About this role
*About CANCEA*
CANCEA operates *North America?s largest socioeconomic agent-based modelling (ABM) platform*, representing people, households, firms, and governments across *~58,000 locations in Canada* and *4,000+ topics*. Our work supports evidence-based decisions in housing and land use, transport and congestion, labour markets, public finance (including development charges), health and social value (OECD-aligned), and broader economic resilience.
*The Opportunity*
We are seeking an experienced Econometrician with at least 8 years experience in a consulting capacity and Python expertise and 5+ years of applied experience to design, implement, and validate econometric components that integrate with our ABM platform. This role is hybrid (50% on-site, 50% WFH) in Toronto to support collaboration around complex models, sensitive data, and rapid iteration. The successful candidate will also train to operate our ABM platform end-to-end, progressing to certified operator status.
Key Responsibilities
* *Economic impact projects:* Directly support our consulting projects in economic impact analsys. * *Econometric design & implementation:* Develop and maintain panel/time-series/microdata models; map empirical results into ABM mechanisms and parameters. * *Platform operation (training to certification):* Progress from guided runs to *independent execution of national-scale scenarios*?configuration, job orchestration, QA, and delivery with full reproducibility. * *Calibration & validation:* Back-testing across geographies and time; sensitivity analysis, uncertainty quantification, and clear communication of model fit and limitations. * *Policy analysis & communication:* Translate model outputs into client-ready memos, charts, and briefings suitable for executive and technical audiences. * *Software quality:* Write tested, typed, reviewable Python; maintain artefacts (configs, logs, manifests) to ensure full reproducibility.
What Success Looks Like (6?12 months)
* You have *shipped a production-quality econometric module* that improves platform fit or forecast skill. * You can *configure and run national scenarios* under supervision, with reproducible artefacts and clear QA. * You have delivered at least one client-facing analysis (e.g., housing/DCs, congestion, labour) with defensible results and concise narrative.
*Required Qualifications*
* *Education:* Master?s or PhD in Economics/Econometrics/Statistics (or closely related). * *Experience:* *5+ years* applied econometrics in policy, consulting, research, or industry. * *Python proficiency:* pandas, numpy, pyarrow/Parquet; econometrics toolkits (statsmodels, and/or Bayesian frameworks such as PyMC); testing (pytest), typing (type hints/pydantic), CLI tooling. * *Data skills:* SQL (preferably Postgres), data versioning, documentation standards. * *Modelling craft:* Identification strategies, causal inference, panel/TS methods, robustness checks, uncertainty communication. * *Engineering practices:* Git, code review, CI/linting, reproducibility discipline. * *Eligibility & presence:* Legally able to work in Canada; *residing in the Toronto/GTA area and available on-site*.
*Assets (Nice to Have)*
* Experience with agent-based, microsimulation, CGE, or dynamic structural models. * Geospatial analysis (geopandas, shapely, pyproj) and small-area data handling. * HPC/parallelism (e.g., dask, containers, job arrays) and performance profiling. * Domain knowledge in public finance, housing/land use, transport/congestion, labour markets.
*Training & Growth: Operator Pathway*
* *Structured onboarding* in CANCEA?s methods, data governance, and engineering standards. * *Progressive run responsibilities* from sandbox to full national deployments, with sign-off gates. * *Operator certification* upon demonstrated competence in scenario design, execution, validation, and incident handling. * Ongoing development in *performance & scale*, *advanced methods*, or *productisation*.
*Why Join