Jobs
The Data and Democracy Lab (née MGGG Redistricting Lab) is a research group led by PI Moon Duchin in the Data Science Institute at the University of Chicago. Members of the lab engage in interdisciplinary research, drawing on approaches from geometry, topology, graphs and networks, probability/statistics, and algorithm design, in conversation with geography, political science, policy, and law. The lab is deeply engaged with civil rights and good-government work in representative democracy.
Major activities of the lab include:
- researching voting systems, redistricting, and other topics at the intersection of mathematics and democracy;
- software development of our open-source packages in Python and various other languages; and
- collaborating with community partners and civil rights organizations.
Here are our open job opportunities as of November 1, 2025. We will add links to HR pages as they become available.
Lab Manager / Program Director
The Data and Democracy Lab sits inside the broader DDRI (Data and Democracy Research Initiative). We seek to have a pair of leaders heading these ambitious and wide-ranging programs, and we are currently searching for one of the two roles. PhD or JD is preferred, though experience running a complex organization can be an alternative qualification.
Software Developers
We hope to hire 1-2 full-time software developers into the Data Science Institute at UChicago.
Hybrid Postdoctoral Positions
This is a new kind of position for a recent PhD – you will come to UChicago for an in-person year of training and research, then conduct field work embedded as a research director at a nonprofit or other NGO engaged in democracy work. We have multiple excellent partner organizations lined up as hosts. After the field work, you return to Chicago to finish the three-year postdoc. These positions should prepare applicants for academic or non-academic career paths, equally.
Pre-Doctoral Positions
These are staff positions for recent college graduates who want more hands-on research experience before applying to PhD programs. Though more common in economics, they make a great deal of practical sense in other technical fields. The pay range is similar to doctoral stipends, and the 1-2 year timespan allows you to be a principal contributor on software projects and a co-author on research papers.
Summer Internship 2026
We are likely to have a small cohort of summer interns in 2026, as we have hosted in previous years. Stay tuned for more!