Principal Biostatistician

Principal Biostatistician

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is seeking a highly skilled and mission-driven Biostatistician to help advance the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), an innovative $900 million investment focused on strengthening healthcare access, improving health outcomes, and promoting long-term sustainability in rural communities across Massachusetts. This is a unique opportunity to apply advanced statistical, epidemiologic, and analytical expertise to some of the Commonwealth's most important public health challenges. Working within the Office of Health Data, Strategy, and Innovation (OHDSI), the selected candidate will play a key role in shaping data-informed strategies that address health disparities, improve population health, and support equitable access to care for rural residents. Through collaboration with policymakers, healthcare providers, researchers, and community partners, this position will help translate complex data into meaningful actions that improve lives across the state. This role offers the opportunity to lead high-impact research, surveillance, and evaluation initiatives that influence public health policy, program development, and healthcare transformation efforts. The Principal Biostatistician will guide sophisticated analyses using a variety of data sources and methodologies, strengthen surveillance systems, support emergency response and epidemiologic investigations, and provide strategic insight to inform statewide decision-making. Candidates who enjoy solving complex problems, working across disciplines, and leveraging data to drive meaningful change will find this position both rewarding and impactful. In addition to contributing to innovative rural health initiatives, the selected candidate will help advance DPH's commitment to health equity, racial equity, and evidence-based public health practice while supporting sustainable improvements in healthcare delivery throughout the Commonwealth.

Duties and Responsibilities (these duties are a general summary and not all inclusive):

• Provide strategic statistical and epidemiologic leadership to support the Rural Health Transformation Program through data-driven planning, policy development, program evaluation, and public health decision-making.
• Design, direct, and oversee complex analytic studies, surveillance activities, and research initiatives focused on rural health disparities, healthcare access, population health outcomes, environmental risks, and emerging public health challenges.
• Analyze, interpret, and synthesize quantitative and qualitative data from multiple sources to develop actionable recommendations that advance health equity, improve health outcomes, and strengthen public health programs.
• Lead the enhancement, implementation, and quality assurance of surveillance systems, data infrastructure, and reporting processes to improve the accuracy, timeliness, and usability of public health data.
• Develop and disseminate reports, publications, dashboards, presentations, and data visualizations that effectively communicate findings to policymakers, community partners, healthcare providers, researchers, and public health stakeholders.
• Identify, evaluate, and utilize innovative data sources, analytic methodologies, and mixed-method approaches to address critical public health questions, health-related social needs, and rural health priorities.
• Coordinate epidemiologic investigations and analytic responses related to disease outbreaks, environmental hazards, public health emergencies, workforce challenges, and other emerging health threats.
• Collaborate with DPH bureaus, EOHHS agencies, academic institutions, community organizations, healthcare providers, and government partners to advance surveillance, research, evaluation, and health equity initiatives.
• Provide technical expertise and leadership for research protocols, compliance reporting, program evaluation, data governance activities, and the integration of racial equity principles into analytic and public health practices.
• Support the development, implementation, and evaluation of grants, contracts, funding opportunities, work plans, and strategic initiatives to maximize the impact and sustainability of rural health transformation investments.
• Build organizational analytic capacity by developing tools, systems, training resources, and best practices that strengthen data collection, evaluation, reporting, and evidence-based decision-making across programs.
• Oversee multiple complex projects and competing priorities while ensuring compliance with confidentiality, data security, and regulatory requirements and providing analytic guidance to support policy and program decisions.

Required Qualifications:

• Knowledge of the principles and practices of epidemiology including biology and disease processes.
• Familiarity with the methods of statistical and scientific report writing.
• Ability to prepare and use charts and diagrams.
• Capacity to serve as a scientific consultant and expert at the state and federal levels.
• Skilled in providing senior technical assistance to communities and outside partners including scientific, administrative, and/or programmatic leadership and direction.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience conducting advanced statistical analyses, epidemiologic research, or public health surveillance using large and complex datasets.
• Experience with statistical software packages such as SAS, R, Stata, SPSS, Python, or other advanced analytic tools.
• Knowledge of public health surveillance systems, population health indicators, and data quality assurance methodologies.
• Proven ability to translate complex data and analytic findings into clear, actionable recommendations for diverse audiences, including executive leadership and policymakers.
• Experience with developing dashboards, data visualizations, reports, publications, and presentations that communicate key public health insights.
• Familiarity with health equity frameworks, social determinants of health, and strategies to address racial and geographic disparities in healthcare access and outcomes.
• Capacity to manage multiple high-priority projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines in a fast-paced and evolving public health environment.
• Ability to build collaborative partnerships with governmental agencies, healthcare providers, academic institutions, community organizations, and other stakeholders.
• Knowledge of federal and state public health regulations, research protocols, data governance practices, and confidentiality requirements related to health data management.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Word, Excel, Outlook, SharePoint, and Teams.