Employment

Mission and Impact

Founded in 2012, the R Street Institute is a leading think tank engaged in policy research in support of free markets and limited, effective government. We work to bolster American innovation, increase consumer choice and protect individual liberty and believe in smaller, smarter government.

We are a think tank for the modern age. We focus on deep scholarship and pragmatic policy solutions that many groups tend to neglect. Our goal is to publish timely, relevant research and analysis that advances a market-oriented society and limited, effective government. To that end, our motto is: “Free Markets. Real Solutions.”

Politically, we align with the center-right. Our work has real impact, even if it does not make headlines. We do this through building broad coalitions with Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals and everyone in between. This makes us uniquely capable of earning cross-partisan consensus and helping win victories at all levels of government.

We combine our deep expertise with a light-hearted approach. We tackle some of the most serious issues facing the country, but never forget to embrace the human side of work. The capacity to take a joke and poke fun at ourselves makes us more relatable, more approachable and more human. We don’t aim to simply debate ideas, but to work with real people to find solutions to difficult problems while keeping a sense of humor about our work.

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Work at R Street

Review our current openings and apply to one today!

Our Culture

R Street President Eli Lehrer celebrating our 10th anniversary in true pirate style. No black ties allowed. (2022)

No two days are the same.

R Street’s team is composed of talented, unique and diverse individuals all with one goal in mind — achieving policy that promotes free markets through the use of pragmatic solutions to today’s issues.  We believe that a diverse workforce, in all its forms, is key to achieving our mission.

We value individual freedom and independence while empowering our staff with a culture and environment that promotes these values. We strive to make a difference.


Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We are committed to a workplace that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our DEI initiative seeks to improve internal recruitment and retention practices and deeply integrate these practices into our culture. Having a more diverse workforce will strengthen R Street’s ability to innovate, achieve our mission, and support long-term systemic change.

As people dedicated to classical liberal ideals and free markets we believe that a free society achieves its greatest triumphs by allowing and facilitating a wide variety of approaches to public policy problems. The concept of “broad coalitions,” one of our core operating principles, stems from that insight. People of all races, religions, gender identities, sexual orientations, life experiences and socioeconomic backgrounds perform at the highest levels in every type of work that we do and have shaped the principles to which we subscribe. We believe that searching for talent everywhere is an integral part of living up to our principles.

Thus, R Street does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, era of military service, gender identity or expression, relationship structure or anything else that’s illegal, immoral or nonsensical to use as a basis for hiring.


Employee Benefits

R Street strives to provide a compensation package superior to those at other think tanks and nonprofits. In addition to a competitive salary, we provide the following:

  • Unlimited paid time off policy, including all Federal holidays, the day after Thanksgiving, and two weeks holiday closure in December
  • Alternating Fridays off
  • A health insurance option entirely paid by the employer (even for families)
  • Dental and Vision insurance
  • 401(k) contributions with up to a 4 percent match
  • HSA employer contribution match
  • Quarterly wellness reimbursement
  • Mobile equipment reimbursement
  • Internet subsidy
  • Monthly mobile plan reimbursement
  • Annual educational and professional development reimbursement
  • An option among child care assistance, pet care assistance, or student loan repayment assistance reimbursement


Our Vision

The R Street Institute stands for free markets, limited, effective government and pragmatic solutions to difficult problems. We envision:

  • A free society, where public policy begins with freedom as its initial premise and governments exist primarily as guardians of inherent, inalienable rights.
  • An inclusive society that provides a place, a voice, and equal opportunity for all.
  • A just society that holds everyone accountable to the same laws.

Our Values

The following values are the principles that guide how R Street fulfills its mission and operates. Our organization believes in these values and we live them:

Always be better

We want to achieve preeminence in every area where we work. We encourage a bias for action, innovation, creativity, and courage in everything that we do. We measure ourselves by the quality, credibility and impact we achieve as a result.

Different is good. 

We believe that great minds think differently and building broad coalitions has made us who we are. Making progress on policy requires that we operate outside of the echo chamber and take non-traditional approaches to policy making. We apply this same principle to the way we operate and how we build our teams: with a focus on diversity and inclusion. We are all unique but belong to the same team.

Serious(ly)

We’re serious about our work, but don’t take ourselves too seriously. We believe in the intellectual rigor, free inquiry and honesty, that is required to achieve our mission, but having fun doing it is equally as important.

One Team

We all work together and work with humility. We strive to cultivate trust and transparency at all levels, between ourselves as individuals and as an organization, with our stakeholders, and in our work. We demonstrate respect and openness in our actions at all times.  We are all unique but belong to the same team.


Current Openings

Any available openings will appear below and here.


Internships and Fellowships

While R Street Institute does not offer internships directly, we do accept interns through the programs listed below. If you have any questions, please email Patricia Simon at [email protected].

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