Research Assistant, Survey Center on American Life

American Enterprise Institute; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 50,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical & dental

HSA

FSA

403(b) retirement

Tuition assistance

Life and disability insurance

Job summary

The American Enterprise Institute seeks a full-time, in-person research assistant to work on polling, demographic trends, and American politics for AEI’s Survey Center on American Life.

The role includes research, writing, and editing for reports, newsletters, op-eds, and media appearances, plus managing the Center’s online presence and social media. Start date anticipated for fall 2026.

Qualifications

• BA/BS in political science, sociology, statistics, or related field.
• 0–2 years of relevant full-time work experience.
• Strong writing, editing, and quantitative analysis skills.
• Experience with data analytics and social policy interest.

Responsibilities

• Assist with research, writing, and editing for reports, newsletters, articles, op-eds, and media appearances.
• Manage the Survey Center’s online presence and social media engagement.
• Create charts and graphics from survey data using Flourish.
• Coordinate media requests and develop talking points.
• Plan and execute conferences and events.
• Provide number checking and fact-checking of published materials.
• Support editing and contribution to newsletters.

Skills

Writing/editing/research

Stata experience

R experience

Microsoft Office

Education

BA/BS in political science, sociology, statistics or related field

Tools

Stata

R

Excel

WordPress

Job description

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) seeks a full-time, in-person research assistant to work on polling, demographic trends, and American politics for AEI’s Survey Center on American Life, directed by Senior Fellow Daniel A. Cox. The anticipated start date for this position is fall 2026.

Responsibilities for this position include assisting with research, writing, and editing for reports, newsletters, articles, op-eds, and media appearances. The person in this position will also help manage the Survey Center’s online presence. This includes posting on social media, tracking online engagement and metrics, administering website properties, creating charts and graphics from survey data, and monitoring media impact. The research assistant will also be responsible for number checking and fact-checking all the Survey Center’s published materials, including Dr. Cox’s bimonthly newsletter. Additional responsibilities include using statistical software programs to clean, manipulate, and analyze data. Finally, this research assistant is responsible for helping plan and execute conferences and events. Duties include long-term projects and administrative support.

Desired qualifications for this position include excellent organizational and writing skills, social media account management experience, attention to detail, and a demonstrated interest in social policy, demographic trends, social capital, American governmental institutions, and social mobility. Prior experience with data analytics is a plus. Knowledge of current events, politics, and cultural and economic news is also important.

Responsibilities

• Research (60 Percent)
  • Assist with designing and developing survey questionnaires.
  • Coordinate number checking and fact‑checking for research products and published work.
  • Analyze and clean survey data, create banners and toplines, and support Dr. Cox’s data and research requests.
  • Help coordinate and respond to media requests; assist in developing talking points for media interviews and television appearances.
  • Assist in developing graphics for research reports, blog posts, newsletters, and presentations using Flourish.
  • Provide research and editorial assistance.
  • Coordinate research projects.
• Communications (30 Percent)
  • Manage content on the Survey Center’s website, including by posting and formatting new reports, blog posts, and op-ed using WordPress.
  • Work with the communications assistant to identify content to promote on social media channels.
  • Track and analyze metrics to quantify the performance of the Survey Center’s website, social media presence, and news media impact.
  • Use Flourish to create images and visuals to accompany all research reports, blog posts, and newsletters published on the Survey Center’s website.
• Administration (10 Percent)
  • Assist with public events and private meetings.
  • Manage Dr. Cox’s contacts database and calendar.
  • Oversee Dr. Cox’s content on AEI’s website.
  • Hire interns and manage their workloads throughout their internship term.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions at AEI

• The employee is expected to regularly stand, sit, talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer, telephone, and keyboard. This job requires close-up vision for computer work.
• The employee must be able to lift up to 30 pounds.
• The employee must be able to work in a confined area.
• Moderate noise (e.g., from computers, phones, printers, and light traffic) is expected.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential responsibilities associated with this position.

Qualifications

• A BA or BS in political science, sociology, statistics, or a related field at the start date is required.
• 0-2 years of previous applicable full-time work experience is required; previous internship or research experience is strongly preferred.
• • Candidates should have the following:
  • Professional writing, editing, research, and quantitative analysis experience (preferred)
  • A demonstrated interest in public-opinion research, demographic trends, political behavior, and current events
  • Experience in quantitative methods and research, including Stata (highly preferred), and R (a plus)
  • Excellent editing and proofreading skills
  • Experience in social media management, especially X (a plus)
  • Proficiency in performing administrative and logistical coordination tasks
  • Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work well with a variety of people and in fast-paced environments
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office

Benefits

• 18 days of paid leave (15 days of paid annual leave and three personal or floating holidays)
• 12 days of paid sick leave
• paid family leave
• medical and dental coverage, in addition to a health savings account
• a medical and dependent care flexible spending account
• a tuition assistance program of up to $5,200
• life and disability insurance at no cost to employees
• a 403(b) retirement plan with a contribution from AEI, among other benefits

For more information, you can see a full summary of our benefits at https://www.aei.org/jobs/benefits/.

Compensation is based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: scope and responsibilities of the position; a candidate's full-time, applicable work experience; key skills and qualifications; and internal and external market considerations. The salary range for this full-time, exempt position is $50,000 - $54,000.

Salary is just one component of AEI’s total compensation package for employees.