{"id":1715673,"url":"https://alion.io/job/american-research-associate-peer-center","title":"Research Associate - PEER Center","company":{"id":96860,"name":"American University","domain":"american.edu","url":"https://alion.io/company/american-2","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":78,"open_postings":22,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.864,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":30,"computed_at":"2026-11-09T06:03:00Z"}},"role":"Science & Research","role_family":"Science & Research","seniority":null,"employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Washington, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":70000,"max":95000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":95000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Stata","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-11T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-11","last_verified_at":"2026-11-09T10:07:19Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":59,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":59},"description":"American University is a student-centered research institution located in Washington, DC, with highly-ranked schools and colleges, internationally-renownedfaculty, and a reputation for creating meaningful change in the world. Learn more about American University\nDepartment:\nSchool of Public AffairsTime Type:\nFull timeFLSA Status:\nExemptJob Description:\nThe School of Public Affairs (SPA) at American University is seeking applications for a full-time Research Associate to begin in December 2026 or as soon as possible. The Research Associate will conduct rigorous and timely policy research and analyses to support the work of the Postsecondary Education & Economics Research (PEER) Center. The PEER Center, led by Professors Jordan Matsudaira at SPA and Stephanie Cellini at George Washington University, generates actionable research to promote more equitable outcomes in education beyond high school. The PEER Center also works to train higher education researchers to more effectively engage with and impact state and federal policy. PEER Center staff engage in research related to postsecondary costs, accountability, value, and student success; and engage in efforts to connect this work directly to the policymaking process.\nThe Research Associate will engage in rapid-response analysis to inform timely state and federal policy development, as well as having the opportunity to participate in longer-term research. Candidates should have a master’s degree in economics, public policy, data science, or a related field; and a successful track record of empirical analysis with demonstrated data skills. Familiarity with quantitative methods for policy analysis, higher education and workforce data and research (including Stata and/or R), and strong communication and writing skills are required. An understanding of key legislative and regulatory policy levers and applying academic research to policy problems, and relevant work experience in federal and/or state higher education policy, are a plus.\nThere is no teaching associated with this position. This is a term faculty, non-tenure track position with the rank of Research Assistant Professor and the title of Research Associate. The initial appointment is for 12 months, beginning on or around December 1, 2026, and can be renewed annually, subject to external funding. The salary range for the research associate position is $70,000-$95,000. The salary for this position will be wholly generated through externally funded research activities. This position is primarily in-person in Washington, D.C.\nReview of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled, subject to ongoing budgetary approval. Please submit applications via Workday, please include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a brief writing sample (5 pages or less), and the name and contact information for three professional references. References will not be contacted without advance notice. Please email  if you have any questions.\nAmerican University is a private institution within easy reach of the many centers of government, business, research, and the arts located within the nation’s capital. Established in 1934, the School of Public Affairs offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the departments of Government; Justice, Law, Criminology, & Security; and Public Administration & Policy.\nBenefits\nAU offers a competitive benefits package. Click here to learn about American University's unique benefit options.\nOther Details\nHiring offers for this position are contingent on successful completion of a background check.\n\nEmployees in staff positions at American University must deliver their services to the university from either the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or perform work on-site at the university.\n\nPlease note this job announcement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.\n\nAmerican University is an E-Verify employer.\n\nCurrent American University Employees\nAmerican University current employees must apply through their employee Workday account. If you are a current employee at American University, please log into Workday and select the Find Jobs report which will take you to our internal career listings.\nContact Us\nFor more information or assistance with the American University careers site, email .\nAmerican University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution that operates in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The university does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, personal appearance, gender identity and expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, source of income, veteran status, an individual’s genetic information or any other bases under federal or local laws (collectively \"Protected Bases\") in its programs and activities.","description_format":"text","description_chars":5160,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"master","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Higher Education"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-02T18:34:38Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":15,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.325,"p_room":0.45,"age_days":59,"expected_fill_days":30,"reasons":["conf:6","stale_co","win:tail"],"computed_at":"2026-11-09T06:03:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":95000,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/american-research-associate-peer-center","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/american-research-associate-peer-center.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-09T10:43:15Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":11727,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-10T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":96860},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=96860"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Famerican-research-associate-peer-center"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":2,"usd":0.2},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Famerican-research-associate-peer-center"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Famerican-research-associate-peer-center"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/american-research-associate-peer-center\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Famerican-research-associate-peer-center"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":1715673}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"american.edu","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":1715673},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}