Rural Healthcare Scientist

Job Description and Duties

Under general direction of the Research Scientist Supervisor II, the Research Scientist (RS) Staff plans, organizes, and conducts highly complex rural health-related studies of broad scope. These studies are focused on healthcare access, utilization, quality, cost and equity in rural areas. This involves using statistical methods, established guidelines and technical scientific procedures, and developing standards and procedures where no sufficient procedure exists. The RS Staff is a member of the Healthcare Analytics Branch (HAB) team and serves as a team member on public health and healthcare projects for the Workforce and Utilization Analysis Team (WUAT) within the Analytics and Data Section (ADS). The RS Staff also works closely with members of the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Office, State Office of Rural Health (SORH), Office of Health Workforce Development (OHWD) and external entities under contract with HCAI.

In the HCAI work environment, staff may handle confidential patient data. Specific statutes, regulations, and HCAI policies and procedures govern the collection, storage, disclosure, and use of confidential data. The employee is responsible for the safe and secure handling of this data in compliance with these policies and procedures.

Effective July 1, 2025, specific Bargaining Units and associated Excluded State employees are subject to a salary reduction between 2% - 4.62% in exchange for Personal Leave Program 2025 (PLP 2025) hours each month. For more details about PLP 2025 , visit the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) , visit the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) website.

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Working Conditions

HCAI is committed to fostering a flexible, inclusive, and high-performing work environment that supports both operational excellence and employee well-being.

HCAI is housed in a state-of-the-art building outside of downtown off Interstate-5. Enjoy a great work environment with many amenities, including FREE PARKING and fully equipped electric vehicle charging stations. HCAI is close to many dining and shopping choices in the Natomas area.

HCAI supports a hybrid telework schedule for many positions, consistent with operational requirements.  Telework schedules are only available for CA residents. The telework policy is subject to change, and additional in-office days may be required and/or minimal notification may be given to report to the worksite if an urgent need arises.

Visa Sponsorship: HCAI is not an E-Verify employer and does not provide visa sponsorship. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of appointment.

Special Requirements

Possession of Minimum Qualifications will be verified prior to interview and/or appointment. If you are meeting Minimum Qualifications with education, you must include a copy of your unofficial transcripts and/or license for verification. Official sealed transcripts will be required upon appointment. If it is determined an application does not meet the Minimum Qualifications, the applicant will be withheld from the eligibility list, rendering them inactive and ineligible to be hired for the position. Applicants who have been withheld may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• At least 2 years data analysis experience in any programming language
• At least 2 years experience writing about health care data or policy (e.g., peer-reviewed or government publications, grant applications, technical documents)
• At least 2 years experience conducting rigorous analytic research into rural health care delivery systems
• At least 2 years experience analyzing ICD-10 coded data and/or healthcare claims data
• At least 2 years experience creating visualizations using Tableau, Power BI, R, ArcGIS, etc.
• At least 2 years experience with geographic data analysis, using ArcGIS or another software
• At least 1 year experience applying data de-identification policies or other practices to protect individual privacy in data analysis
• At least 2 years experience developing measure specifications or investigating the comparative impact of competing measure specifications
• At least 2 years experience communicating complex analytic findings to program leadership or executives, including both oral and written communications

Benefits

In addition to competitive public employee wages and a comprehensive benefits package, our employees enjoy meaningful and interesting work that supports access to healthcare. To learn more about benefits for State employees, visit the Salary and Benefits page on the 

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University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) employees may qualify to transfer their current and previous employment credit to State of California employment through CalPERS. Human Resources can help with this process upon employment, or you can reach out to CalPERS for inquiries at View phone number on us.fitly.work.

Additional Application Requirements

To be considered for this vacancy, please complete all applicable fields on the application form, including a list or description of previous/current work experience in the duties performed section. The application should also clearly demonstrate the candidate’s ability to meet the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification.

Any documents you submit for a job vacancy such as your state application, resume, cover letter, educational transcripts, etc. SHOULD NOT include ANY confidential information e.g. Social Security Number (SSN).

Possession of Minimum Qualifications will be verified prior to interview and/or appointment. If you are using education to meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must submit a copy of your high school or college/university transcript(s). Unofficial transcripts may be accepted during the application process; however, submission of official transcripts may be required prior to appointment.

Foreign Degrees or Transcripts – Applicants with foreign degrees or transcripts who wish to apply that coursework toward meeting the minimum qualifications of the classification must provide a transcript evaluation that indicates the number of units to which his/her foreign coursework is equivalent. HCAI accepts foreign transcript evaluations that are completed by one of the agencies approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is required and must be included.
• Statement of Qualifications -

  A Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) is required . (The SOQ is a separate document with your Name and Job Control number noted on the top, typed in Arial 12 pt font, no more than two pages.) Resumes and cover letters do not take the place of the SOQ. Applications without a clearly titled SOQ or failure to follow instructions above will not be considered for the position. The SOQ should address the following question:

  Please describe how your knowledge, skills, experience, and education relate to the qualifications listed in the job description.