Economist, Macro & Economic Insights

We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Seattle, Washington D.C., Raleigh, London, and Amsterdam. The Economics Team uses economic research and data science to deepen our understanding of economic, credit, and financial trends. We combine rigorous empirical analysis with clear communication to inform decisions across and beyond Plaid. You will conduct applied economic research, develop reliable analytical methods, and turn complex findings into clear, useful insights. Working with economists and data scientists, you will own research projects from question framing and data preparation through validation and written communication. This is a hands-on role for an economist who enjoys working with large datasets, exercising sound judgment, and explaining evidence and limitations to a range of audiences. You will have opportunities to develop a research specialty and take on broader ownership as the team grows. We're guided by our principles including impact, growing together, embracing openness and positivity, and inventing tomorrow; we're looking for leaders who are motivated by those same principles Responsibilities - Investigating economic questions and trends through rigorous empirical research, from framing the question through analysis, validation, and communication - Working with large, complex datasets to develop reliable measures and reproducible analytical workflows - Evaluating findings against established research and public benchmarks, assessing data quality and representativeness, and clearly communicating uncertainty and limitations - Applying econometric and time-series methods to test hypotheses, assess robustness, and distinguish meaningful patterns from noise - Writing clear research briefs and presenting findings to technical and nontechnical audiences; partnering with colleagues across research, data science, and the business to identify useful questions and inform decisions Qualifications - PhD in economics or a related empirical field, or a Master's plus 4+ years of relevant applied experience, with strong empirical training. Exceptional candidates completing their PhD in 2027 are welcome; relevant research includes applied macroeconomics, household or behavioral finance, fintech, and financial regulation - Proficiency in Python and SQL, with experience independently analyzing large, complex datasets and building reproducible analytical workflows - Strong econometric and time-series modeling skills, with experience applying these methods to economic questions and assessing robustness - Excellent writing for non-academic audiences, demonstrated through policy memos, market commentary, or research briefs. You can explain and defend your methods, findings, and limitations to technical and nontechnical audiences - Sound research judgment: you distinguish evidence from interpretation, communicate uncertainty, and scope claims to what the data supports - Nice to have: experience conducting applied economic research in fintech, finance, a research institute, or a public-sector organizati