Professor Esser's scholarly work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals. His research on development effectiveness has appeared in World Development, The European Journal of Development Research, Public Administration and Development, Development Policy Review, Evaluation, Global Public Health, Third World Quarterly, Ethics & International Affairs, Communication Theory, and the Journal of Social Policy, as well as in two Oxford Handbooks. His research on multi-scalar governance (with a focus on global cities) has been published in Urban Studies, the Journal of Modern African Studies, The Professional Geographer, and Environment and Urbanization. Earlier research on corporate accountability is published in the Journal of Business Ethics.

Following a two-year residency at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in 2021-23, Professor Esser has since been holding a continuing appointment as Associate Researcher at IDOS. He also was a non-resident Fellow at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) in 2017-18; Academic Resident at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center in 2013; Drugs, Security and Democracy (DSD) Postdoctoral Fellow of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) in 2012-13; SPURS Research Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2003-04; and Carlo Schmid Fellow at the International Labour Office (ILO) in 2001-02.

Professor Esser has won external funding from Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the British Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Mellon-MIT Program on NGOs and Forced Migration, the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung), and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

As a consultant, Professor Esser has advised the World Bank, the OECD, USAID, the German federal government, FLACSO, and CARE International on program planning and has led evaluations of multi-million donor portfolios. In 2006-08, he worked full-time as an International Civil Servant with UNESCAP in Bangkok and UNDP in New York.

The 2019 Distinguished Service Awardee of the AAG's Asian Geography Specialty Group and 2015 SIS Scholar-Teacher of the Year, Professor Esser has directed the SIS Olson Scholars program and taught in American University's Honors program for several years. He is currently serving as Associate Editor of Oxford Development Studies and is a long-time member and past-Chair (2021-23) of the AAG's Development Geographies Specialty Group (DGSG).