Macro Research Analyst

About xAI

xAI’s mission is to create AI systems that can accurately understand the universe and aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge. Our team is small, highly motivated, and focused on engineering excellence. This organization is for individuals who appreciate challenging themselves and thrive on curiosity. We operate with a flat organizational structure. All employees are expected to be hands-on and to contribute directly to the company’s mission. Leadership is given to those who show initiative and consistently deliver excellence. Work ethic and strong prioritization skills are important. All employees are expected to have strong communication skills. They should be able to concisely and accurately share knowledge with their teammates.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

As a Macro Research Analyst at xAI, you will play a critical role in analyzing global economic forces and translating complex macroeconomic dynamics into actionable insights. You will track and interpret key economic indicators across regions, assess the implications of monetary and fiscal policy decisions, and evaluate how macro trends shape financial markets and risk conditions.

This role sits at the intersection of economics, markets, and strategic decision-making. You will build forecasts and scenario analyses to understand how shifts in growth, inflation, interest rates, currencies, commodities, and geopolitics may affect asset prices and broader market regimes. Your work will inform top-down investment views and risk assessments, supporting global macro strategies driven by economic fundamentals rather than individual company analysis. The ideal candidate is intellectually curious, analytically rigorous, and comfortable working in a fast-moving, high-ownership environment. Consistent with xAI’s flat organizational structure, you are expected to be hands-on, proactive, and able to communicate ideas clearly and concisely to a highly technical and motivated team.

As a Macro Research Analyst, you will contribute directly to this mission by helping the organization understand large-scale economic systems, feedback loops, and regime shifts that shape global outcomes. You will structure, analyze, and interpret macroeconomic data across countries and regions, transforming noisy and often incomplete information into coherent economic narratives and testable hypotheses. Your research will help identify causal relationships, constraints, and second-order effects within complex economic systems—insights that are essential for training, evaluating, and applying advanced AI models to real-world economic and financial questions. By developing forecasts, scenarios, and risk assessments, you will support xAI’s efforts to reason about uncertainty, stress-test assumptions, and evaluate how shocks propagate through global markets and institutions. Clear communication of your findings will ensure that economic insights are effectively shared across teams, reinforcing xAI’s emphasis on rigorous thinking, transparency, and collaborative problem-solving.

In this role, macroeconomic research is not an end in itself, but a tool for advancing deeper understanding. Your work will help xAI build systems that reason more accurately about economic behavior, policy trade-offs, and global dynamics—bringing us closer to AI that can meaningfully assist human decision-making at scale.

The Macro Research Analyst will have broad responsibility for analyzing global macroeconomic conditions and their implications for financial markets and strategic decision-making. The scope of the role spans data analysis, economic modeling, and synthesis of macroeconomic developments across multiple regions and asset classes.

The role includes management of ongoing monitoring frameworks for key economic indicators, policy developments, and geopolitical risks. The analyst will be expected to independently identify emerging themes, develop forward-looking scenarios, and assess how macroeconomic shifts may alter market dynamics, risk exposures, and opportunity sets. The position requires close collaboration with internal stakeholders, with an emphasis on clear, concise communication of complex economic concepts. Given xAI’s flat organizational structure, the analyst will operate with a high degree of autonomy and accountability, contributing directly to research outputs and strategic discussions rather than functioning in a narrow support capacity. The scope of the role is intentionally flexible, allowing a high-performing analyst to expand their responsibilities over time by taking ownership of new research areas, developing novel analytical frameworks, and influencing how macroeconomic intelligence is integrated into xAI’s broader mission.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Monitor and interpret data such as GDP growth, inflation, unemployment rates, interest rates, fiscal/monetary policy, currency movements, commodity prices, and geopolitical events across countries or regions.
• Build economic forecasts, scenario analysis, and models to predict how macro forces will affect markets (e.g., how a central bank rate hike might impact equities, bonds, or currencies).
• Provide research reports, trade ideas, and recommendations to portfolio managers, traders, or clients. This often informs "global macro" investment strategies, where decisions are driven primarily by top-down economic views rather than individual company fundamentals.
• Identify potential risks (e.g., recessions, currency crises, trade wars) and opportunities arising from economic shifts.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Strong academic background in economics, finance, mathematics, statistics, or a related quantitative field.
• Demonstrated experience in macroeconomic research, global macro investing, economic policy analysis, or a closely related role.
• Deep understanding of macroeconomic indicators and frameworks, including growth, inflation, labor markets, monetary and fiscal policy, exchange rates, commodities, and geopolitical dynamics.
• Experience building and interpreting economic models, forecasts, and scenario analyses to assess market and policy outcomes.
• Ability to synthesize large and complex data sets into clear, structured insights and actionable conclusions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex economic concepts concisely to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• High level of intellectual curiosity and comfort working with uncertainty, incomplete information, and competing hypotheses.
• Self-directed, detail-oriented, and capable of operating effectively in a flat organizational structure with minimal oversight.
• Proven ability to prioritize effectively, manage multiple research streams, and deliver high-quality work under time constraints.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• 3–7 years of experience post-doc.
• At least three publications in reputable economics journals (AER, QRE, JPE, Econometrica, etc.) or outlets (The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, etc.).
• Prior experience at a global macro hedge fund, asset manager, central bank, international financial institution, policy research organization, or economic consulting firm.
• Strong familiarity with financial markets across multiple asset classes, including rates, FX, equities, and commodities.
• Experience producing investment-oriented research, including trade ideas, market commentary, or risk assessments tied to macroeconomic views.
• Proficiency with data analysis and modeling tools such as Python, R, MATLAB, or similar quantitative environments.
• Experience working with large economic and financial datasets and building repeatable research pipelines.
• Ability to evaluate tail risks, regime shifts, and non-linear dynamics in macroeconomic systems.
• Interest in applying macroeconomic reasoning to novel problems, including AI-driven analysis and large-scale economic modeling.
• Track record of taking initiative, identifying new research directions, and expanding the scope of responsibility over time.

LOCATION AND OTHER EXPECTATIONS:

• Tutor roles may be offered as full-time, part-time, or contractor positions, depending on role needs and candidate fit.
• For contractor positions, hours will vary widely based on project scope and contractor availability, with no fixed commitments required.  On average most projects may involve at least 10 hours per week to achieve deliverables effectively though this is not a fixed commitment and depends on the scope of work. Contractors have full flexibility to set their own hours and determine the exact amount of time needed to complete deliverables. 
• Tutor roles may be performed remotely from any location worldwide, subject to legal eligibility, time-zone compatibility, and role specific needs.
• For US based candidates, please note we are unable to hire in the states of Wyoming and Illinois at this time.
• We are unable to provide visa sponsorship.
• For those who will be working from a personal device, your computer must be a Chromebook, Mac with MacOS 11.0 or later, or Windows 10 or later.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

US based candidates: $45/hour - $100/hour depending on factors including relevant experience, skills, education, geographic location, and qualifications. International candidates: Information will be provided to you during the recruitment process.

Benefits vary based on employment type, location and jurisdiction. Benefits for eligible U.S. based positions include health insurance, 401(k) plan, and paid sick leave. Specific details and role specific information will be provided to you during the interview process.

xAI is an equal opportunity employer. For details on data processing, view our Recruitment Privacy Notice.