Xiaodong joined University of Canberra (NATSEM) in March 2011. He joined Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society at BGL in 2019. Xiaodong has published in International and Australian journals such as Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Applied Econometrics, Economic Development and Cultural Change, The Economic Record and many other reputable journals. His work includes modelling labour supply, tax and transfer policy, childcare, labour mobility, child development and education, and household consumption.

Prior to joining University of Canberra, Xiaodong has worked at the Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA) in Germany, The Australian National University, and the Australian Treasury. He is adjunct to the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University and a Fellow of the IZA.