Research Economist, Economic Research San Francisco, CA

Anthropic; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 300,000 - 405,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Flexible working hours

Generous vacation and parental leave

Collaborative office environment

Job summary

Anthropic is searching for an Economist to analyze AI's impacts on the economy. You will contribute to the Anthropic Economic Index by developing methodologies and conducting empirical research on labor and economic impacts.

Ideal candidates hold a PhD in Economics and have a strong track record in empirical research and data analysis. The position offers an annual salary between $300,000 and $405,000 USD and allows for hybrid work arrangements.

Qualifications

• PhD in Economics required.
• Strong background in empirical research and economic theory.
• Technical expertise in data analysis tools.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the Anthropic Economic Index's development.
• Conduct research on AI's economic effects.
• Develop causal-inference tools to evaluate economic consequences.

Skills

Empirical research

Data analysis

Causal inference

Machine learning

Policy communications

Education

PhD in Economics

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Python

R

SQL

Job description

Anthropic’s mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. We want AI to be safe and beneficial for our users and for society as a whole. Our team is a quickly growing group of committed researchers, engineers, policy experts, and business leaders working together to build beneficial AI systems.

About the Role

As an Economist at Anthropic, you will work to measure and understand AI's effects on the global economy. You will make fundamental contributions to the development of the Anthropic Economic Index, establishing new methodologies to measure the usage, diffusion, and impact of AI throughout the economy using privacy-preserving tools and novel data sources. You will use frontier methods in econometrics, machine learning, and structural estimation. Such rigour will drive impact, shaping both policy discussions externally and informing Anthropic’s internal business and product decisions.

Responsibilities

• Make fundamental contributions to the development and expansion of the Anthropic Economic Index, including quarterly reports and industry-specific deep dives
• Design and conduct empirical research on AI's economic effects, drawing on external data sources and the privacy-preserving measurement systems internally
• Develop new methodological approaches for studying AI's impact on:
  • Labor markets and the future of work
  • Productivity and task transformation
  • Economic inequality and displacement
  • Industry-specific disruption and adaptation
  • Aggregate economic trajectories (GDP, productivity, unemployment) under varying AI‑adoption scenarios
• Develop causal‑inference tooling — e.g. surrogate indexes, heterogeneous‑effect pipelines — to help Anthropic evaluate the downstream economic consequences of its own compute, product, and pricing decisions
• Build and maintain relationships with academic institutions, policy think tanks, and other research partners
• Work cross-functionally with other technical teams to improve our measurement infrastructure and data collection
• Translate research insights into actionable recommendations for both product decisions and policy discussions
• Amplify external engagement through research publications, policy briefs, and presentations to diverse stakeholders

You May Be a Good Fit If You Have

• PhD in Economics
• Strong track record of empirical research, particularly studies combining novel data sources and economic theory or those implementing frontier methods in causal inference and machine learning
• Experience relevant to the study of AI’s impact on the economy, including:
  • Labor market analysis and occupational change
  • Task-based approaches to technological transformation
  • Large-scale data analysis and econometric methods
  • Large language models for social science research
  • Policy‑relevant economic research
  • Experimental and quasi-experimental methods for causal inference
  • Macroeconomic modeling and time series forecasting
  • Agent-based modeling or large-scale simulation
• Technical skills including:
  • Proficiency in Python, R, SQL, or similar tools for large-scale data analysis
  • Experience working with novel datasets and measurement systems
  • Comfort learning new technical tools and frameworks
• Demonstrated ability to:
  • Lead complex research projects from conception to publication
  • Communicate technical findings to diverse audiences
  • Build relationships across academic, policy, and industry communities
• Strong interest in ensuring AI development benefits humanity
• Comfort working with AI systems and ability to think critically about their capabilities and limitations

For this role, we're looking for candidates who can combine rigorous economic analysis with novel measurement approaches to understand AI's transformative effects on the economy. The ideal candidate will be comfortable working at the intersection of empirical economics, technological change, and policy impact.

Application Question

Please provide a writing sample, preferably a job‑market paper or other article that showcases your research and technical expertise.

Compensation

The annual compensation range for this role is $300,000 - $405,000 USD.

Logistics

• Minimum education: Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education, training, and/or experience
• Required field of study: A field relevant to the role as demonstrated through coursework, training, or professional experience
• Minimum years of experience: Years of experience required will correlate with the internal job level requirements for the position
• Location-based hybrid policy: Currently, we expect all staff to be in one of our offices at least 25% of the time. However, some roles may require more time in our offices.
• Visa sponsorship: We sponsor visas and will make every reasonable effort to obtain a visa if an offer is made.

Benefits

Anthropic offers competitive compensation and benefits, optional equity donation matching, generous vacation and parental leave, flexible working hours, and a collaborative office environment.

As set forth in Anthropic’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.