Principal Analyst - Technical Project

Role Description

The Technical Project Principal Analyst, National Reimbursement is a principal-level technical leadership, analyst oversight, and hands-on review role within the Material Services responsible for leading complex technical project assessments, guiding Senior Analysts, and helping establish the processes, frameworks, tools, and standards used to evaluate reimbursement-funded projects across California and emerging EPR states.

Reporting to the National Reimbursement Senior Manager, this role serves as a senior technical reviewer for higher-risk, higher-value, novel, precedent-setting, or technically complex reimbursement requests while also supporting day-to-day execution of technical reviews. This position includes leadership and oversight responsibilities, while remaining execution-oriented, requiring direct hands-on review of complex applications, funding requests, technical documentation, implementation plans, cost assumptions, operational impacts, performance expectations, and claimed alignment with regulatory and program requirements.

The role works closely with Legal, Data & Analytics, Materials, Compliance & Regulatory Affairs, Finance, state teams, and other CAA functional groups to obtain subject matter input, resolve review questions, support consistent application of eligibility and covered-cost criteria, and improve the review lifecycle. The Principal Analyst prepares and reviews clear findings, questions, recommendations, escalation materials, and decision-support documents for the National Reimbursement Senior Manager and other internal stakeholders.

The position requires advanced technical judgment, regulatory comprehension, analytical discipline, practical project review experience, leadership maturity, and the ability to build scalable review processes while continuing to identify risks, gaps, unsupported assumptions, and opportunities to improve project value before reimbursement decisions are made.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in engineering, environmental science, environmental studies, public administration, economics, data analytics, project management, or a related field.
• MBA, CPA or Masters in engineering, environmental science, environmental studies, public administration, economics, data analytics, project management, or a related field highly preferred.
• 13+ years of relevant professional experience in technical project review, infrastructure or operations assessment, recycling or solid waste programs, regulated funding programs, reimbursement review, project analysis, analyst oversight, process development, or similar fields.
• Experience evaluating complex project scopes, costs, feasibility, regulatory alignment, implementation plans, technical documentation, and analyst work products preferred.
• Experience with EPR programs, recycling systems, municipal operations, public-sector funding programs, regulated programs, or application-based reimbursement processes preferred.

Requirements

• Advanced technical judgment and ability to assess project feasibility, implementation readiness, operational dependencies, practical constraints, and broader program implications.
• Ability to lead, coach, guide, and review the work of Senior Analysts while maintaining a hands-on role in complex technical reviews.
• Ability to interpret regulatory, program, and reimbursement requirements and translate them into practical review criteria, decision tools, documentation standards, and repeatable processes.
• Strong analytical and written communication skills, including the ability to prepare and review clear findings, recommendations, questions, escalation materials, and decision-support documents.
• Attention to detail and commitment to documentation quality, traceability, audit readiness, consistency, and defensibility across analyst work products.
• Ability to work with operational, financial, performance, and project data to evaluate reasonableness and supportability of funding requests.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, ambiguous, evolving environment with flexibility to pivot as needed and sound judgment to escalate material issues.
• Familiarity with recycling operations, infrastructure projects, municipal programs, environmental policy, EPR programs, regulated funding programs, or application-based reimbursement processes preferred.

Benefits

• Location: Remote from the United States of America, with some travel for meetings and stakeholder interactions.
• Pay Rate: Based on a variety of factors in accordance with applicable law including the successful candidate’s relevant experience, skills, knowledge, and experience.
• Reports To: National Reimbursement Senior Manager.

Company Description

Circular Action Alliance is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants for employment will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), national origin, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. If you require accommodation as part of the application process, please contact View email address on remotive.com.