Director, Research Support

The Director of Research Support develops and enhances WRDS analytics, research tools, applications, and data products for academic and corporate users. The role provides research consultation, technical support, training, and guidance on empirical methods; evaluates new datasets; and monitors developments in finance and accounting research to improve WRDS offerings and research productivity.

• Provide to the WRDS Academic Research Community and Corporate Clients high-quality Analytics, Research Programs, Applications, Financial engines, and related research tools to improve their research productivity.
• Provide support to faculty and PhD users by offering consultative guidance on empirical research best practices, troubleshooting data and tool issues that may affect research results, and conducting site visits and training sessions to promote the effective use of WRDS for academic research.
• Track the evolution of top academic research in finance and accounting to help WRDS create its own signature research products and provide new data sources to the research community.
• Construct and enhance existing data-research products by refining analytics, research tools, and applications using WRDS data to improve data usability, research accuracy, and efficiency.
• Evaluate and recommend new datasets based on their potential to advance new research and enhance WRDS data offerings.
• Perform additional duties as assigned

Ph.D. (or foreign equivalent) in Finance or Accounting. The requirement of a Ph.D., usual for faculty recruiting, means that an applicant must have received the degree or be at least “ABD,” meaning all requirements for the degree except the dissertation have been completed, with an understanding that the dissertation would be completed in the same academic year.

Must have 1 year of post-bachelor's experience (may be gained pre-Ph.D. degree), in the following:

• Providing high-quality research programs, analytics, applications, research replications, and related research tools.
• Constructing and enhancing data-research products by evaluating research datasets focused on new research and providing new data sources to the research community.
• Performing academic research through the WRDS system on finance or accounting using Python and/or SAS programming skills in big data environments and Textual Analysis using Machine Learning, LLM, and AI;
• Performing empirical academic research with CRSP, Compustat, IBES, and/or Household-Finance datasets.

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Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) is a comprehensive research platform operated by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania that provides research tools and access to a wide range of financial, economic, and business research datasets. It is widely used by academic institutions, researchers, and professionals for data analysis, empirical research, and financial modeling.