Careers

Description:

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent research center at the University of Washington. Its mission is to deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and practice. IHME carries out its mission through a range of projects within different research areas including the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors; Future Health Scenarios; Costs and Cost Effectiveness; Resource Tracking; and Impact Evaluations. Our vision is to provide policymakers, donors, and researchers with the highest-quality quantitative evidence base so all people live long lives in full health.

IHME is committed to providing the evidence base necessary to help solve the world’s most important health problems. This requires creativity and innovation, which is cultivated by an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment that respects and appreciates differences, embraces collaboration, and invites the voices of all IHME team members.

IHME has an excellent opportunity for a Research Scientist to join our Goalkeepers research team. We are looking for someone who will help drive quantitative health research. Across IHME, Research Scientists lead on research teams by contributing to research design and training and mentoring junior staff. IHME Researchers analyze and produce key estimates for their research team and focus on using data from household and administrative surveys, insurance claims data, published literature, registries, and administrative records. Research Scientists are further involved in critiquing, improving, and disseminating results. They must be capable of helping keep their team on track to meet deadlines and research objectives. Research Scientists should have experience with the publication process, and, at IHME, are expected to build out their portfolio with several peer-reviewed papers. We are looking for individuals who keep abreast of recent scientific, engineering, and technical advances and are able to translate these into your research.

The Goalkeepers research team develops research intended to describe and assess health care around the world, particularly for publication in the high-profile Goalkeepers Report published by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The research is tremendously policy-relevant, with the team at a unique moment of expansion in scope. The team’s Research Scientist will work closely with the faculty lead, a Researcher, project managers, as well as potentially with the Gates Foundation directly. This position is contingent on project funding.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, quality check, and distribute complex datasets to be used in epidemiological and statistical analyses.
• Develop and implement new computational and statistical methods. Create, test, and use relevant computer code in R or Python. Maintain, modify, and execute analytic machinery.
• Contribute to research design.
• Review and assess existing research on similar research topics.
• Draft presentations and manuscripts, and contribute to funding proposals. Lead and co-author scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals.
• Maintain scientific awareness and intellectual agility with data, methods, and analytic techniques.
• Provide ideas and content for the development of internal trainings. Teach established trainings.
• Other duties as assigned that fall within reasonable scope of research team.

As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For a complete description of our benefits for this position, please visit our website, click here.

REQUIREMENTS

• Master’s degree in public health, epidemiology, computer or data science, economics, statistics, quantitative social sciences, or related discipline plus four years’ related experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Additional Requirements:

• Excellent analytic, critical thinking, and quantitative skills.
• Results- and detail-oriented individual who can initiate and complete tasks under tight deadlines and changing priorities both independently and in a team environment. Flexibility with hours and workload is key.
• Experience devising and executing statistical modeling techniques.
• Experience manipulating and analyzing large datasets.
• Demonstrated ability to quickly recognize problems in results and identify root causes in data, methods, and code.
• Demonstrated success in designing, executing, and troubleshooting complex analytic code in R and/or Python.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills required, including track record of success in co-authorship on multiple scientific papers, presenting results, and representing research at meetings.
• Ability to work both independently and in collaboration with a team.
• A long-term interest in a research scientist position contributing to the overall mission of our research.

A commitment to working to alongside others at IHME to illuminate the health impacts of systemic racism and to work within IHME to make our organization more diverse and inclusive. See IHME’s DEI statement here: http://www.healthdata.org/get-involved/careers/dei.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

DESIRED

• Master’s degree plus six years’ related experience, or PhD in public health, epidemiology, statistics, biostatistics, math, economics, or quantitative social sciences, or MD plus two years’ experience preferred.
• Expertise in research using at least two statistical programming languages, R and Python.
• Experience with database management.
• Experience with a wide range of quantitative methods.
• Experience using (public and/or private) health insurance claims data.
• Experience mentoring and developing junior employees on soft and technical skills.
• Peer-reviewed publication record.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• Weekend and evening work sometimes required.
• This position is eligible to work fully remote in the US; work schedule required to overlap 50% of IHME office hours between 8am and 6pm Pacific Time.
• This position is open to anyone authorized to work in the U.S. The UW is not able to sponsor visas for staff positions.

Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Workforce Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed