Research Associate IV

The Public Health Institute (PHI) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being, and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world. As one of the largest and most comprehensive public health organizations in the nation, we are at the forefront of research and innovations to improve the efficacy of public health statewide, nationally, and internationally.

PHI was distinguished as one of the top 50 "Best Non-Profit Organizations to Work For" by the Non-Profit Times in a national search.

SUMMARY:

About Tracking California

Tracking California, a program of the Public Health Institute in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health, mobilizes data for public health action. We track and analyze data on sickle cell disease, environmental health, and related health outcomes to protect California communities. Our core values are scientific integrity, transparency, sustainability, equity, and partnership. We are committed to building an inclusive team that reflects the populations we support, and we actively seek applications from individuals from marginalized or underrepresented communities.

Position Summary

The Research Associate IV will play a key role in conceptualizing, designing, and leading advanced analyses that leverage the California Sickle Cell Data Collection (CA-SCDC) program and Tracking California's environmental health datasets. This position will focus on health services and outcomes research, examining questions such as healthcare utilization, mortality, and the impact of social determinants of health. The role will also extend to broader environmental health work, including exploring connections between environmental hazards (e.g., drought, extreme heat, air quality) and health outcomes such as mental health and chronic disease.

This is a remote, full-time position with a work schedule of 40 hours/week. The position may require travel for meetings (project meetings, program retreats, and conference) within CA and to different states. Orientation to the position will require travel to the San Francisco Bay Area. The incumbent must be based in California.

This is a time-limited position that is expected to last one year with the possibility of extension depending on funding availability. At PHI, a time-limited position is defined as regular employment with an expected end date of no more than one year from the beginning of the position. In rare circumstances, time-limited positions may be extended to a maximum total length of up to eighteen (18) months from the start of the employee's original time-limited position, or be converted to a regular position that is no longer time-limited.

Full salary range for this position: $70,296 to $101,911 per year. The typical hiring range for this position is from $70,296 (minimum) to $86,104 (midpoint), based on 100% FTE. The starting salary is determined using a variety of factors, such as the candidate's knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as internal equity consideration and budget availability.

Employment Type: Full Time

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following:

• Lead and collaborate on study design, statistical analysis, and interpretation of complex health data (SCDC and environmental health).
• Conceptualize and implement health services and outcomes research projects, including advanced analyses (e.g., survival analysis, regression, causal inference).
• Collect, link, and manage multi-source datasets (hospital discharge, Medi-Cal, newborn screening, mortality, environmental monitoring).
• Maintain rigorous version control and reproducibility practices (e.g., Git/GitHub).
• Prepare and co-author manuscripts, research briefs, dashboards, and presentations for scientific and non-technical audiences.
• Provide technical assistance to community and agency partners to support data-driven decision-making.
• Document and validate methodologies, datasets, and codebooks.
• Actively participate in cross-disciplinary teams and professional development.
• Perform other essential duties as assigned.

NON-ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following:

• Attend internal and external workgroup calls, such as CA-SCDC partner meetings or Tracking California advisory sessions.
• Participate in optional training sessions, webinars, or professional development opportunities related to data analysis, health equity, or environmental health.
• Provide occasional support for dissemination activities, such as reviewing fact sheets, assisting with website or dashboard content, or contributing to social media posts.
• Assist with preparation of grant applications, letters of support, or conference abstracts, as time and workload permit.
• Participate in and contribute to team-building activities organized by Tracking California.
• Perform other non-essential duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Minimum Qualifications

• 5 years of research or data analysis experience.
• Bachelor's degree in epidemiology, health services research, biostatistics, or a related field; or substitute with four additional years of relevant experience.

Other Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to apply advanced statistical methods and epidemiologic study design to public health datasets.
• Experience working with large datasets such as healthcare claims, vital records, and environmental monitoring.
• Proficiency in SAS, R, or Python for data management and analysis.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain findings to varied audiences.
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple projects, and meet deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Expertise in health disparities, rare diseases, or environmental health research.
• Experience with SQL, GIS tools (ArcGIS, QGIS, or spatial libraries in R/Python), and/or Tableau/dashboarding.
• Familiarity with version control tools (git) and reproducible research practices.
• Experience with probabilistic linkage approaches Commitment to advancing health equity through applied research.
• Master's degree in epidemiology, health services research, biostatistics, or a related field (MPH, MS, or equivalent).

FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT (FLSA) STATUS

This position is classified as exempt based on the job duties. However, based on the FTE, salary level of the employee, or federal/state/local laws, the employee may be classified as nonexempt.

The Public Health Institute is committed to a policy that provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and to make all employment decisions so as to further this principle of equal employment opportunity. To this end, the PHI will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are offered employment and employees are treated during employment without regard to these characteristics.

For further information regarding Equal Employment Opportunity, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf

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