The Hopkins Business of Health Initiative (HBHI) is seeking a Sr. Statistical Programmer Analyst and Data Manager to support health policy and economic research on the Hopkins Data Analytics Platform (HARP). Rank will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.
The Hopkins Data Analytics Platform (HARP) is a university-wide platform at HBHI which support data-driven health care services research across JHU. The goal of the platform is to advance data-driven solutions that address national health system challenges across markets, organizations, populations, and technologies. The platform houses Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) health insurance claims data and is integrating next-generation data linkages while expanding access across the University to cutting-edge health care data.
The position will sit in the Department of Health Policy and Management (HPM) in the Bloomberg School of Public Health which boasts a diverse, interdisciplinary group of scholars—from social scientists and health economists to legal scholars, policy analysts, management scientists and ethicists. Many holds joint appointments in the schools of Medicine, Nursing, Arts and Sciences, and Engineering, and the Department benefits from well-established collaborations with the faculty, students and patients of Johns Hopkins Medicine. HBHI, organizationally housed within HPM, is supported by the Carey Business School, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, School of Nursing, and School of Medicine to integrate research, practice, and policy across Johns Hopkins University to improve the productivity of the nation’s health system.
The successful candidate will serve as a co-investigator on health economics projects led by Drs. Melinda Buntin, Matthew Eisenberg, and Dan Polsky. Primary research areas include novel approaches to address national health system challenges, focusing on mental health and substance use services, Medicare (traditional and Medicare Advantage), post-acute care, and health care spending.
Specific Duties & Responsibilities
Research Responsibilities
- Support health economics, services, and policy research projects conducted by Drs. Buntin, Eisenberg, and Polsky.
- Lead data management tasks including cleaning, variable creation, merging datasets and compiling data from various sources.
- Create tables, figures, and documentation summarizing statistical analyses.
- Develop and maintain a code library for data processing and analysis across healthcare claims data.
- Provide research support on topics including cohort definition, risk adjustment scores, cost-sharing calculations, and provider-level data integration.
- Offer coding support to staff, students, and faculty as needed.
- Perform other research activities as required.
Administrative Responsibilities
Platform data management
- Maintain data access among users pursuant to Data use Agreements (DUAs).
- Maintain data inventory of HARP’s restricted and non-restricted data assets.
- Facilitate new data acquisition based on current and planned research agendas including data delivery, processing, and server data organization.
- Ensure computing resources are used efficiently and accessed appropriately.
- Establish and standardize usage policies for HARP, including job processing, CPU usage, and file storage.
Develop expertise and cultivate shared knowledge to provide guidance on complex topics
- Facilitate knowledge sharing among data users through online platforms (e.g., GitHub) and meetings.
- Serve as internal consultant for research projects within the CMS Virtual Research Data Center (VRDC)
User Training and Support
- Oversee onboarding and technical support for new HARP users.
- Maintain standards for cell size suppression from output to protect data confidentiality.
- Provide resources on formal and informal trainings related to server utilization, CMS data usage, etc.
- Mentor staff, students, and faculty on effective data processes (e.g. efficient programming, use of ResDAC resources).
Special Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities
- Experience with SAS, STATA, or R programming supporting health services or related research.
- Excellent interpersonal skills consulting with researchers and understanding their problems.
- Excellent writing and verbal skills in the preparation and presentation of reports.
- Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
Minimum Qualifications- Bachelor's Degree.
- Three years related experience.
- Direct programming experience while pursuing education may count towards related experience. Significant undergraduate programming coursework or independent project can be considered as related experience.
- Additional education may substitute for required experience and additional related experience may substitute for required education, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.
Preferred Qualifications- A master’s Degree in mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, Economics, Public Health, or a related field.
- Experience working with health insurance claims data.
- Strong statistical programming skills.
- Prior work experience in academic or research health care settings.
- Training in health economics, health services research, or health policy.
- Strong communication skills and experience working with diverse research teams.
- Linux and Unix experience.
Classified Title: Sr. Programmer Analyst
Job Posting Title (Working Title): Sr. Statistical Programmer Analyst and Data Manager
Role/Level/Range: ATP/04/PD
Starting Salary Range: $62,300 - $109,000 Annually ($90,000 targeted; Commensurate with experience)
Employee group: Full Time
Schedule: Monday to Friday: 9 am – 5 pm
Exempt Status: Exempt
Location: Remote
Department name: Health Policy & Management -Independent
Personnel area: School of Public Health
