The position will be primarily on-site. The individual is expected to reside in the First District.
Position: Research Associate 2027
Location: Boston, MA
Apply here by September 30th, 2026
The Research Associate (RA) program at the Boston Fed is a two-year program designed for recent college graduates with a background in economics, math, statistics, or related fields. RAs work with economists on a variety of research projects and provide support for ongoing analysis of the New England, U.S., and global economies and monetary policy, as well as bank regulation, the payments system and financial markets.
Positions are available in our Research Department that start in June 2027. The Research Department provides current economic analysis and policy advice to Federal Reserve decision makers and conducts innovative research with the aim of improving our understanding of the regional, U.S. and global economies and encouraging better policy outcomes.
If you are interested in gaining meaningful work experience, expanding your career options, and serving the public, we encourage you to apply for our Research Associate Program.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until all positions are filled. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure to include all requested information including 2 letters of recommendation.
- Review, organize, and analyze economic and financial data.
- Write programs using statistical software such as Stata, MATLAB, R, SAS or Python.
- Conduct literature reviews, perform thorough data analysis, and prepare written summaries of results for economists.
- Prepare charts and tables using spreadsheet and data visualization software packages.
- Conduct economic research for policy memos and for articles intended for publication by The Boston Fed, academic journals, and business periodicals.
- Design programs to clean data, perform statistical tests, and run regressions. Update and maintain data series regularly used by economists.
- Proofread, edit, and fact-check articles and papers.
- A bachelor’s degree in economics, math, statistics, computer science, international relations, or related field with concentration in economics.
- Strong analytical, communications, and organization skills.
- Familiarity with programming languages and statistical software packages such as Stata, Python, Matlab, R, and knowledge of statistics and econometrics.
- Prior research or classroom experience analyzing data.
- Research Associate positions require U.S. citizenship.
- Applications must include the following to be considered:
- Cover letter: Cover letters should be addressed to Jeffrey Kelley, Recruiting Manager. It should include your statement of interest in the position, including how a research associate position at the Fed is relevant to your career aspirations, as well as particular qualities or skills that make you a good candidate.
- Résumé: Résumés should include all education information, including institutions attended and areas of concentration, overall undergraduate GPA as well as GPA in your major, graduate GPA (if applicable), computer skills, and relevant work experience.
- Writing sample. Your writing sample should be 3-5 pages, preferably on an economic topic and should include technical content. Writing samples might include papers from undergraduate economics classes or a thesis. Excerpts from longer pieces are acceptable.
- Transcript: We accept unofficial transcripts from each college or university attended as part of your application. If you become a finalist for a position, we will ask that you submit an official transcript.
- Recommendation Letters. Two letters of recommendation are required, one from an economics professor. Letters should be emailed to Sonia Pierre at [email protected]. Please request that they include your name in the subject line of the email.
Apply here by September 30th, 2026
The salary for this position is $78,000. The Boston Fed believes in salary transparency. The final salary and offer will be determined by the applicant’s background, skills, internal equity, and alignment with market data. Whether you’re developing into the job or are a more seasoned candidate, we aim to pay competitively.
The Federal Reserve Bank is committed to a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace and to provide equal employment opportunities to all persons without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, genetic information, disability, or military service.
All employees assigned to this position will be subject to FBI fingerprint/ criminal background and Patriot Act/ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) watch list checks at least once every five years.
For this job, any offer of employment is contingent upon successfully passing a two-phase security screening. The first phase consists of the satisfactory completion of a physical examination (including a drug screening), reference checks, and a security investigation consisting of credit and criminal history checks.
The second phase, which might not be complete until after you begin working at the Reserve Bank, is an additional risk-based security screening determined by the risk rating of the position. Depending upon the sensitivity of the position, this phase may include, and is not limited to, work and residency eligibility verification, and personal interviews with the candidate, references, and prior employers. All candidates must undergo an enhanced background check and comply with all applicable information handling rules.
All applicants must have resided in the United States for at least three (3) years.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work required of this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities or skills associated with this position or the personnel so classified. While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of this position, management reserves the right to revise this or any job description at its discretion at any time.
As a condition of employment, all Federal Reserve Bank of Boston employees must comply with the Bank's ethics rules, which generally prohibit employees, their spouses/domestic partners, and minor children from owning financial interests – such as stocks or bonds – from banks, savings associations, and systemically important financial institutions or their affiliates, such as bank holding companies or savings and loan holding companies. If you, your spouse or domestic partner, or your minor child own such assets and would be unwilling or unable to divest them if you were to accept a job offer, you should raise this issue with our recruitment team. Applicants should review the Bank's Employee Code of Conduct to ensure compliance with conflict of interest rules and personal investment restrictions.
Full Time / Part TimeFull timeRegular / TemporaryRegularJob Exempt (Yes / No)YesJob CategoryEconomics/Research Family GroupWork ShiftFirst (United States of America)The Federal Reserve Banks are committed to equal employment opportunity for employees and job applicants in compliance with applicable law and to an environment where employees are valued for their differences.
Always verify and apply to jobs on Federal Reserve System Careers (https://rb.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/FRS) or through verified Federal Reserve Bank social media channels.
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Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in economics, mathematics, statistics, computer science, international relations, or a related field with an economics concentration
- Strong analytical, communication, and organizational skills
- Familiarity with statistical programming languages and software such as Stata, Python, MATLAB, or R
- Knowledge of statistics and econometrics
- Prior research or classroom experience analyzing data
- U.S. citizenship
- Residence in the United States for at least three years
- Two letters of recommendation, including one from an economics professor
- Three- to five-page writing sample with technical content
- Successful completion of enhanced background, security, physical, drug, credit, criminal history, and reference checks
What We Do
This page is dedicated to Federal Reserve System career and employment related information only. Comments not pertaining to Fed recruiting will be removed. The Fed - Make a world of difference in the global economy OUR BANK has one of the most recognizable brands around the world. The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States—one of the world's most influential, trusted and prestigious financial organizations. The Federal Reserve is charged with the important mission of promoting a strong economy and a stable financial system and fulfills this responsibility by formulating national monetary policy, supervising and regulating banks and bank holding companies, and providing financial services for banks and the U.S. government. OUR PEOPLE are diverse in background and ideas, which allows for ongoing creativity and innovation. Ultimately, they are the ones who push our high-performance, exchange-driven culture forward. Why Our People Choose Us: Our reputation precedes us There will always be room for personal growth Our people are first You’ll find the right balance Your responsibilities will be meaningful We hope that you will be our future colleague. Find your preferred locations around the United States and explore the breadth of opportunity available at the Federal Reserve. Atlanta https://www.frbatlanta.org/ Boston http://www.bostonfed.org/ Chicago https://www.chicagofed.org/ Cleveland https://www.clevelandfed.org/ Dallas http://dallasfed.org/ Kansas City https://www.kansascityfed.org/ Minneapolis https://www.minneapolisfed.org/ New York http://www.newyorkfed.org/ Philadelphia https://www.philadelphiafed.org/ Richmond https://www.richmondfed.org/ San Francisco http://www.frbsf.org/ St. Louis https://www.stlouisfed.org/ Board http://www.federalreserve.gov/
