilities to scale your research impact.
Requirements
- A PhD in Economics or a related quantitative field.
- 3–5 years of relevant work experience (industry or policy research).
- Strong background in econometrics and applied microeconomics.
- Demonstrated experience working with large or complex datasets, with demonstrated proficiency in SQL.
- Proficiency in statistical programming (e.g., Python, R).
- Research related to labor economics, industrial organization, macroeconomics, or technological change.
- Experience working with platform, labor market, or firm-level data.
- Familiarity with causal inference, machine learning methods, or structural modeling.
Compensation
- San Francisco $266K – $385K • Offers Equity
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
- Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
- 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
- Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
- Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
- 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time
- Mental health and wellness support
- Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
- Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
- Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
- Relocation support for eligible employees
- PhD in Economics
- Econometrics
- Applied Microeconomics
- SQL
- Python
- R
- Causal Inference
- Machine Learning
- Structural Modeling
- Labor Economics
- Industrial Organization
- Macroeconomics
- Technological Change
- Platform Data
- Firm-level Data
Other roles you might consider.
Filtered through the same AI-companies allowlist.
Product Finance & Strategy, Monetization
Anthropic
Accounts Payable Specialist
ElevenLabs
Accounts Payable Specialist
ElevenLabs
Senior Manager, Procurement Operations
OpenAI
Marketing Finance Owner
Cursor
Senior Manager, International Tax
OpenAI
New to AI work? Start with these.
Six pieces of orientation. Most AI-company job specs assume you've done this kind of hands-on work already. If you haven't, an afternoon with one of these is the cheapest way to close the gap.
Claude Desktop, from zero.
The agentic-AI assistant most of the people you'd be working alongside use every day. Install, configure, first useful prompts.
What MCPs areThe best MCPs for Claude Desktop.
MCP servers extend an AI assistant with tools and data. The catalogue most teams use. Useful technical context for any AI-engineering role.
Code with AIClaude Code, the complete beginners' guide.
The CLI for AI-paired development. Required reading if you're applying for any engineering role that mentions agents, or any role full stop.
Run a local modelHow to set up LM Studio.
Running a model on your own machine teaches you more about how AI products work in three hours than a year of using ChatGPT will.
The hardware realityBeginner's guide to AI hardware.
What the infrastructure under the model actually looks like. Useful context for infrastructure, applied-AI and hardware roles.
Browse the stackMCP catalogue.
Eleven MCP servers Houtini maintains or recommends. Each detail page describes a real piece of working AI infrastructure.