Environmental & Occupational Health Lead

CGI•Fairfax, VA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Environmental & Occupational Health Lead serves as the VA MDE program’s senior clinical authority on toxic exposure, environmental hazards, and occupational health–related disability conditions. The role draws on Preventive and Occupational Medicine expertise to guide examiners conducting environmental exposure evaluations and to ensure assessments are accurate, consistent, and aligned with VA standards. The Lead safeguards exam quality in PACT Act domains, including Agent Orange, burn pits, contaminated water, industrial toxins, and airborne hazards, and supports scientifically sound, legally defensible evaluations for VA adjudication and appellate review. The position is based in CGI’s Fairfax, Virginia, or Lafayette, Louisiana, office, with a hybrid working model acceptable. The Lead oversees clinical quality and compliance, reviews cases and coaches examiners, develops specialized training, and works with clinical, operations, technology, analytics, and workflow teams to improve exposure-related exam pathways. The role also promotes trauma-informed and exposure-informed evaluations and partners with operations to reduce rework, improve cycle times, and strengthen veteran trust and satisfaction.

Requirements

Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) degree.
Completion of an ACGME-accredited residency in Preventive Medicine and/or Occupational Medicine.
Board Certified or Board Eligible in Preventive/Occupational Medicine.
Full, current, unrestricted medical license issued by a U.S. state medical board and good standing with no history of disciplinary actions.
At least 3 years of experience completing VA disability examinations or equivalent IME experience.
Documented expertise assessing hazardous environmental exposures, such as Agent Orange, burn pits, and PACT Act exposures.
Expertise in occupational exposures, chemical hazards, respiratory exposures, and toxicology-related impairment.
Demonstrated ability to lead, instruct, and quality-assure multidisciplinary clinical examiners.
Deep understanding of VA disability DBQs, sufficiency standards, and adjudication expectations.
Ability to translate complex environmental exposure science into clear, defensible DBQ narratives.
Strong communication skills and clinical documentation excellence.

Nice To Haves

Experience with the World Trade Center Health Program, industrial toxicology programs, or large-scale exposure assessment programs.
Prior service as a Chief Medical Officer, government physician, or senior DoD/VA clinical leader.
Familiarity with VA technology systems, electronic DBQ tools, or EHR-related project implementation.
Background in occupational epidemiology, environmental risk modeling, or exposure surveillance program design.
Experience working within large federal health programs, IME organizations, or contractor-based medical service environments.

Responsibilities

Serve as the program’s senior clinical authority for Environmental & Occupational Health DBQs and toxic exposure cases, including burn pits, Agent Orange, contaminated water, and chemical or toxin exposure.
Maintain knowledge of evolving PACT Act exposure categories, presumptive conditions, and VA guidance, and integrate updates into examiner training and workflows.
Lead clinical quality assurance for environmental and occupational health evaluations, ensuring DBQ accuracy, completeness, and defensibility.
Conduct case reviews and provide remediation coaching to examiners producing insufficient or inconsistent reports.
Work with Quality & Compliance teams to ensure adherence to VA forms, documentation rules, and disability-rating sufficiency standards.
Develop initial and recurring examiner training on environmental exposures, toxicology principles, and exposure–condition linkage analysis.
Mentor examiners on differentiating environmental from non-environmental etiologies and documenting impairment in alignment with VA rating criteria.
Coordinate with the Medical Director, Mental Health Lead, Audiology Lead, and Program Operations to align protocols with broader clinical governance.
Advise technology, analytics, and workflow teams on identifying exposure-related claims, streamlining triage, and improving exam-pathway accuracy.
Ensure examination processes use trauma-informed and exposure-informed methods, particularly for veterans with long-term toxic exposure concerns.
Partner with operations to reduce rework, accelerate cycle times, and improve veteran trust and satisfaction in exposure-related assessments.