Job for Researchers: Research Engineer in Food System Transition — CNRS, Paris

Original title: Ingénieur de recherche en transition des systèmes alimentaires (H/F)

About the role

The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) is recruiting a Research Engineer in Food System Transition (H/F) for a full-time fixed-term contract (CDD) of 18 months, based at Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques (PjSE) in Paris 14. The position is open to applicants holding a title recognising them as a disabled worker. The expected start date is 1 October 2026, and the application deadline is Wednesday 5 August 2026 at 23:59.

Within the PjSE research unit (UMR8545), attached to the Paris School of Economics (PSE), you will study the ecological transition of food systems, with a particular focus on the microeconomic evaluation of public policies and consumer preferences. Your work will be part of the PREFALIM project (PEPR FairCarbon), which aims to quantify the capacity of public policies to reduce the environmental footprint of food consumption in France while preserving the nutritional quality of diets and the viability of supply chains.

Responsibilities

• Process and exploit microeconomic purchase data (scanner data);
• Carry out product matching and compute harmonised environmental and nutritional indicators;
• Develop a quantitative framework for the ex ante and ex post evaluation of food transition policies;
• Identify and prioritise public policy levers to inform policy design;
• Participate in coordination meetings and steering committees of the PREFALIM project (PEPR FairCarbon);
• Disseminate results to public stakeholders via policy briefs and synthesis notes, and contribute to science communication for broader audiences.

Profile

Education and technical skills

• Master’s degree (Bac+5) in economics;
• Excellent knowledge of econometrics applied to micro-consumption data (demand models, panel data);
• Understanding of the ecological transition of food systems, including trade policies, environmental economics and agricultural economics;
• Ability to process large-scale microeconomic databases and build counterfactual simulation exercises to assess the impact of public policies;
• Mastery of standard econometric software (Stata, R or Python).

Personal qualities

• Scientific rigour and autonomy in conducting research;
• Strong synthesis and communication skills, including with non-academic audiences;
• A taste for teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Work environment

You will work within the UMR “Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques” (PjSE), attached to the Paris School of Economics (PSE), one of the world’s leading economics departments, bringing together a community of nearly 140 researchers and 150 doctoral students.

Contract and benefits

• Monthly remuneration: €3,237.95;
• 44 days of annual leave and RTT per year;
• Teleworking practice and teleworking allowance;
• Transport costs covered at 75%, plus a sustainable mobility allowance of up to €300;
• Access to the CNRS internal training catalogue (over 80 training courses);
• Access to the social action committee (sports and leisure activities, ticketing);
• Mandatory affiliation (unless exempted) to the MGEN health insurance scheme, with 50% of the contribution covered.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted by Wednesday 5 August 2026 at 23:59, quoting reference UMR8545-LINPOL-046. The position falls within the Humanities and Social Sciences sector, under the employment category “Research engineer in production, processing and analysis of data (H/F)”.

Original vacancy