Postdoctoral Fellow, HBS AI Institute - Climate and Sustainability Impact Lab

Details

Title Postdoctoral Fellow, HBS AI Institute - Climate and Sustainability Impact Lab

School Harvard Business School

Department/Area

Position Description

The Harvard Business School AI Institute is accepting applications for postdoctoral fellows for academic year 2027-2028 to work on research activities at our research labs. The AI Institute conducts research at the intersection of academia and practice, and is looking for candidates with diverse backgrounds and/or new perspectives. There are no teaching requirements for these open positions.

The Climate and Sustainability Impact Lab at the HBS AI Institute (https://aiinstitute.hbs.edu/labs/climate-and-sustainability-impact-lab/) , co-led by Professors George Serafeim, Michael Toffel, and Peter Tufano, is looking for a postdoctoral fellow with demonstrated research interests at the intersection of business and climate/sustainability. The mission of this Lab is to advance our understanding of how digital transformation and the use of artificial intelligence in management and governance practices deliver measurable financial, environmental, and social impacts. The Lab is especially interested in postdoc applicants interested in: (a) climate finance, including how climate-induced risks might be shared between insurers, governments, and households; how new products and structures might enable incremental funding and risk bearing; and how regulation, incentives and governance affect the provision of climate finance including insurance and funding for prevention activities; or (b) voluntary corporate climate targets, the voluntary carbon market, and/or corporate efforts to increase adaptation/resilience in their operations and supply chain.

The Postdoctoral Fellow reports directly to faculty in the Climate and Sustainability Impact Lab and an administrative manager in the Research Staff Services office.

Candidates should have some familiarity with some or all of the following:

• Causal analysis and experimental design: difference-in-differences and fixed effects models, instrumental variables, treatment selection, power analysis, analysis of attrition and non-compliance, analysis of heterogenous effects and interference, survey design;

• Programming/scripting knowledge suitable for processing raw data for analysis (e.g., text manipulation);

• One or more computational environments for statistical analysis (e.g., Stata, R);

• Creating and managing large datasets;

• Machine learning and AI skills.

Basic Qualifications

• A Ph.D. in any business discipline (especially finance, strategy, operations, or management) or economics. All degree requirements must be satisfied prior to the fellowship start date.

• Demonstrated interests that relate to the topics described above.

• Strong team player with excellent communication skills.

• Ability to build trust and collaboration by being present on-site and engaging directly with colleagues and various constituents.

PLEASE NOTE : If you have obtained your Ph.D. in the past 12 months you must be able to provide a certificate of completion from the degree-granting institution OR a letter from the institution’s Registrar stating all requirements for the degree have been successfully completed and should verify the date the degree has been conferred. No exceptions.

Additional Qualifications

Special Instructions

Application Details:

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Please apply via the ARIeS system. Please do not contact lab faculty.

All applications should include the following:

• Curriculum vitae

• Copy of academic records (unofficial records are acceptable)

• 2-page research statement

• Two research papers

• Contact details of at least two references

Candidates may be asked to do an interview and present their research as part of the search process.

Additional Information:

This is a term position starting July 2027 and ending on June 30, 2028, with potential for re-appointment for a second year based on mutual interest, performance, and funding. Relocation funding will not be provided.

This role is offered as a hybrid (some combination of onsite and remote) where you are required to be onsite at our Boston, MA based campus. Specific days and schedule will be determined between you and the lab PIs.

Contact Information

Harvard Business School

Soldiers Field Road

Boston, MA 02163

Contact Email [email protected]

Salary Range

$75,000 annually

Minimum Number of References Required 2

Maximum Number of References Allowed 4

Keywords

EEO/Non-Discrimination Commitment Statement

Harvard University is committed to equal opportunity and non-discrimination. We seek talent from all parts of society and the world, and we strive to ensure everyone at Harvard thrives. Our differences help our community advance Harvard’s academic purposes.

Harvard has an equal employment opportunity (https://pa-hrsuite-production.s3.amazonaws.com/606/docs/1678254.pdf) policy that outlines our commitment to prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, religion, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law or identified in the university’s non-discrimination policy (https://pa-hrsuite-production.s3.amazonaws.com/606/docs/1674140.pdf) . Harvard’s equal employment opportunity policy and non-discrimination policy help all community members participate fully in work and campus life free from harassment and discrimination.

Supplemental Questions