Julian spent nine years in the public sector, within the US government – the Boston Fed followed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – and then the World Bank, before returning to academia to join the University of Exeter in 2018. In addition to having previously served as an assistant professor at Northwestern University (Kellogg School of Management), Julian has spent time as a fellow and/or visiting faculty member at UC Berkeley (Public Health); UC San Francisco (Medical School); University of Southern California (Psychology); Caltech (Social Science); HEC Paris (Finance); Yale (Economics); and Harvard (Kennedy School of Government).

Julian’s work has been published in academic journals spanning a wide range of disciplines, and it has been mentioned in media outlets such as The New York TimesForeign AffairsThe Wall Street JournalNational Public RadioForbesForeign PolicyThe Washington PostBloomberg, and The Economist. He has consulted for the US National Institute of Mental Health, NASA, the US Army, Bates White, Lockheed-Martin, and GiveWell. Julian has traveled to roughly 90 countries, and he once received a special award in physics at the 1987 science fair in Washington, DC.