[Remote] Medicaid Researcher, Healthcare Innovations

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research. They are seeking a Medicaid Researcher to focus on Medicaid policy and programs, contributing to research and evaluation projects that inform Medicaid policy design and program evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Lead or contribute to the design and execution of Medicaid‑focused research and evaluation projects, including policy analyses, demonstrations, and program evaluations
• Apply appropriate quantitative methods to collect, manage, analyze, and interpret Medicaid administrative data, such as claims, encounters, enrollment, eligibility, and provider data
• Conduct analyses that examine Medicaid utilization, access, quality, cost, and equity outcomes across populations and delivery systems
• Translate complex analytic findings into clear, actionable insights for state and federal Medicaid stakeholders, including client reports, technical memoranda, and presentations
• Support proposal development for Medicaid‑related work by writing technical sections, contributing to analytic approaches, and supporting proposal strategy
• Manage small to mid‑sized project tasks or analytic components, including planning timelines, tracking deliverables, and coordinating with internal teams and external clients
• Collaborate closely with programmers, data scientists, policy staff, and project leadership to ensure analytic rigor and alignment with policy objectives
• Mentor and guide junior staff through feedback, training, and modeling best practices in quantitative and Medicaid policy research
• Engage with Medicaid stakeholders through meetings, briefings, and dissemination activities
• Contribute to a collaborative and inclusive work environment

Skills

• PhD in a relevant field (e.g., Economics, Public Policy, Health Services Research, Statistics, Public Health, Sociology, Political Science, or a related discipline), or a Master's degree with at least four years of quantitative research experience
• Demonstrated experience conducting applied quantitative research related to Medicaid, public insurance, or safety‑net health programs
• Experience working with large‑scale administrative health data, particularly Medicaid claims, encounters, enrollment, eligibility, or provider files
• Experience interpreting analytic results and contributing to reports, briefs, or presentations that inform Medicaid program or policy decisions
• Experience working on research, evaluation, or technical assistance projects for federal or state Medicaid agencies, CMS, or other public or nonprofit entities
• Experience collaborating with cross‑functional teams, including programmers, analysts, and policy experts
• Strong quantitative and data analysis skills, including experience with statistical and data tools such as SAS, SQL, Stata, R, Python, or similar software
• Ability to document analytic methods, conduct data quality checks, and support reproducible research practices
• Strong understanding of Medicaid data structures, program rules, and policy context, or demonstrated ability to learn them quickly
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey complex Medicaid‑related findings to technical and non‑technical audiences
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines independently while contributing effectively in a collaborative, virtual team environment
• Proven ability to coach and mentor junior staff and foster inclusive team dynamics
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and commitment to accuracy in data analysis and reporting
• Familiarity with CMS data sources, Medicaid and Medicare programs, waiver demonstrations (e.g., 1115 waivers), or value‑based payment models

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