Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Economics in Oxford

Join us at EIT: At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we translate scientific discovery into real-world impact by bringing together scientists, technologists, policy makers, and entrepreneurs to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges in four transformative areas: Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology; Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture; Climate Change & Managing CO₂; Artificial Intelligence & Robotics. Economics at EIT is recruiting for two outstanding, full-time Postdoctoral Research Fellows to focus on the economic implications of AI and Robotics, under the leadership of Professor Andrew J. Scott. Successful candidates will work on a high-profile project and pursue frontier research.

This is a rare opportunity to conduct rigorous economic research on AI and Robotics alongside researchers and engineers building and using them. EIT houses frontier teams across multiple disciplines and collaborates with a world-class AI and Robotics team to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges. The cross-disciplinary platform informs original research of the highest quality with real-world impact. Positions are full-time and of one-year duration, potentially renewable for further terms, subject to performance.

Your Role

Role summary: Research will combine a broad-based focus on the economic and social implications of AI and Robotics with focused deep dives on particular issues. You will interact closely with leading academics, practitioners and policy experts and be expected to take the lead on driving research forward and coordinating with research assistants / predoctoral research fellows. Expected outputs include academic research papers as well as wider forms of output reaching broader public and policy audiences.

Environment: The environment is high performing with an emphasis on delivering output while building knowledge.

Potential Research topics

• What are the implications of AI and robotics for economic growth and what are the main mechanisms and constraints?
• How will AI and Robotics change the rate and direction of innovation and how will knowledge and human capital change?
• What are the implications for employment, labour markets, inequality and social security?
• How will AI and Robotics impact organizational structure and the nature of work and what are the implications for firms and human capital?
• How will the AI transition impact different sectors, countries and groups and what policy responses are needed?
• Will AI and Robotics lead to abundance and what implications does this have for society and humanity?
• How will AI and robotics interact with demographic changes and what are the implications for public finances?

Requirements

• A PhD (or due to complete in 2026) in Economics, or a related discipline.
• A strong background in AI and Robotics and their economic consequences is an advantage.
• Evidence of intellectual excellence and the ability to work independently.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and deal with a broad range of interested groups.
• A very strong technical skillset: theoretical modelling, econometric application, causal inference, experience with large datasets, Git, Python, etc.
• Evidence of broad intellectual interests and flexibility in tackling research problems and an interest in the broader implications of research.
• The ability to coordinate junior researchers and data work.
• A creative approach to problem-solving and the ability to project manage.
• Working across broad scientific missions to identify and solve different economics problems.

We expect the Postdoctoral Research Fellow to pursue independent high-quality research, working closely with senior colleagues in the EIT Economics Department, while fostering collaboration and opportunity for applied economics research across the wider EIT Programmes. Whilst a premium is placed on candidates with existing expertise relevant to this project, we also welcome applications from candidates with a strong motivation to pursue this agenda with evidence of strong economic thinking and technical skills that can be applied to specific research projects and more broadly.

Benefits & Application

Benefits: This section outlines benefits typically associated with the role.

Application requirements: Applications are open to candidates from the UK and abroad. Any offer of employment is subject to the eligibility to work in the UK.

Required application materials:

• Two letters of reference
• CV
• Job Market Paper
• Cover letter

Role duration: One-year appointment, renewable annually.