Salary: $95,676.00 - $128,688.00 Annually
Location : Thurston County - Olympia, WA
Job Type: Full Time - Permanent
Remote Employment: Remote Optional
Job Number:Department: Health Care Authority
Division: SPI
Opening Date: 08/31/2026
Closing Date: 9/7/2026 11:59 PM Pacific
Salary Information: The high end of the salary range, Step M is typically a longevity step
DescriptionData Science and Informatics Specialist 2 (DSIS2/SPI)71115476This data scientist will build a program to receive and handle data in support of the 340B Drug Pricing Program. This work will include developing a data submission guide, performing technical and program validation, and communicating with internal and external parties who will be submitting and receiving data. The ideal candidate will bring data analytics skills to a role that requires an understanding of health care data. If you excel at handling data and communicating with technical and non-technical partners utilizing it, this may be the opportunity for you!
All HCA employees will apply an equity lens to their work, which may include but is not limited to all analyses of core business and processes.
About the position:This position utilizes mathematics, statistics, specialized programming, analytics, and machine learning to extract knowledge from structured and unstructured health care data. As an experienced data scientist, the position focus is on creating intermediate data analytics, applying statistical techniques, and developing data visualizations in support of the 340B Drug Pricing Program. This position will support the development of actionable insights that can be used to improve health care outcomes, solve problems, meet reporting requirements and make informed policy decisions.
This position is eligible to telework and is typically not required to report on-site. The default assigned work location of all Health Care Authority (HCA) positions - both on-site and telework eligible positions - is within the State of Washington. This position reports to Olympia, WA. Frequency of onsite work will vary based on business and operational needs.
All agency employees are required to report on-site in Olympia on their first and last days of employment to pick up and return state-issued equipment, regardless of telework status or location. DutiesSome of what you will do:- Use health care claims and supplementary data sources to design and develop health care reporting and visualizations for the 340B Drug Pricing Program to help the agency make data-driven decisions.
- Generate data products from structured and unstructured data sources using programming languages such as R, SAS, SQL, M code, and/or Python to write data code/query scripts.
- Develop algorithms, build data models, and automate data processing tasks.
- Combine multiple data formats and sources such as health care claims, medical records, surveillance data, surveys, and/or pharmacy data to meet analytic project requirements.
- Develop health care data science modeling, evaluation, research, and statistical analysis for the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
- Use quantitative research methods commonly used in scientific, surveillance, and/or epidemiological research to analyze and interpret data.
- Use statistical analysis techniques to find patterns, trends, and conclusions.
- Draft proposal plan and support implementation activities for statistical analysis such as regression analysis, clustering, or time series analysis.
- Partner with requestors to develop and/or translate data requests into analytic projects supporting the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
- Collaborate with others to gather, prioritize, and validate requirements.
- Provide consultation to data requestors and data users regarding data access, feasibility, statistical validity, etc.
- Work with appropriate business analysts or business owners to determine resolution of complex issues.
- Monitor, address, and/or provide consultation for changes, gaps, and other impacts to the 340B Drug Pricing Program data sources and infrastructure.
- Conduct data validity checks to identify and report errors and anomalies in the data.
- Develop, interpret, communicate, and present data science findings to a variety of audiences, including colleagues, policymakers, and the public.
QualificationsRequired qualifications:Qualifying candidates will meet
one of the following criteria options:
Option 1:
- Master's degree in informatics, data science, mathematics, computer science, statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, or related technical or quantitative field.
Option 2:
- Bachelor's degree in informatics, data science, mathematics, computer science, statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, or related technical or quantitative field, and
- Two (2) years of professional experience performing data science or informatics data work, within health care, public health, and/or behavioral health, working with complex analytics, data visualization software and R, SAS, SQL, M code and/or Python programming.
Option 3:
- Associate degree in informatics, data science, mathematics, computer science, statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, or related technical or quantitative field, and
- Four (4) years of professional experience performing data science or informatics data work, within health care, public health, and/or behavioral health, working with complex analytics, data visualization software and R, SAS, SQL, M code and/or Python programming.
Option 4:
- Six (6) years of professional experience performing data science or informatics data work, within health care, public health, and/or behavioral health, working with complex analytics, data visualization software and R, SAS, SQL, M code and/or Python programming.
Required competencies:- The ability to take action to learn and grow.
- The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to collect, organize, analyze, and disseminate significant amounts of information with attention to detail and accuracy.
Preferred qualifications:- Demonstrated understanding of health care data.
- Intermediate to proficient professional skills with SQL.
- Intermediate to proficient professional skills with Tableau, Power BI, or similar data visualization tools.
- Professional experience managing data from submission to reporting, including data cleaning.
- Professional experience with pharmacy and/or drug-related data.
- Professional experience communicating with internal and external stakeholders.
- Knowledge of medical and/or pharmacy coding such as ICD-10, Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes; health care business and systems; research methods; advanced statistical theory and techniques.
- Comfortable interacting with staff members at all levels of the agency; high level of workload management including organization and prioritization of tasks; ability to work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team; excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Advanced experience working with large and complex data sets; advanced level SQL, R, Python, SAS, M code or other programming skills; experience with data visualization using Power BI, Tableau and other similar visualization tools.
How to apply:Only candidates who reflect the minimum qualifications on their NEOGOV profile will be considered. Failure to follow the application instructions below may lead to disqualification.
To apply for this position, you will need to complete your profile which includes three professional references and attach in separate files:- A cover letter that specifically addresses how you meet the qualifications for this position
- Current resume
To take advantage of
veteran preference, please do the following:
- Attach a copy of your DD214 (Member 4 long-form copy), NGB 22, or USDVA signed verification of service letter.
- Please black out any PII (personally identifiable information) data such as social security numbers. Include your name as it appears on your application in careers.wa.gov.
