Senior Researcher, Medicaid Policy and Financing

American Institutes for Research

2h•$120,000 - $150,000

About The Position

The Senior Researcher will join the Healthcare Transformation Program and apply deep Medicaid policy and financing expertise to research, applied analytics, project leadership, and client engagement. The role supports federal and state decision-making across projects addressing healthcare coverage, care delivery, operations, cost containment, and quality. Clients include CMS, MACPAC, and foundations. The Senior Researcher will design and oversee rigorous studies, manage project teams and budgets, oversee data collection and analysis, develop proposals, and communicate actionable findings. The position may be performed remotely within the United States or from a U.S. office location; U.S. territories are excluded.

Requirements

PhD in a related subject area (such as Economics, Health Services Research, or Public Policy) with at least 3 years of relevant experience, or a master’s degree with at least 7 years of relevant experience.
Extensive knowledge of Medicaid financing and policy, including areas such as federal-state financing, payment policy, managed care, supplemental payments, waivers, delivery-system reform, or program integrity and fraud oversight.
Ability to translate complex ideas into actionable work plans and timelines.
Experience managing project or task teams on research, evaluation, and technical assistance projects.
Experience building and maintaining strong client and partner relationships.
Experience supporting business development, including grant and proposal writing.
Experience analyzing claims and other large or complex datasets.
Experience working in contract research or evaluation organizations.
Strong organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills, including the ability to produce concise, high-level summaries and briefings.
Strong negotiation, communication, client-management, and partner-management skills.
Strong presentation and facilitation skills.
Attention to detail and commitment to accuracy in writing.
Ability to collaborate effectively in a virtual work environment.
Ability to analyze Medicaid claims and other data using statistical software such as R, Python, SAS, or Stata.
Must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis; employment-based visa sponsorship is not available.

Responsibilities

Manage day-to-day Medicaid project operations as a principal investigator, project director, or task lead, ensuring deliverables are timely, within budget, and high quality.
Lead collaborative project teams by developing timelines and coordinating staff assignments.
Identify research problems and design applied studies, including research questions, methodologies, and analytic plans.
Apply subject-matter expertise to design and implement responsive research, operations, and technical assistance projects.
Lead and oversee analyses of Medicaid claims, including the T-MSIS Analytic File, hospital cost reports, and other complex administrative data.
Devise and implement innovative solutions to practical challenges in applied research.
Lead Medicaid data collection and analysis, identify trends, outliers, and reporting issues, and synthesize findings.
Communicate project progress and findings through reports, briefings, presentations, visualizations, and other materials that explain policy-relevant findings and actionable insights.
Represent AIR professionally in client interactions and manage client and stakeholder relationships with awareness of the broader policy and practice landscape.
Communicate effectively with clients, partners, and stakeholders, and foster positive, collaborative working relationships.
Contribute thoughtfully and creatively to project teams.
Contribute to business development by identifying opportunities, developing client relationships, and leading or substantively contributing to competitive proposals.