Senior Health Economist

Hinge Health; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Hinge Health is seeking a Senior Health Economist to architect the analytical strategy proving our platform's value to major health plans and employers. You will lead high-stakes ROI analyses, mentor junior economists, and shape the research agenda guiding product development and go-to-market strategy.

Your work will influence patient access to care and how payers invest in digital MSK solutions that deliver measurable savings.

Qualifications

• PhD in health economics or health services research preferred; Master's acceptable with strong applied experience.

Responsibilities

• Architect the analytics strategy to prove ROI to health plans and employers.
• Lead high-stakes ROI analyses and present results to clients.
• Mentor junior economists and set study design standards.
• Build scalable analytics pipelines (e.g., Databricks) to accelerate insights.

Skills

Health economics

Econometrics

Causal inference

Budget impact modeling

Education

PhD in health economics or health services research

Master's degree in a related field

Tools

R

SQL

Python

Databricks

Snowflake

Job description

Digital health is transforming MSK care-but without rigorous economic evidence, innovation stalls. As a Senior Health Economist at Hinge Health, you'll architect the analytical strategy that proves our platform's value to the nation's largest health plans and employers. You'll lead high-stakes ROI analyses, mentor junior economists, and shape the research agenda that informs product development and go-to-market strategy. Your work will directly influence how millions of people access care—and how payers invest in digital health solutions that actually deliver savings.

What You’ll Accomplish

In your first 3 months

you will:

• Assess Hinge Health's current health economics portfolio and prioritize the highest-impact studies for commercial growth and competitive differentiation
• Establish your presence as a trusted advisor to Client Success and Commercial teams, shaping how we position ROI evidence in sales conversations
• Lead your first complex external ROI study, including vendor negotiation, study design approval from internal and external stakeholders, and results presentation

In your first 6 months

you will:

• Own concurrent health economics workstreams across product lines (e.g., chronic MSK, surgical replacement, pelvic health), balancing rigor with commercial timelines
• Present directly to external clients (health plan C-suite, actuarial teams) with polished, defensible analyses that close deals and renew contracts
• Mentor a junior health economist, establishing team standards for study design, code review, and client communication
• Build advanced analytics infrastructure (e.g., automated claims data pipelines in Databricks) that scales the team's capacity

In your first year

you will:

• Define Hinge Health's long-term health economics research strategy, including publication goals, external partnerships, and methodology innovation
• Lead publication of high-impact manuscripts in top-tier journals (JAMA, Health Affairs) that establish Hinge Health as the evidence leader in digital MSK care
• Influence product roadmap decisions by proactively identifying economic opportunities (e.g., "Which member segments drive the highest ROI?") and designing studies to answer them
• Act as the primary advisor to Senior Leadership Team on health economics questions, shaping how we think about value-based contracting and payer partnerships

Who You Are

A Strategic Learn-it-all:

You're not just executing studies—you're anticipating what questions the business will need answered in 12 months and building the infrastructure to answer them.

You actively shape team priorities, not just respond to requests.

A Master Communicator:

You've presented to C-suite executives, defended methodologies to skeptical actuaries, and published in peer-reviewed journals.

You tailor your message to any audience—from PhDs to sales reps—and always land the key takeaway.

Accountable Under Pressure:

You thrive in fast-paced commercial environments where study deadlines directly impact revenue goals.

You make pragmatic trade-offs between perfection and speed, always communicating the implications clearly.

A Leader at All Levels:

You're hands-on with code and data, but you also set the vision for how health economics drives business strategy.

You mentor junior team members while influencing senior leadership.

Basic Requirements

• PhD in health economics, health services research, or a related field strongly preferred; Master's degree with exceptional applied experience considered
• 6-10 years of experience designing and conducting health economics studies using advanced econometric methods (e.g., causal inference, cost-effectiveness analysis, budget impact modeling)
• 6-10 years of experience working with large-scale claims databases (commercial, Medicare, Medicaid), including deep knowledge of medical billing, CPT/ICD coding, and health insurance requirements
• Expert-level programming skills in R, SQL, and/or Python, with a track record of building reproducible, scalable analytical pipelines

Preferred Requirements

• Publication record with first-author papers in high-impact peer-reviewed journals (JAMA, Health Affairs, Medical Care, Value in Health)
• 3+ years of experience with Databricks, Snowflake, or similar cloud data platforms, including experience optimizing large-scale data transformations
• Digital health or MSK care expertise, including understanding of virtual care delivery models, wearable technology, and value-based contracting
• Experience mentoring junior analysts or economists, including code review and study design feedback
• Proficiency with AI-assisted coding tools (e.g., Claude, GitHub Copilot) and willingness to drive team adoption of AI workflows
• Prior experience