Medicaid and Medicare Policy Researcher

Join AIR as a Researcher focused on Marketplace, Medicaid and Medicare policy and programs with our Healthcare Transformation team to serve as a task and project leader on a broad portfolio of health policy work. Our team works collaboratively to address complex challenges related to coverage, care delivery, operations, cost containment, and health equity, supporting federal and state partners in improving outcomes for low income and medically vulnerable populations. Our multidisciplinary team—including economists, data scientists, public health experts, clinicians, and policy researchers—advances evidence through rigorous research and evaluation, results driven technical assistance, and applied analytics. This role will contribute directly to projects and studies that inform Marketplace, Medicaid and Medicare policy design, program evaluation, and system transformation. The ideal candidate will bring knowledge and experience working with state and federal agencies, particularly the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), among others, in addition to qualitative and quantitative research skills. This position has the flexibility to work remotely within the United States (U.S.) or from one of AIR’s U.S. office locations. This does not include U.S. territories. About AIR: Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to address some of the most pressing challenges in the United States and globally. We generate evidence and apply data-driven solutions that expand opportunities and improve lives for all. Responsibilities: Engage with Marketplace, Medicaid and Medicare stakeholders through meetings, briefings, and dissemination activities. Interpret policy and regulations. Specify, oversee, and interpret descriptive and statistical analyses of large, complex datasets. Translate complex analytic findings into clear, actionable insights for state and federal stakeholders, including client reports, technical memoranda, and presentations. Design and oversee the development of dashboards and other data visualizations to present quality performance and associated data. Apply appropriate quantitative methods to collect, manage, analyze, and interpret administrative data, such as claims, encounters, enrollment, eligibility, and provider data. Lead or contribute to the design and execution of research and evaluation projects, including policy analyses, demonstrations, and program evaluations. Support proposal development work by writing technical sections, contributing to analytic approaches, and supporting proposal strategy. Manage small to mid sized project tasks or analytic components, including planning timelines, tracking deliverables, and coordinating with internal teams and external clients. Develop and manage budgets (in collaboration with a Project Manager), and communicate timelines, scope and resources with clients. Ensure the quality, accuracy, and consistency of all work products through appropriate QA/QC processes. Supervise, mentor and guide junior staff through feedback, training, and modeling best practices in quantitative and qualitative policy research and professional completion of project tasks. Work effectively in a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary team environment with staff of varied technical skills and expertise. Qualifications: Education, Knowledge, and Experience PhD in a relevant field (e.g., Economics, Public Policy, Health Services Research, Statistics, Public Health, Sociology, Political Science, or a related discipline), or a Master’s degree with at least four years of quantitative research experience. Demonstrate policy expertise related to Marketplace, Medicare and Medicaid. Demonstrated experience conducting applied quantitative research related to Marketplace, Medicaid, or Medicare. Experience interpretin