Mairesse was director of studies of EHESS (École des hautes études en sciences sociales) from 1978 onwards.

He was general inspector of INSEE (Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques) from 1988 to 2005.

He is a senior researcher of the microeconometric laboratory at CREST and at GRECSTA (Groupe de Recherche en Economie et Statistique).

He is professor of applied econometrics of research, innovation and productivity at Maastricht University and professorial fellow of UNU-MERIT since 2005.

Throughout his life, he has been engaged in various comparative studies, using firm micro data for France and the U.S. and other countries, in particular to analyze research and development (R&D) activities and their effects on productivity.