Jobs / United States / Harvard University

Harvard University

Predoctoral Research Associate (Summer 2027)

Boston, MA, US Posted 17 days ago

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Sponsorship verdict

Sponsorship possible

One solid signal, not two. Worth applying, and worth asking about sponsorship early.

  • Employer is on a government sponsor recordThe US Department of Labor certified 123 H-1B/E-3 labor condition applications for this employer between Oct 2025 and Jun 2026 (latest Jun 2026) — the step every H-1B hire needs first.
  • The posting doesn’t mention sponsorshipSilence isn’t a refusal — ask the recruiter before investing much time.
  • No salary bar for this routeH-1B has no fixed salary bar: the employer must pay at least the prevailing wage for the role and area.
  • What Harvard University paid sponsored hires in similar roles10 certified filings for “Research Associate” (Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary) in MA: $74k–$101k, median $91k.
  • Confirmed live todayWhen a source last listed this job as open.
Details and sources
Employer is on a government sponsor record
The US Department of Labor certified 123 H-1B/E-3 labor condition applications for this employer between Oct 2025 and Jun 2026 (latest Jun 2026) — the step every H-1B hire needs first. Source: LCA disclosure data (US Department of Labor (OFLC)).
No salary bar for this route
H-1B has no fixed salary bar: the employer must pay at least the prevailing wage for the role and area. Cap-subject employers enter a lottery weighted by wage level. Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/29/2025-23853/weighted-selection-process-for-registrants-and-petitioners-seeking-to-file-cap-subject-h-1b, rules effective 2026-02-27.
What Harvard University paid sponsored hires in similar roles
10 certified filings for “Research Associate” (Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary) in MA: $74k–$101k, median $91k. Most were filed at wage level II (50%) — 2 lottery entries, ≈31% projected selection odds for cap-subject employers. Source: US Department of Labor LCA disclosure data (Oct 2025 – Jun 2026).

US H-1B: cap-subject employers enter a lottery weighted by wage level — Level I gets 1 entry, Level IV gets 4 (DHS projected selection odds ≈15% at Level I to ≈61% at Level IV). Universities and non-profit research employers are cap-exempt. The $100,000 fee for new petitions from abroad is currently blocked by a court order (appeal pending).

A verdict summarises public evidence. It is not legal advice and never a guarantee: the employer and the immigration authority decide. Sign in to factor in where you can already work.

About the role

Harvard Business School (HBS) is seeking multiple Predoctoral Research Associates starting in Summer 2027 to support an assigned faculty member in one of the following academic units.  • Accounting & Management • Business, Government and the International Economy • Entrepreneurial Management • Finance • General Management • Marketing • Negotiation Organizations & Markets • Organizational Behavior  • Strategy  • Technology and Operations Management Research subjects can include but are not limited to: labor economics, marketing economics, private equity / venture capital disclosures and taxation, decision making and gender stereotypes in shaping beliefs, industrial organization and the market design of digital platforms, media economics and economics of digital platforms, emerging financial technologies and alternative data, political economy and empirical corporate finance, R&D strategy and the economics of innovation, entrepreneurial management, corporate social responsibilities focused on climate change and gender diversity, asset pricing shaping politics and markets, specialized knowledge commercialization and micro-geographic environments shaping innovation, behavioral economics, intergroup inequity, and tech strategy.  Please note the faculty currently hiring include:  • Ray Kluender :  Professor Kluender researches analyzes the determinants of financial well-being and the nature of financial distress, traces the frontier of how entrepreneurship and technology can solve social problems, and identifies market failures and the implications for appropriate corrective policies. Current projects involve partnerships with large-scale financial technology companies and employ a wide range of empirical approaches. His predoc researcher will get hands-on experience with every stage of the research project from conception through publication and will develop a wide range of empirical skills to prepare them for PhD programs. A two-year commitment is expected. Professor Kluender's three prior predocs are currently pursuing PhDs at Princeton, Berkeley, and Harvard.  • Maren Hoff • Zoe Cullen : Professor Cullen is a labor economist whose research examines how information, technology, and firm behavior shape the well-being of workers and society. Her current projects study how artificial intelligence is reshaping the value of human expertise and the distribution of wages across workers and firms, as well as contemporaneous forces determining worker bargaining power. These projects involve large-scale field experiments and partnerships with technology and payroll companies, drawing on administrative data and a wide range of empirical methods. Her predoc researcher will get hands-on experience with every stage of the research process, from designing experiments through analysis and publication, and will build the empirical and institutional skills needed for a top PhD program. Professor Cullen's prior predocs are currently pursuing PhDs at MIT, Princeton, Chicago, and Yale. Overview:  The Predoctoral Research Associate position reports directly to faculty supervisors and administrative manager in the Research Staff Services office.  Ideal candidates will be comfortable in an environment that requires a high level of independence, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to use discretionary judgment.   Primary duties: • Work under the general direction of HBS faculty on topics central to HBS research agenda.  Provide subject-area knowledge, analysis and interpretation to faculty member.  Identify and explore a wide-range of questions related to faculty’s research agenda. • Write cases, case supplements, project reports, and policy memos from start to finish creating original writing based on subject-area expertise, research, a

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