Senior Materials Research Scientist

Arbor Research Collaborative for Health; Springfield (IL); Remote; USD 63,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Arbor Research LLC, a remote-friendly health research organisation, seeks a Senior Research Scientist to provide scientific leadership in health services research, program evaluation, and evidence dissemination for government agencies and private clients.

You will apply advanced quantitative and qualitative methods, mentor staff, contribute to proposals, and advance evidence-based practices to reduce disparities and improve outcomes. Strong communication and leadership are essential.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in health services research, epidemiology, health policy, or other social science fields.
• 7+ years of postdoctoral research experience.
• Experience collecting and synthesizing qualitative data, especially listening sessions.
• Established research success with peer-reviewed publications and invited presentations.
• Leadership in large research projects and in securing funding for new projects.
• Excellent oral and written communication across diverse audiences.
• Mentorship and leadership successes.
• Must possess travel documents for commercial airfare travel.

Responsibilities

• Lead projects including client-facing health policy and program evaluation work.
• Provide oversight for projects and serve as Project Director, Deputy Project Director, or Task Lead.
• Collaborate with project managers to oversee tasks and timelines.
• Build and maintain relationships with sponsors and internal staff.
• Contribute to business development and seek new projects to meet sales targets.
• Lead proposals for contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements.
• Oversee research leading to peer-reviewed publications and deliverables.
• Translate published research into improved health outcomes and present externally.

Skills

Qualitative data analysis

Leadership

Research publications

Communication

Mentorship

Business development

Travel readiness

Education

Master's degree in health services research/epidemiology/health policy

PhD in health services research/epidemiology/health policy

Postdoctoral research experience

Job description

Our Core Values

Our core values define who we are as an organization and serve as the foundation of our code of ethics. Arbor Research expects all employees to embody and demonstrate in our day-to-day work.

Collaborative Spirit: We expect each staff member to learn from and teach one another and ask each to exhibit curiosity and respect for the contributions of others.

Creativity: We strive to cultivate a challenging, stimulating, and supportive environment where our employees are expected to be inquisitive, take the initiative, and demonstrate ingenuity.

Credibility: Our employees are smart, thoughtful, and objective in their work. We expect them to be technically solid in their area of expertise and for those researching to demonstrate scientific rigor.

Dedication: Our team achieves success because of our dedication to carrying out high-quality work and delivering trusted results.

*Please note this position is 0.50FTE, 20 hours per week*

Position Summary

The Senior Research Scientist provides scientific leadership and methodological expertise in the design, implementation, analysis, and dissemination of health services research, program evaluation, and applied research initiatives supporting the mission and priorities of various government healthcare agencies and private industry clients. This role leads complex research projects focused on improving access to health care, strengthening the health workforce, reducing health disparities, and advancing evidence-based practices across underserved and vulnerable populations. The Senior Research Scientist applies advanced quantitative and qualitative research methods, oversees data collection and analysis, interprets findings, and translates evidence into actionable recommendations to inform program development, policy, and strategic decision-making. Working collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams, federal partners, health care organizations, and community stakeholders, the position ensures scientific rigor and delivery of high-quality research products and reports. The Senior Research Scientist also mentors research staff, contributes to proposal development and business development efforts, and supports the Organization's continued growth and impact in health research and evaluation.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead projects including those focused on providing expertise to clients or health care organizations, implementation of health policies or health care delivery models, monitoring, program evaluation, and learning collaboratives.
• Provide operational oversight for projects and will serve in a variety of project roles such as Project Director, Deputy Project Director, or Task Lead.
• Collaborate with assigned project managers to oversee the management of individual and team tasks and timelines.
• Build and maintain relationships with project sponsors, external partners, and internal managers and staff.
• Desire to contribute to business development and independently seek out new projects to meet annual Sales Credit targets for the position.
• Lead successful proposals for new contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements that meaningfully support or extend the Organization’s portfolio.
• Oversee research leading to peer-reviewed publications or deliverable reports, in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams.
• Identify and implement additional ways to translate our published research into improving health outcomes and present seminars and lectures externally on behalf of Arbor Research.

Qualifications

• Master's degree with relative experience in health services research, epidemiology, health policy, or other social science fields
• At least seven (7) years of postdoctoral research experience at Arbor Research and/or a comparable research-based organization
• Experience collecting and synthesizing qualitative data, especially listening sessions
• Established research success, as demonstrated by specific content-area expertise, lead or senior authorship on peer-reviewed and/or scholarly publications, invited presentations, project reports, and/or reputation as a research scientist
• Established success in a leadership role for large research projects, as well as business development and securing funding for new projects consistent with the Organization’s mission
• Excellent oral and written communication skills with a wide variety of audiences, including the health care community, sponsors, and policy makers
• Established mentorship and leadership skills and successes
• Must possess and be able to maintain valid travel documents to meet requirements for commercial airfare travel carriers

Preferred Qualifications

• PhD in health services research, epidemiology, health policy, or other social science fields
• Previous experience and desire to engage in business development efforts such as gathering client/market intelligence, learning agency/client priorities to cross-sell the Organization’s expertise, bid/no-bid processes, proposal development, and actively pursuing new projects

Entity

Arbor Research LLC

Department

Clinical and Epidemiological Studies

Work Arrangement

Remote

Location

Must be physically located in one of the following states:
* Washington D.C., Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, and North Carolina

Fair Labor Standards Act Status

Exempt

Reports To

Program Director

Hours Per Week

Supervises Others: No Overnight Travel: Minimal, no more than 5%

Salary Range

$62,750-$104,500

*Base Compensation is determined by market range and geographic location pay zones. Base Compensation also includes various individual factors unique to each candidate such as job level, prior experience, skill set, certifications, and education, which may impact the compensation structure.