Sandbox jobs in Toronto, ON

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 CANCEA

• Impact at national scale: Your work will inform consequential public and private decisions across Canada.
• Rigour and craft: A team culture built on evidence, clarity, and reproducibility—where good econometrics becomes trusted policy insight.
• Professional development: Mentorship from senior modellers; support for publications, conferences, and advanced training.
• Competitive compensation and benefits.

How to Apply

Please send your CV and a brief cover letter.

CANCEA is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome diverse perspectives and experiences. If you meet most, but not all, of the requirements, we encourage you to apply.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $110,000.00-$150,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental care
• Extended health care
• Vision care

Application question(s):

• Do you have a PhD or a Masters in Economics?
• Do you have at least 5 years of non-university econometric experience?
• Would you consider to be a better than intermediate Python programmer?
• Do you speak English fluently?
• Do you have work authorization in Canada?
• Do you live within 40 minutes of downtown Toronto?

Work Location: In person