Principal Economist, AWS Economic Development

Come build a future with AWS Economic Development Research & Analysis Team.

Every year, AWS invests billions of dollars around the world in cloud computing infrastructure, data centers, and education for cloud‑skilled professions. These investments shape the growth of economies and our global and local ability to meet the demands of the digital revolution. If you're ready to be a key part of the AI/ML revolution, join us and see what it is like to transform tech infrastructure first‑hand.

The AWS Economic Development Research & Analysis (R&A) Team crafts global, data‑driven narratives spanning three strategic categories:

• Core Research – Economic Impact Studies measuring GDP and job contributions; 15‑year Investment Forecasts tied to specific build plans;
  Fiscal Impact Analyses quantifying tax revenues; and Labor Demand Analyses enabling workforce partnerships.
• Specialized Research – Energy, water, fiber, and other infrastructure‑adjacent areas.
• Hyper‑Local Intelligence – Granular socioeconomic analyses enabling community‑level storytelling.

Amazon is seeking a high‑judgment, agile, data‑driven, and highly motivated Principal Economist to join this lean, high‑impact team. You will lead the development of public‑facing research that tells compelling narratives around AWS's economic impact through AI/ML infrastructure, while supporting original research on the downstream effects of cloud computing and AI adoption—including hyper‑localized analyses and energy‑related research.

In this role, you’ll be both a poet and an engineer: rigorous in quantitative methods, fluent in economic storytelling, and experienced with financial and/or accounting datasets.

• Own end‑to‑end development of public‑facing studies on a global scale and provide economic, fiscal, labor, and market research to support infrastructure expansion and planning.
• Establish and maintain operating and business metrics to evaluate economic, social, and environmental impact across regions.
• Drive analytical excellence, analyzing and extracting insights from both structured and unstructured data to optimize and scale key research processes, including leveraging AI‑powered tools.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, Tax, Compliance, Investor Relations, Public Policy, Public Relations, and Marketing teams to validate research frameworks, align on benchmarks, and frame measures of AWS investment and impact.
• Present summaries of financial and business data insights to senior leadership; create FAQs; occasionally travel to present research and support local public policy and public relations stakeholders.
• Own research vertical(s) – Lead the development and impact of an actionable body of research in at least one of the following areas: energy and water, hyper‑localized socioeconomic impact, AI/ML downstream effects, or broader infrastructure.
• Provide thought leadership and mentorship within the team, helping to scale research capacity and quality across a growing global portfolio.

You will work closely with finance, infrastructure, energy, and business development teams, as well as AWS Public Policy, Investor Relations, Public Relations, Marketing, and Sales. With AWS infrastructure as your primary customer, you will gain deep exposure to AWS's global business and operate in a highly cross‑functional environment. This role is ideal for someone with intellectual curiosity, strong data skills, and a passion for applying rigorous economic methods to drive high‑impact business outcomes at the intersection of finance, economics, and public policy.

• 8+ years of relevant experience in industry, consulting, government or academic experience.
• Knowledge of advanced causal modeling techniques, both in experimental and observational settings.
• Experience coding in scripting languages such as Python, R, Matlab, or STATA.
• Experience in written and verbal communication with the ability to present complex technical information in a clear and concise manner to executives and non‑technical leaders.
• PhD in Economics or closely related field.

• Experience in infrastructure economics,…