Postdoctoral Researcher

Postdoctoral Researcher

The Strong Communities Lab in the Department of Sociology and the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin has an opening for a post-doctoral researcher with a start date between January 2027 and June 2027.

The Strong Communities Lab investigates the role of nonprofit organizations and government programs in strengthening civic infrastructure in the United States. Projects undertaken by the Lab are typically multi-method, use novel administrative data, and involve computational social science methods. The postdoctoral researcher will collaborate on multiple research projects related to nonprofits, civil society, and strong communities, and work under the supervision of Director Pamela Paxton. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, acquiring and cleaning data, linking databases, producing visualizations and statistical/computational analysis, and writing up and presenting results to both academic and policy audiences. The postdoctoral researcher will participate in lab management, including coordinating lab research, monitoring research progression and publication, and attending and contributing to lab meetings. The successful candidate will also play a role in mentoring graduate research assistants on the project. We offer professional development opportunities, including through the postdoctoral training program at the Population Research Center, and the postdoctoral researcher will have the opportunity to co-author publications with the PI and team and use lab data for future research.

This position is currently funded for one year from start date.

The university offers an impressive benefits package. For more details on benefits, please see: and

Purpose The postdoctoral researcher support the Strong Communities Lab by conducting high-quality research, helping manage the Lab, and mentoring graduate research assistants. The candidate will work closely with the Lab Director, Pamela Paxton, and will have the opportunity to co-author publications and use Lab data for future research. Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2026 and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants must have completed the PhD education requirement prior to the start of the position.

Responsibilities

• Project research involving quantitative data tasks including data collection, extraction, coding, and analysis
• Publish manuscript and articles based on analyses
• Oversee lab management and graduate research assistants
• Provide mentoring to graduate students interested in research field.

Required Qualifications

• A PhD in sociology, nonprofit administration, political science, or related disciplines, received no more than three years prior to the start date.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to work in a team environment, participate actively, and motivate others.
• Excellent time management skills and ability to work independently.
• Experience managing and analyzing quantitative data using sophisticated statistical or computer programming techniques, proficiency in R or Stata, and ability to apply rigorous data analysis techniques to real-world problems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency with natural language processing and computational social science.
• Previous experience with managing large datasets.
• A background in nonprofit scholarship.

Salary Range

• $70,000+, depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

• Typical Office/Lab Environment

Required Materials

• Cover letter / letter of interest
• CV that includes the names and contact information for 3 references
• Research statement
• Writing sample