RESEARCH DATA SPECIALIST I

State of California; Sacramento (CA); Hybrid; USD 78,000 - 97,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Telework eligible

Job summary

The State of California’s CDPH is seeking a Data Quality Specialist I to support CalSyS data quality, integration, and analytics within CID/OIDPR. The role focuses on QA/QC, data preparation, and cross-functional collaboration to enhance population health monitoring.

The incumbent will develop documentation, train staff, and explore new data strategies while following privacy policies. Telework may be eligible, with eligibility depending on program rules and residency.

Qualifications

• Experience in data collection, integration, quality, validation, and use.
• Expertise in data integration and data management for public health surveillance.
• Proficiency with SQL, R, SAS, SAS Viya, Python for data analysis.
• Ability to develop trainings and provide technical assistance.
• Experience with large, complex data sets and data governance.

Responsibilities

• Lead documentation of quality assurance and quality control for SyS data.
• Query, mine, and manipulate data; perform quality determinations and statistical analyses.
• Develop ready-to-use data sets and reports for higher-level analytics and visuals.
• Create training materials and facilitate knowledge sharing across teams.
• Identify improvement opportunities and support procedural changes.

Skills

Data quality

Data integration

Data mining

SQL

R

SAS

Python

Documentation

Training

Tools

BioSense/ESSENCE

SAS

R

MS Excel

SQL

Job description

Data Quality Specialist
RESEARCH DATA SPECIALIST I

$6,955.00 - $8,706.00 per Month
New to State candidates will be hired into the minimum salary of the classification or minimum of alternate range when applicable.

Final Filing Date: 9/30/2026

THERE IS ONE VACANCY BEING ADVERTISED ACROSS MULTIPLE COUNTIES. THE INCUMBENT WILL BE HEADQUARTERED IN THE COUNTY NEAREST THE RESIDENCE OF THE SELECTED CANDIDATE. THE COUNTIES ARE: Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Bernardino, or San Diego County.

The Research Data Specialist I (RDS I) within the Center for Infectious Diseases (CID), Office of Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response (OIDPR), supports the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) mission and strategic plan by supporting the implementation, utilization, maintenance, and operation of the California statewide syndromic surveillance (CalSyS) program. This program facilitates timely and broad monitoring of population health, ultimately leading to more rapid and targeted disease/injury control and data-driven prevention strategies, as well as increased situational awareness for public health response.

The incumbent works under the general direction of the Research Data Supervisor I of the Data Quality & Integration (DQI) Unit within the Syndromic Surveillance (SyS) Section. The incumbent will serve as a subject matter expert for the data feed, data quality, and data integration of the SyS systems. The RDS I leads and supports development of documentation of quality assurance and quality control processes of SyS data. The incumbent is responsible for querying, mining and manipulation, data quality determination, statistical analysis, development, implementation, monitoring and maintenance of SyS data while working closely with other data analysts and data specialists. The incumbent shall draw from their knowledge of appropriate methodologies and processes appropriate for use with SyS data by the CalSyS program and other users of SyS data, and will share this knowledge via development and facilitation of documentation and training materials. The RDS I explores, identifies, and develops new strategies or sources for collecting, analyzing, securely sharing, and integrating/linking SyS data. The RDS I creates fully prepared and cleaned data sets for higher level analytics, spreadsheet summaries, reports, charts, and tables utilizing various software applications (e.g., BioSense/ESSENCE, SAS, R, MS Excel, SQL) while applying appropriate CDPH data privacy and security policies. The RDS I shall monitor systems and procedures with the goal of identifying improvement opportunities and facilitate change in procedures, as needed.

In the case of a public health emergency, this position may be asked to redirect to serve rotations in emergency staffing roles aligned with their classification level.

In July 2025, the State of California implemented the Personal Leave Program (PLP) 2025. This program temporarily reduces employees’ monthly base pay in exchange for paid leave credits. This position is subject to PLP 2025 and will have a monthly base pay reduction of 3% in exchange for 5 hours of leave credits through June 2027. The salary ranges shown on this job posting do not reflect the salary reduction.

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement .

Working Conditions

Telework Information :

This position may be eligible for telework. The amount of telework permitted is at the discretion of the Department and is subject to change, consistent with CDPH’s Telework Program. All employees who telework are required to be California residents in accordance with Government Code 14200. Candidates who reside outside of the state of California may be interviewed; however, the selected candidate must have a primary residency in the state of California prior to appointment (and continue to maintain California residency) as a condition of employment. Failure to meet this requirement may result in the job offer being rescinded.

Travel may be required for this position. Reimbursement for travel takes into consideration an employee’s designated headquarters, as reflected in the duty statement, and is subject to regulations and bargaining unit contract provisions. All commute expenses to the designated headquarters office will be the responsibility of the selected candidate.
The headquarters office location for this position is identified in the attached duty statement.

Minimum Requirements

• RESEARCH DATA SPECIALIST I

# of Positions:

1

Work Location:

United States

Telework:

Hybrid

Job Type:

Permanent, Full Time

Department Information

At the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), equity, diversity, and inclusion are at the core of our mission to advance the health and well-being of California’s diverse people and communities. We are genuinely and strongly committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness where we can grow and learn together with a diverse team of employees. In recruiting for team members, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring to us and the work we do.

The Research Data Specialist within the Center for Infectious Diseases (CID), Office of Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response (OIDPR), supports the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) mission and strategic plan by supporting the implementation, utilization, maintenance, and operation of the California statewide syndromic surveillance (CalSyS) program. This program facilitates timely and broad monitoring of population health, ultimately leading to more rapid and targeted disease/injury control and data-driven prevention strategies, as well as increased situational awareness for public health response.

The salary information listed on this advertisement may not reflect recent salary increases from salary adjustments or changes in the fiscal year.

*The CDPH is currently an E-Verify employer.

In order to be considered for this position, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts official or un-official and/or Degree for education verification.

For experience/education to qualify during the application screening process, and to ensure that minimum qualifications can be determined, applicants should include all employment history on the Employment Application (STD 678) and/or Resume, including detailed job descriptions, hours worked per week , and start/end dates (MM/DD/YYYY) . Application packages without this information will experience delayed processing times and your eligibility for this position may be impacted.

Desirable Qualifications

• Ability to develop and train on policies, procedures, and workflow related to data collection, integration, quality, validation, and use
• Expertise in data integration, data management, data quality assurance, and system interoperability and informatics – preferably applied to public health surveillance
• Proficiency with data analysis and programming languages (e.g., SQL, R, SAS, SAS Viya, Python)
• Knowledge and implementation of research methods and techniques, application of statistical models to data, and other methods used in data analysis
• Ability to respond to technical assistance requests, develop and provide trainings, and deliver excellent customer service to internal and external partners
• Expertise in data mining, data manipulation, data curation methods, data dictionary development, data management, and running complex data queries with large, complex data sets
• Experience in data governance (e.g., provisioning data access and developing and enforcing data use/management policies)
• Ability to analyze data with attention to detail; present information clearly; draft, review, and edit written reports; and establish and maintain project priorities

Strongly Preferred : Experience collaborating with state and local governments, preferably in public health.

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website.

Contact Information

The Human Resources Contact is available to answer questions regarding the application process. The Hiring Unit Contact is available to answer questions regarding the position.

Department Website: https://www.cdph.ca.gov

Human Resources Contact:
Human Resources Division
[phone]
[e-mail]

Hiring Unit Contact:
Danielle Stephenson
[phone]
[e-mail]

Please direct requests for Reasonable Accommodations to the interview scheduler at the time the interview is being scheduled. You may direct any additional questions regarding Reasonable Accommodations or Equal Employment Opportunity for this position(s) to the Department's EEO Office.

EEO Contact:
EEO Office
[phone]

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice) TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The State of California is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free work place. Any applicant for state employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing Civil Service, and the special trust placed in public servants.