Careers

Description:

Are you passionate about improving Veterans’ health and health care through impactful work in a collaborative setting? Join the Seattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (ERIC), a research center within the VA Puget Sound Health Care System (HCS), dedicated to enhancing Veteran health outcomes through high-quality epidemiologic research. The Seattle ERIC is part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) Cooperative Studies Program (CSP), an award-winning and internationally recognized program with a national research network.

The Seattle ERIC is hiring a full-time Research Data Analyst (GS-11) to work with an experienced and growing group of researchers committed to high-quality epidemiology research. 

Research Data Analysts will support large, national epidemiology research studies as well as smaller-scale, investigator-initiated projects. This position will work with a team of data analysts, biostatisticians, and scientific personnel on studies assessing environmental and occupational exposures, pharmacotherapy, specific medical conditions, and genetics/genomics. This position would primarily focus on projects examining health outcomes after military service. Some of the other current research projects at the ERIC examine cardiovascular disease, cancer, back pain, and amputations. This position is based at the VA Puget Sound HCS in Seattle, WA and is not eligible for remote work.

Key Duties:

• Collaborate with investigators and staff to identify key data elements from national and local VA, Department of Defense, and a variety of other data sources
• Consult with investigators about available VA data resources
• Create data specifications, design complex data extract systems, and write supporting documentation
• Combine health record data, administrative data, and study collected data from multiple systems to create analytic files for epidemiologists and biostatisticians in support of scientific projects 
• Design, load, and ensure data quality of relational databases 
• Manage, administer, and ensure data quality, security, and maintenance of data files and database systems from current and past studies 
• Produce reports, and maintain applications to meet the needs of study staff and support ongoing national projects
• Respond quickly and accurately to urgent data requests from investigators
• Provide optimal customer service to stakeholders (investigators, project managers, coworkers, and other staff) through understanding, clear communication, problem-solving and collaboration

Additional responsibilities may include curating large genomic datasets, creating and curating research repository databases and frontend entry systems, mentoring staff, training study staff on study data systems, validating study data from field sites and troubleshooting any issues, and learning new technologies and techniques needed to support CSP’s future scientific and data needs. 

Learn more about the ERIC, CSP and CSP #505 at:

• Seattle ERIC website: https://www.seattle.eric.research.va.gov/ 
• VA CSP website: https://www.vacsp.research.va.gov/ 
• CSP #505: Millennium Cohort Study website: https://www.vacsp.research.va.gov/CSPEC/Studies/INVESTD-R/Millennium-Cohort-CSP-505.asp

Skills/Eligibility:

Required Qualifications:

• Education Requirements:
  • BA/BS in a scientific- or health-related field and 4-5 years of research work involving Human Subjects OR
  • Master’s or higher degree in a scientific- or health-related field with 1+ years of healthcare or research experience
  • Note: Any education outside the United States needs to be evaluated through a foreign education evaluation agency service.
• Knowledge of relational databases, including primary/foreign keys, normalization, etc. 
• Experience with a programming language such as SQL, R, Python, SAS, Stata, or a related language
• Excellent data management, programming, organization, and communication skills
• Flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to work both independently and in a team setting

Desired Qualifications:

• 1+ years of experience with Human Subjects research as data manager, data administrator or data analyst
• Familiarity with data security practices, HIPAA, and human subjects research protections
• Experience with large relational databases & data structures
• Experience with research data collection tools (REDCap, Qualtrics, DF Discover, etc.)
• Experience with administrative healthcare data and healthcare coding systems
• Knowledge of epidemiology & common epidemiologic methods
• Familiarity with VA data systems
• Experience with SAS Grid, Power BI, SQL Server Management Studio, SQL Server Integration Services, Visual Basic Studio, VBA, MS Access, Cloud computing/AWS/Azure, Databricks, Illumina Informatics Products

How to Apply:

Application Information:

Candidates must be U.S. citizens. Education and experience will be evaluated by Human Resources to determine if the selected candidate meets the criteria for the targeted GS-11 range. The General Schedule (GS) salary table for the Seattle area can be found on the Office of Personnel Management website at opm.gov.

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to SeattleCSPEC@va.gov. Cover letters should address how your unique skills and experience align with the position qualifications. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.