Careers at Acumen, LLC

Are you interested in public policy? Do you possess superior quantitative, programming, writing, and/or interpersonal skills? Do you like working in teams with other talented individuals?

If so, Acumen may be the right place for you. Please read the career section below, review our current projects, and see if any of the positions available fit your qualifications. If you are interested and believe you have the skills Acumen needs, please apply online.

Meritocracy

Acumen’s environment can best be described as a meritocracy. While we value advanced degrees and technical experience, we base upward progression solely on productivity. This is best measured by the level of responsibility an employee is able to handle in areas such as analytical writing, data analysis, or management. Unlike many other research institutes, junior analysts are given the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to policy research right away.

There is no “typical” track of progression through the company. Employees who excel at quantitative analysis or writing are given progressively greater levels of responsibility, such as taking on the role of lead programmer or writer on a prominent project. It is not uncommon for capable research analysts to be coordinating/managing multifunctional teams within a couple of years of joining us. Unlike some of our peer firms, we do not have a rigid hierarchical system that prevents employees with only a Bachelors degree from advancing, and our hope is that all employees we recruit decide to make Acumen their career.

Careers for Recent Graduates

The workload here is challenging in terms of intellectual difficulty, responsibility and sheer volume, but also incredibly rewarding. Because we have expanded so quickly over the last several years, our ranks are filled with recent college graduates, creating a very lively and collaborative environment. In the past 2 years alone, alumni from the following undergraduate programs have joined us:

  • Amherst College
  • Brown University
  • California Institute of Technology
  • Cornell University
  • Harvard University
  • Harvey Mudd College
  • Pomona College
  • Princeton University
  • Stanford University
  • Swarthmore College
  • University of California, Berkeley
  • University of California, Davis
  • University of California, Irvine
  • University of California, Los Angeles
  • University of California, San Diego
  • University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Wellesley College
  • Yale University

A Path Towards Advanced Degrees

For employees who plan to pursue a graduate degree in the future, Acumen offers a unique environment to hone one’s skills in analytical writing, quantitative analysis, programming, and managing. A number of our alumni have gone on to graduate school and we are incredibly proud of them. Since 2007, former Acumen employees have matriculated at the following advanced degree programs:

  • Columbia University, Economics Ph.D.
  • Baylor College of Medicine
  • Stanford University, Graduate School of Business
  • University of California, Berkeley, Biostatistics Ph.D.
  • University of California, Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy
  • University of California, Berkeley, Health Services and Policy Analysis Ph.D.
  • University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
  • University of Chicago, Economics Ph.D.
  • University of Michigan, Economics Ph.D.
  • University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Epidemiology MSPH/Ph.D.
  • University of Southern California, Law School
  • University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School