Senior Research Economist - U.S. Health Policy

RTI International; Few (NC); On-site; USD 166,000 - 203,000; Full time

Job summary

RTI International seeks a Senior Research Economist to lead analyses in health economics and domestic US health policy, guiding studies and client-focused solutions. You will design studies, manage teams, and translate findings into actionable insights for government and non-government clients.

The role requires strong expertise in Medicare policy, data sources, and quantitative analysis, with the ability to mentor staff and drive project success across multiple contracts.

Qualifications

• PhD with at least 8 years of relevant experience, or Master’s with 12 years, or Bachelor’s with 15 years.
• Experience writing successful proposals for CMS.
• Expertise in designing studies using medical/pharmaceutical claims and analyzing data for analytic insights.
• Ability to interpret regulation and legislation to model impacts on stakeholders.
• Deep understanding of Medicare program and health policy context.
• Recognized expertise in one or more domestic US health policy areas.
• Experience with Medicare claims, encounter data, and other health data sources.
• Experience leading projects focusing on program design, outcomes, and quantitative analysis.
• Experience managing complex projects for CMS, ASPE, HRSA, CDC, AHRQ or state counterparts.
• Ability to work legally in the United States without visa sponsorship.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute approaches to complex client problems and programs.
• Plan and direct preparation of proposals with significant technical complexity.
• Perform advanced research tasks and develop innovative technical solutions.
• Direct teams in research tasks and modeling of complex issues.
• Translate analytic findings into actionable insights and author technical reports and memos.
• Manage quality control across projects to ensure high-quality outcomes.
• Mentor junior to senior staff to achieve project goals.
• Develop and manage project budgets, timelines, and plans.
• Communicate plans, timelines, budgets, and results with clients.
• Design and analyze large administrative datasets with advanced software and languages.

Skills

CMS proposals

Health policy

Medicare data

Data analysis

Leadership

Regulatory modeling

Big data

Programming languages

Statistical software

Education

PhD

Master's degree

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Statistical software

Programming languages

Job description

Why RTI

RTI International is an independent, scientific research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Our vision is to address the world's most critical problems with technical and science-based solutions in pursuit of a better future. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach-one that integrates expertise across social, statistical, data, and laboratory sciences, engineering, and other technical disciplines to solve the world's most challenging problems.

We believe in the promise of science and technical solutions, and we push ourselves every day to deliver on that promise for the good of people, communities, and businesses in the US and around the world. If you are looking for the opportunity to make a real difference, RTI is the place for you.

About the Hiring Group

RTI International's Health Care Systems Research Department has an opening for a Senior Research Economist to serve as a task and project leader for new and ongoing research studies and operational support activities. This position will lead and direct analyses for research studies relating to health economics and domestic US health policy research and apply skills in research design and statistical methods to offer solutions to complex health care policy issues for US government and non-government clients.

What You'll Do

Responsibilities

• Define, investigate/strategize, formulate, and execute approaches and solutions to the most complex problems in client projects and programs .
• Plan/direct the preparation of proposals of significant technical complexity, contract value, or strategic importance.
• Perform research tasks of significant technical complexity, developing and implementing innovative and creative technical solutions to research problems, questions, and issues.
• Direct teams in performing research tasks and modeling of significant technical complexity.
• Translate analytic findings into clear, actionable insights for technical, policy, and client audiences. Author technical reports, memoranda, articles, documentation, and regulations.
• Manage quality control processes across all aspects of projects to ensure delivery of high quality and accurate work products.
• Manage and mentor junior, mid-level, and other senior staff to achieve project goals.
• Develop and manage project budgets, timelines, and plans to achieve goals within available resources.
• Communicate and negotiate work plans, timelines, budgets, and results with clients.
• Design and execute analysis and processing of large, complex administrative datasets with advanced software, programming languages and environments, data analytic and machine learning techniques, while maintaining data security and confidentiality.
• Develop and expand personal and RTI reputation for expertise in applicable policy/technical/methodological areas (e.g., authoring articles published in peer-reviewed journals, making presentations to internal/external clients and at professional meetings, etc.).
• Develop business opportunities by establishing close client relationships, obtaining business intelligence, and being recognized for technical and policy expertise.
• Identify, evaluate, pursue, and lead the response to business opportunities such as requests for proposals from federal and state clients.

What You'll Need

Minimum Qualifications

• PhD with at least 8 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree with at least 12 years of relevant experience, or a Bachelor's degree with at least 15 years of relevant experience.
• Experience writing successful proposals for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
• Expertise in designing studies using medical and/or pharmaceutical claims, analyzing data to answer complex analytic questions, and presenting results to stakeholders.
• The ability to interpret regulation and legislation to model impacts of changes on stakeholders.
• Deep understanding of the Medicare program, and other health care policy contextual knowledge.
• Recognized expertise in one or more domestic US health care policy areas.
• Experience working with a wide range of data sources such as Medicare claims (medical and/or pharmacy) and encounter data, commercial claims data, and health survey data.
• Experience in designing the analysis of very large data sets, including technical programming specifications and languages, and familiarity with or ability to acquire expertise in federal agency data processing systems/environments and requirements.
• Strong track record of leading projects that focus on program design and support, or outcome evaluations and quantitative analysis.
• Experience managing complex projects for federal agencies such as CMS, ASPE, HRSA, CDC, and AHRQ, or state counterparts.
• Experience managing project and task research teams who focus on policy, methods, data science, statistics, and/or economics.
• To qualify, applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States and should not require, now or in the future, sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B visa status, etc.).

EEO & Pay Equity Statements

For San Francisco, CA USA Job Postings Only: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Further information is availablehere.

RTI accepts applications to our job openings from candidates with criminal histories or conviction records in accordance with all applicable laws, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

For Applicants in Massachusetts Only:It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below. Our pay ranges represent national averages and may vary by location as a geographic differential may be applied to some locations within the United States. RTI considers multiple factors when making an offer including, for example: established salary range, internal budget, business needs, and education and years of work experience possessed by the applicant. Further, salary is merely one element to our offer.

At RTI, we demonstrate our commitment to rewarding individual and team achievement through a total rewards package. This package includes (among other things) a competitive base salary, a generous paid time off policy, merit based annual increases, bonus opportunities and a robust recognition program. Other benefits include a competitive range of insurance plans (including health, dental, life, and short-term and long-term disability), access to a retirement savings program such as a 401(k) plan, paid parental leave for all parents, financial assistance with adoption expenses or infertility treatments, financial reimbursement for education and developmental opportunities, an employee assistance program, and numerous other offerings to support a healthy work-life balance.

Equal Pay Act Minimum/Range

$166,000 - $203,000