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Principal Economist - 1061 (Remote)

Lightcast· Corporate – Marketing
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RemoteFull-timePosted 3mo ago

About the role

The Principal Economist leads Lightcast’s research agenda at the intersection of higher education, labor market outcomes, skills, and the transition from education to work. This role is a credible researcher who translates data into insights for universities, policymakers, and industry, balancing academic rigor with practical impact.

Responsibilities

  • External Thought Leadership: Develop and execute groundbreaking thought leadership that advances Lightcast’s mission across global audiences, with an emphasis on education, skills, careers, and labor market outcomes.
  • External Thought Leadership: Lead creative, rigorous, and high-impact research and data analysis that supports Lightcast’s strategic goals and priorities.
  • External Thought Leadership: Translate Lightcast data into compelling messages, research publications, and broader communications and marketing campaigns.
  • External Thought Leadership: Serve as an external-facing labor market expert through media interviews, research papers, blog posts, social media, podcasts, and other public channels.
  • External Thought Leadership: Represent Lightcast at conferences, expert groups, advisory committees, and other influential forums.
  • External Thought Leadership: Build a visible personal brand in coordination with the Lightcast brand.
  • Research Agenda Ownership: Define and own Lightcast’s education, workforce, and future-of-work research agenda around higher education and education-to-work outcomes.
  • Research Agenda Ownership: Identify high-impact research questions and emerging trends that inform institutional strategy, workforce policy, and economic development.
  • Research Agenda Ownership: Establish a multi-year research roadmap focused on labor market change, talent pipelines, workforce development, skills evolution, and the impact of AI on learning and work.
  • Research Agenda Ownership: Lead cross-functional collaboration with product, data, and go-to-market teams to ensure research supports strategy, market positioning, and stakeholder engagement.
  • Research Agenda Ownership: Maintain rigorous methodological standards while balancing innovation, timeliness, and relevance.
  • Research Agenda Ownership: Leverage Lightcast’s labor market and skills data to generate actionable insights that improve alignment between education, workforce systems, employers, and labor market demand.
  • Ecosystem Influence and Partnerships: Build and strengthen relationships with universities, government agencies, think tanks, foundations, workforce organizations, and industry associations.
  • Ecosystem Influence and Partnerships: Establish Lightcast as a trusted partner within workforce, education, economic development, and policy ecosystems.
  • Ecosystem Influence and Partnerships: Develop strategic partnerships and collaborative research initiatives that expand Lightcast’s reach, credibility, and influence.
  • Ecosystem Influence and Partnerships: Advise policymakers, institutional leaders, and partner organizations on labor market trends and workforce strategy.
  • Ecosystem Influence and Partnerships: Participate in advisory councils, task forces, and expert networks that shape workforce, education, and economic policy.
  • Business Development: Create opportunities to engage prospective clients, partners, policymakers, and other stakeholders through thought leadership and executive-level conversations.
  • Business Development: Support business development through strategic presentations, executive briefings, proposals, and client-facing research.
  • Business Development: Advise go-to-market teams on complex customer opportunities, strategic relationships, and high-profile engagements.
  • Business Development: Generate and influence pipeline through research visibility, speaking engagements, executive networking, and ecosystem relationships.
  • Business Development: Lead or support opportunity strategy, solution framing, and stakeholder engagement for select high-value opportunities.

Qualifications

  • Advanced degree in economics, labor economics, public policy, workforce development, education, or a related field preferred.
  • Significant experience leading research related to higher education, education-to-work transitions, graduate outcomes, the economic value of education, skills, career pathways, or the relationship between education and labor market demand.
  • Experience with a university, institutional research organization, university-based research center, academic research institution, or higher-education policy organization strongly preferred.
  • Demonstrated track record of publishing influential research and translating complex data into clear, actionable insights.
  • Strong relationships across government, education, workforce, research, policy, or economic development ecosystems.
  • Experience advising policymakers, institutional leaders, executives, or partner organizations.
  • Proven ability to develop strategic partnerships and collaborative research initiatives across sectors.
  • Experience supporting business development, executive engagement, client strategy, or commercially relevant research preferred.
  • Background in a leading research institution, university, think tank, government agency, workforce organization, economic mobility organization, or labor market data organization strongly preferred.
  • Experience as a current or former fellow, scholar, senior researcher, policy leader, or practitioner focused on workforce development, labor economics, skills, education, or future-of-work issues preferred.
  • Former White House, federal agency, state workforce policy, or similar public-sector leadership experience is highly valued.
  • Strong written, verbal, presentation, executive communication, and stakeholder management skills.
  • Ability to balance methodological rigor, public influence, relationship building, and commercial impact.
  • Ability to travel approximately once per month, with additional travel for major research launches, speaking engagements, and strategic initiatives.
  • Preference for candidates located in or near Washington, DC, due to the role’s policy, government, and ecosystem engagement responsibilities.

Skills

Required:EconomicsResearch Design and MethodologyPublic Policy and Stakeholder Engagement
Last updated Oct 23, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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About Lightcast

The Standard for Labor Market Intelligence

Lightcast empowers smarter decisions for businesses, education institutions, and governments worldwide. With the world’s most comprehensive database—spanning over 2.5 billion job postings, 800 million career profiles, and 100+ government sources—Lightcast delivers unparalleled insight across 160+ countries. Lightcast is the universal standard in labor market intelligence. A global leader in data, it powers smarter decisions for organizations worldwide.

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