Principal Consulting Epidemiologist

J.S. Held•Redmond, WA

1d•Remote

About The Position

J.S. Held is seeking a Principal Epidemiologist to join our Health Sciences practice. This role is ideally suited for a senior consulting professional who combines deep technical expertise in epidemiology with a strong seller–doer mindset, experience supporting litigation and regulatory matters, and the ability to contribute meaningful revenue growth through an established client base. The successful candidate will play a key role in delivering expert-driven analyses and testimony across complex disputes, regulatory investigations, and high-impact advisory engagements. While preference will be given to candidates with expertise in occupational or environmental epidemiology, we are open to adjacent disciplines (e.g., pharmacoepidemiology, injury epidemiology) where there is a demonstrated track record in litigation, risk assessment, or regulatory support.

Requirements

Doctoral degree (PhD, ScD, or DrPH) in Epidemiology from a regionally accredited, research-intensive (non-profit) university
Approximately 15+ years of post-graduate, client-facing consulting experience, delivering epidemiological analyses within litigation, regulatory, or risk management environments
Demonstrated seller–doer track record, including a portable book of business and consistent delivery against annual revenue and origination targets
Proven experience serving as an expert witness, including authorship of expert reports and participation in depositions and/or courtroom testimony, with the ability to perform effectively under cross-examination
Advanced expertise in epidemiologic methods and strong command of statistical tools (e.g., R, Python, SAS, SPSS, or Stata), with the ability to lead technical teams and guide analytical workstreams
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly present complex methodologies and findings to attorneys, regulators, and senior business leaders

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with U.S. litigation processes, including experience supporting mass torts, class actions, or regulatory enforcement matters
Established professional visibility, including peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, committee participation, or leadership roles in professional societies
Experience working within or alongside multidisciplinary consulting teams (e.g., toxicology, industrial hygiene, environmental science, economics)

Responsibilities

Originate, develop, and expand client relationships across legal, corporate, and regulatory sectors
Maintain and grow a portable book of business, contributing to practice revenue targets
Lead business development efforts, including opportunity identification, scoping, pricing, and proposal development
Collaborate with cross-functional experts (toxicology, industrial hygiene, environmental science, economics) to deliver integrated client solutions
Serve as a consulting and testifying expert in litigation, arbitration, and regulatory matters
Prepare and deliver expert reports, depositions, and oral testimony
Translate complex epidemiologic findings into clear, defensible, and persuasive insights for legal counsel, regulators, and executive stakeholders
Support high-profile and sensitive matters, including mass torts, environmental exposure cases, and occupational health disputes
Lead and manage complex, multi-disciplinary epidemiological engagements
Design and oversee study protocols, including exposure assessment, outcome definition, and causal inference strategies
Ensure rigorous QA/QC processes across all analyses and deliverables
Manage project teams, timelines, budgets, and client expectations in a consulting environment
Apply advanced epidemiologic methodologies, including: Cohort and case–control studies, Time-series and longitudinal analyses, Meta-analyses and systematic reviews, Survival and sensitivity analyses, Causal inference techniques
Utilize statistical and analytical tools such as R, Python, SAS, or Stata to generate defensible, litigation-ready outputs
Critically evaluate external studies and literature to support expert opinions and rebuttals
Mentor and develop junior consultants and analysts within the Health Sciences team
Contribute to thought leadership, including publications, conference presentations, and client briefings
Support go-to-market initiatives and enhance J.S. Held’s visibility in expert services and advisory markets
Help shape and expand the firm’s epidemiology and health risk capabilities globally