The European Central Bank (ECB) has launched a recruitment call for its Student Research Assistant Traineeship Programme - Senior Management Macro-Finance team. This is an exceptional opportunity for students with a strong background in quantitative methods to gain insight into the ECB’s research and policymaking processes.

General Information

Type of contract Traineeship

Who can apply? EU nationals eligible for the traineeship programme

Grant The trainee grant is €1,170 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section), The trainee grant is €2,120 per month plus an accommodation allowance

Working time Full time

Place of work Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Closing date 06.01.2026

Your team

You will be part of the Senior Management Macro-Finance team within the Directorate General Research. The team conducts model-based analysis and policy-relevant research on monetary policy, macroprudential policy, and financial stability. You will work in a multicultural environment alongside roughly 50 economists who cover topics such as macro-financial linkages and the interaction between monetary and financial stability policies. The team regularly prepares policy notes, reports, and articles for leading academic journals and ECB publications.

Your role

As a Student Research Assistant trainee you will:

• produce simulations using macro-finance models, including New Keynesian DSGE models with financial frictions;
• maintain and further develop existing quantitative tools and modelling infrastructure;
• further develop macroeconomic DSGE models to assess macroprudential and monetary policy interactions and their effectiveness;
• develop macroeconometric models to empirically assess the propagation of economic and financial shocks;
• help prepare quarterly policy analyses on monetary policy and financial stability.

Qualifications, experience and skills

Essential:

• for a traineeship paid at €2,120, a master’s degree and at least two years of PhD studies in economics, finance, statistics, mathematics or computer science, or a related field;
• for a traineeship paid at €1,170, a bachelor’s degree in economics, finance, statistics, mathematics, computer science or a related field;
• experience in simulating macroeconomic DSGE models using Dynare;
• strong programming skills in MATLAB;
• good understanding of macro-finance models;
• good knowledge of the MS Office package;
• advanced (C1) command of English and intermediate (B1) command of at least one other official language of the EU, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Desired:

• for a traineeship paid at €1,170, a master’s degree in economics, finance, statistics, mathematics, computer science or a related field;
• sound knowledge of monetary DSGE models with financial frictions;
• good knowledge of model calibration/estimation techniques (Bayesian methods or the simulated method of moments) using macroeconomic, banking and financial data;
• knowledge of non-linear solution methods for dynamic models (e.g. perfect foresight transitions, function approximation, quadrature, numerical optimisation, higher order perturbation, value function iteration, continuous time methods, sequence space methods);
• further programming skills in addition to the above (e.g. Python, parallel computing, symbolic maths);
• some experience with macroeconomic data and macroeconometric models;
• experience assisting with research.

Further information

Initial traineeship/PhD traineeship of six months, with a possible extension of up to 12 months in total.Other details on the conditions applicable to traineeships at the ECB can be found on their website.

Application and selection process

The recruitment process for this position will include an online interview. Further information on how to apply is available on their website.If you are not selected for this position but are still considered suitable, you will be placed on a reserve list for 12 months from the closing date for applications, from which you might be considered for other traineeship positions within the ECB.