Careers

EDC mobilizes business, government, and civic leaders around an inclusive economic development strategy to connect data to decision making, maximize regional prosperity, enhance global competitiveness, and position San Diego effectively for investment and talent. EDC is a nonprofit corporation funded by more than 150 private and public partners committed to driving this mission.

EDC’s research bureau serves as the region’s preeminent source of independent economic intelligence—producing rigorous analysis, accessible data products, and actionable policy insights that inform decisions across industry, government, and civic sectors. Operating at a critical inflection point for San Diego’s economy, the bureau tracks the region’s innovation clusters including life sciences, defense tech, cleantech, and advanced manufacturing, as well as cross-cutting themes of AI integration, workforce transformation, inclusive growth, and housing affordability.

General Function

The Director, Research leads EDC’s economic research bureau, serving as its chief analyst and a public voice for the organization. The Director is responsible for setting and executing a forward-looking research agenda that positions EDC as the region’s most trusted source of economic intelligence—one that connects data to decisions in service of a more prosperous, competitive, and inclusive San Diego.

This is a full-time position reporting to the Vice President, Economic Development & Research, and will work collaboratively across all programmatic teams. The Director oversees a growing team of direct reports at the Research Manager and Research Coordinator levels and is expected to be a skilled coach and mentor who actively develops staff capabilities and fosters a high-trust, high-performance team culture.

Your daily impact on our work:

Research Strategy & Program Leadership

Design and execute a research agenda that reflects the evolving dynamics of San Diego’s economy and the needs of EDC’s partners and stakeholders.

• Lead the development of a research strategy aligned with organizational goals and EDC’s 2030 Inclusive Growth framework, translating big-picture economic trends into a concrete calendar of products, publications, and public-facing deliverables
• Own the full lifecycle of complex, multi-stakeholder research projects—from initial scoping and fundraising through analysis, report writing, data visualization, and public launch—with the capacity to oversee several large-scale projects simultaneously
• Direct ongoing production of regular economic intelligence products, including the quarterly Economic Snapshot, industry cluster profiles, and topical deep dives
• Direct and evolve a robust analytical framework for tracking San Diego’s innovation economy, inclusive growth indicators, housing and affordability pressures, AI’s impact on labor markets, workforce transformation, and cross-border economic dynamics
• Convene research advisory groups and expert committees to ensure quality, relevance, and stakeholder buy-in for EDC’s major research products
• Develop a domain expertise within the research portfolio—identifying a signature area where EDC can define the questions, not just answer them
• Represent EDC’s research bureau externally through speaking engagements, media appearances, advisory board service, and participation in regional economic development networks

Inclusive Growth

Ensure that EDC’s research products consistently reflect the full picture of San Diego’s economy and meaningfully support EDC’s Inclusive Growth goals.

• Lead integration of inclusive growth metrics into core research products and economic analyses
• Champion the expansion of the Thriving Households framework and related indicators across EDC’s research portfolio
• Collaborate with EDC’s talent and economic development teams to ensure research products speak to pathways to equitable economic participation and quality job growth
• Develop and present quarterly updates to regional stakeholders

People Leadership & Team Development

Lead and sustain a high-performing, integrated research team that is technically excellent, collaboratively oriented, and positioned for continued growth.

• Directly manage and develop research team, currently including two Research Managers and a Research Coordinator, with accountability for annual reviews, quarterly goal-setting, and individualized professional development planning
• Coach team members on research methodology, project management, client communication, band, and presentation skills—including both formal systems and day-to-day mentorship
• Establish clear project management systems and tools that enable staff to manage complex, concurrent workstreams with greater efficiency and autonomy—particularly when navigating unfamiliar project types or large-scale impact studies
• Actively develop staff skills in project scoping, budgeting, and vendor management as team members take on greater project ownership
• Create structured opportunities for staff to deepen technical skills and to build domain expertise in key industry sectors
• Foster a team culture of intellectual curiosity, structured problem-solving, and peer learning

Administration

Ensure the research bureau operates with financial discipline, operational efficiency, and a sustainable pipeline of client and sponsor-funded work.

• Develop and manage an annual research budget; model strong financial stewardship and help team members develop familiarity with budgeting, scoping, revenue tracking, and cultivating funders
• Manage a fee-for-service pipeline; scope and price engagements, develop fundable proposals for sponsors and clients, and meet annual fundraising targets
• Maintain and grow vendor and partner relationships—including survey research firms, data providers, and high-capacity research partners—ensuring quality and value in external collaborations
• Systematize internal processes for data storage, version control, documentation, and research asset protection; establish standards that scale as the team and workload grows

You may be a good fit if your core competencies include:

• Strategic Thinking & Intellectual Leadership: Ability to identify the most important questions facing San Diego’s economy, translate complex data into clear narratives, and position EDC as a thought leader—not just a data producer.
• Applied Economic Analysis: Deep command of quantitative and qualitative research methods, economic impact modeling (IMPLAN, input-output), regional labor market analysis, demographic and industry cluster research, GIS/mapping, and familiarity with programming languages (R, Python) and emerging AI-assisted analytical methods.
• Project & Portfolio Management: Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects of varying scope and complexity—including large, multi-stakeholder engagements—with clear systems for tracking progress, managing client relationships, and delivering on time and on budget.
• People Development & Coaching: A genuine commitment to developing a team—creating structured learning pathways, offering patient and direct mentorship, building trust as a leader, and enabling team members to take on progressively greater ownership and responsibility.
• Communication & Storytelling: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to distill complex economic findings for diverse audiences—from senior executives and elected officials to community stakeholders and the general public. Comfort with long-form writing, public presentations, and media engagement.

Strong candidates may also have substantive knowledge in one or more of the following:

• San Diego’s innovation cluster landscape: Life sciences (including NIH/federal funding dynamics and the RNA/genomics sector), defense technology (including the growing startup ecosystem and federal procurement trends), cleantech and energy transition, and advanced manufacturing
• AI’s economic and workforce implications: Productivity impacts, labor market restructuring, automation vs. augmentation dynamics, and what this means for San Diego’s talent pipeline and employer needs
• Cross-border economic dynamics: Cali-Baja region, USMCA’s impact on trade and jobs, and the San Diego–Tijuana binational economy
• Inclusive growth measurement: Household affordability metrics, wage equity analysis, access to opportunity frameworks, and community-level economic indicators
• Regional and state policy landscape: California’s regulatory environment, housing policy and supply constraints, energy policy, workforce development systems, and the federal funding landscape as it affects R&D, NIH grants, and defense spending
• Workforce and talent dynamics: Trends in credential attainment, skills-based hiring, the entry-level job market, durable skills development, and work-based learning pipelines

Salary range commensurate with experience: $95,000-$115,000, plus excellent benefits outlined above.

Apply by April 3