About the position:

Stellar Health is building its Quality function from the ground up, and this is the role that stands it up. As Director, Quality Programs, you will carry a dual mandate: first, serving as the subject matter expert and leader directly owning our Quality Program for our CMS ACO business and all risk contracts; and second, leading quality across the full Stellar business - serving as the internal quality authority for Sales, Product, Customer Success, and Operations. You will report directly into the VP, Value-Based Care Operations. This is not a back-office function. You will be embedded in commercial conversations, influencing the product roadmap, advising Customer Success on payer submissions, and representing Stellar's quality expertise in client-facing and prospect-facing settings. The right candidate brings expertise in MSSP Quality performance, data ingestion, and client-facing engagement, combined with a genuine passion for and deep understanding of value-based care quality improvement - because the nuances of this space matter, and we need someone who lives and breathes them.

You will operate as an expert individual contributor from day one: running MSSP quality submissions, conducting rigorous analysis of the quality landscape, advising ACO leadership and practices on performance strategy, and representing Stellar in peer-level conversations with payer quality leadership. Internally, you will be the go-to quality resource for deal-level feasibility questions from Sales, measure logic review for Product, escalated HEDIS questions from Customer Success, and quality sign-off before anything ships. Over time, you will hire and develop a small team, transitioning from solo executor to player-coach. This is a builder role - the quality function exists in theory; you will make it real.

Areas of Expertise and Impact

Execution & Performance Management

• Independently own day-to-day execution of the MSSP Quality program, including inter-team coordination and submission workflows across HEDIS, CMS Stars, MIPS, and Medicaid quality programs.
• Lead all Stellar Health ACO quality submission activity: submission package preparation, internal audits, review and sign-off cycles, and ACO leadership advisory on performance trends and contract target-setting.
• Conduct robust and regular analysis of the broader quality landscape to identify trends, surface risks, and maintain Stellar's position as a knowledgeable partner to payers and ACOs.
• Establish KPIs to measure the impact of quality interventions; report to senior leaders weekly and as needed on current performance status and emerging issues across all ACOs.
• Serve as the single internal owner of the quality SME queue - fielding and resolving "does this count?" questions from Customer Success, Provider Success, Product, Operations, and Sales without escalation.
• Establish and enforce product sign-off authority: formally review and approve quality measure logic before any measure goes into production, preventing misconfigured deployments and downstream financial consequences.

Strategy & Reporting

• Develop multi-year strategies for MSSP Quality performance (PY2026, PY2027, and beyond) in partnership with senior leadership across Strategic Initiatives, Product, and Customer Success.
• Lead risk mitigation strategy for MSSP quality, including performance improvement planning, technical solutioning, and input into relevant policy positions.
• Lead the annual HEDIS spec review: translate NCQA updates into product and operational recommendations, including ICD/CPT/LOINC code updates and new or modified measures.
• Support deal-level measure feasibility assessments and state-by-state Medicaid quality alignment for the growth team; represent Stellar in peer-level conversations with payer quality leadership.

Supplemental Data & Audit

• Own all supplemental data submission workflows, including chart retrieval, data integrity checks, and PSV audit protocols; serve as sign-off authority before any supplemental data submission reaches a payer.
• Build and manage relationships with external vendors and partners supporting quality submission processes; manage bespoke payer specifications across multiple health plans.

Partnership & Product Collaboration

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key internal stakeholders - Product, Analytics, Operations, and Customer Success - to drive collective quality outcomes.
• Partner with EPD on PRD review for quality actions and EHR data acquisition; evaluate Stellar product functionality against CMS final rules and Stars technical specs.
• Work directly with network practices to co-design gap closure workflows; collect cross-functional feedback to support continuous process improvement.

What you'll bring:

• At least 10 years of experience in healthcare, with the majority in quality program management at a provider, ACO, or health plan
• At least 6 years of direct, hands-on management of end-to-end quality submissions - including expert-level understanding of MSSP quality program policies, measures, and reporting requirements
• Expert-level knowledge of HEDIS, MIPS, eCQMs, MSSP ACO quality reporting, and CMS Stars - able to resolve measure-level questions cold without escalation
• Demonstrated ability to build a quality function or program from scratch, not just operate within an established one
• Relentless focus on data: uses numbers to guide strategic decisions; mastery of Excel/Google Sheets and PowerPoint/Google Slides
• Technical experience with EHR integrations or other data source integrations; fluency in how quality measure data flows through structured EHR documentation (Epic + at least one other platform)
• Proven ability to lead through influence - building alignment across senior leaders, cross-functional teams, and external stakeholders without formal authority
• Deep familiarity with NCQA supplemental data standards, PSV audit protocols, and payer-specific submission requirements
• Track record of peer-level engagement with payer quality leadership, plan medical directors, or equivalent external stakeholders
• Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills; able to navigate and manage relationships across all levels, both upward and downward
• A Bachelor's degree in Healthcare, Public Health, or a related field. We will sub in relevant career experience in lieu of degree

Perks & Benefits:

Stellar offers a carefully curated selection of wellness benefits and perks to our employees:

• Medical, Dental and Vision Benefits
• Flexible PTO
• Universal Paid Family and Caregiver Leave
• Wellhub+ Gym Memberships
• Pre-tax commuter benefits, HA, FSA plans
• Company sponsored One Medical memberships and Citibike memberships
• Medical Travel Benefits
• JOON, a flexible lifestyle spending account that gives our team a monthly stipend to spend on what matters most to them
• Stock Options & a 401k matching program
• A broad calendar of company sponsored social events that for our in-office and remote employees
• Company sponsored lunch for all NY HQ employees