Macro Economist: Data-Driven Financial Insights

Plaid; California; On-site; USD 191,000 - 263,000; Full time

Job summary

Plaid is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to improving financial tools and services. The Economics Team conducts empirical research to inform decisions across Plaid and partner organizations.

You will conduct applied economic research, work with large datasets, and communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences. This is a hands-on role with growth opportunities as the team expands.

Qualifications

• PhD in economics or related empirical field, or Master’s plus 4+ years of applied experience.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL, with experience analyzing large datasets and reproducible workflows.
• Strong econometric and time-series modeling skills; assess robustness.
• Excellent writing for non-academic audiences.

Responsibilities

• Investigating economic questions and trends through rigorous empirical research, from framing the question through analysis, validation, and communication
• Working with large, complex datasets to develop reliable measures and reproducible analytical workflows
• Evaluating findings against established research and public benchmarks, assessing data quality and representativeness, and clearly communicating uncertainty and limitations
• Applying econometric and time-series methods to test hypotheses, assess robustness, and distinguish meaningful patterns from noise
• Writing clear research briefs and presenting findings to technical and nontechnical audiences; partnering with colleagues across research, data science, and the business to identify useful questions and inform decisions

Skills

Python

SQL

Econometrics

Time-series analysis

Technical writing

Research judgment

Education

PhD in economics or related empirical field

Master’s + 4+ years of applied experience

Job description

Plaid is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to improving financial tools and services. The Economics Team conducts empirical research to inform decisions across Plaid and partner organizations.

You will conduct applied economic research, work with large datasets, and communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences. This is a hands-on role with growth opportunities as the team expands.