Research Associate Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 25-02 Department Judicial Branch - Agency Wide
Salary $150,783.00 to $158,322.00 Grade 00 to 00
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 1/10/2025 Close Date 2/21/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

The Federal Judicial Center (Center) is the federal courts' agency for research and continuing education. Congress established the Center in 1967 as a separate organization within the federal judicial system at the request of the Judicial Conference of the United States. A nine-member board, chaired by the Chief Justice of the United States, determines its basic policies.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

More Than One Position May Be Filled.

Duties

The Research Division conducts empirical research on the operation of the federal courts, especially at the request of committees of the Judicial Conference, and promotes such research by other public and private persons and entities. Its role is to provide accurate and objective information to facilitate thorough and candid analysis of judiciary policies, practices, and procedures. The Division's interdisciplinary staff designs and implements studies and prepares research reports, and also produces resources for judges and the judiciary on legal developments, case management, and other topics.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The primary duties and responsibilities of a Research Associate are to contribute to the design and conduct of social scientific and law-related research aimed at identifying innovative or improved approaches to judicial administration in the federal court system, including appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts.

Research associates, as part of project teams, carry out various research tasks and projects, including:

  • Developing ideas and suggestions for new research projects;
  • Conducting thorough social science and legal literature reviews;
  • Designing and implementing qualitative and quantitative research using replicable; research processes;
  • Creating data collection instruments, such as interview protocols, questionnaires, and instruments for coding information from electronic and paper records;
  • Gathering data, assessing data validity, and synthesizing data into analytic data sets from structured and unstructured sources;
  • Conducting and overseeing data and statistical analyses;
  • Presenting research findings to diverse audiences within and outside the judiciary;
  • Authoring research reports;
  • Developing educational material grounded in law and social science research for judges and other court employees;
  • Developing and maintaining relationships with stakeholders within and external to the Center;
  • Providing constructive feedback on the work of colleagues across the division; and
  • Performing other duties as assigned by the Director of Research.
The position requires some travel.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

KEY REQUIREMENTS:

The Federal Judicial Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to achieving a diverse workforce and an inclusive work culture. It strives to maintain a professional and collegial workplace in which everyone is valued and treated fairly and respectfully.

Qualifications

MANDATORY QUALIFICATIONS:
  • Ph.D. in a social or behavioral science discipline such as data science, economics, political science, psychology, or sociology or a J.D.
  • At least two years of experience conducting policy-related research or working in a law-related area.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:

A successful candidate will have a strong combination of the following qualifications. One position might be filled, for example, with a social scientist with strong methodological and analytical skills and experience conducting court-focused research, and another position might be filled with a lawyer with litigation experience, exemplary legal research and writing skills, and the ability to develop educational resources.
  • Completion of graduate-level coursework in applied research methods, data science, and statistics;
  • Knowledge of scientific research methods, principles, and techniques;
  • Experience with designing and conducting court-focused research;
  • Experience with writing law and data-based materials for professional audiences;
  • Law practice experience, especially in litigation;
  • Knowledge of federal court structure, governance, and operations;
  • Strong writing and oral presentation skills;
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to work collaboratively with highly motivated and experienced professionals;
  • Project management skills, including the ability to work independently to meet deadlines;
  • Experience working with state or federal court data;
  • Experience extracting and analyzing information from large datasets;
  • Experience with statistical analysis programs such as SAS, SPSS, R, STATA and advanced features of Excel;
  • Experience with data visualization applications such as Tableau;
  • Advanced text analysis skills;
  • Fluency with programming languages such as SQL, Python, and R; and
  • Willingness and ability to learn new topical areas and research skills, as needed.

Education

Please read the "Qualifications" section.

Additional information

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

The starting salary is set at $150,783 (includes 2025 D.C. locality). This position falls in the Center's pay band 6, which has a salary range up to $227,608 (includes 2025 D.C. locality). For a successful candidate not currently a member of the Center staff, a higher starting salary, not to exceed $158,322 (includes 2025 D.C. locality) may be considered if the candidate furnishes proof that their current salary falls above the pay band 6 minimum salary of $150,783 (includes 2025 D.C. locality), in which case the Center would match that salary up to the starting salary limit of $158,322 (includes 2025 D.C. locality). This is the maximum starting salary, and it is non-negotiable. In addition, a successful candidate who does not live within the D.C. locality region or work at the official duty station in Washington, D.C., for 16 or more work hours per pay period will not receive D.C. region locality pay and will receive the locality pay of their place of primary residence (telework site). If the successful internal candidate's salary falls above the range minimum, their salary will be matched up to their current salary.

Federal government benefits are applicable. An array of supplemental benefits is also offered, including a transportation subsidy and a flexible benefit program allowing for pre-tax deductions for health insurance, health care, dependent care, and commuter expenses. The Center is in the Thurgood Marshall Building, conveniently situated to public transportation directly beside Union Station. The Marshall Building houses a child development center, a health fitness facility, and a cafeteria for its tenants.

The Center offers a range of telework and flexible work schedule options based on the employee's position categorization. When business needs arise, all Center employees are required to work at the official duty station in Washington, D.C., or at a temporary duty station. The Center does not pay for relocation expenses; however, Center employees receive reimbursement for all official business travel.

This position does not carry the tenure rights of positions in the competitive civil service.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Please read the "Next steps" section for more information.

Required Documents

Please read the "How to Apply" section.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

APPLICATION PROCEDURES:

In a brief cover letter referring to Announcement #25-02, please summarize how you satisfy the qualifications listed above. Applications without the required cover letter or with cover letters that do not address the qualifications will not be considered. Along with the cover letter, please include a current resume that specifies dates of employment and responsibilities for all related positions. A cover letter and resume in a single combined PDF document is required. Name the file using your last name, first name, and the announcement number, as follows: Lastname.Firstname.25-02.pdf. Any information provided in the transmittal email will not be considered part of the application.

All applications should be submitted by email to personnel@fjc.gov.

When applying, please refer to Announcement #25-02. To assure full consideration, your application must be received by 11:59 p.m. on February 21, 2025.

Agency contact information

Elia Bendavid
Address
Federal Judicial Center
Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building
One Columbus Circle, N.E.
Washington, DC 20002-8003
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Only the most qualified candidates will be contacted.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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