Data Scientist

Overview

The Data Scientist will play a crucial role in advancing the CDC Foundation's mission by providing informatics expertise and performing health informatics activities for a public health organization, which require specialized knowledge and skills in both health and information technology, including health informatics, scientific analysis, data management, and security standards.

This role is aligned to the Workforce Acceleration Initiative (WAI). WAI is a federally funded CDC Foundation program with the goal of helping the nation’s public health agencies by providing them with the technology and data experts they need to accelerate their information system improvements.

Working within North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Division Data Modernization Office, the Data Scientist will plan and manage the development, implementation, and maintenance of data systems and informatics processes needed for data generation, storage, processing, and analysis.

The Data Scientist will collaborate with data content experts, analysts, data scientists, data modelers, warehouse architects, IT staff and other organization staff to design and implement proposed solutions that meet the needs of the public health agency.

The Data Scientist will be hired by the CDC Foundation and assigned to the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Division Data Modernization Office.

This position is eligible for a fully remote work arrangement for based candidates.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, select, test, implement, and evaluate new or modified informatics solutions, data structures, and decision-support mechanisms to support agency information management needs within various contexts.
• Create and manage the systems and pipelines that enable efficient and reliable flow of data, including ingestion, processing, and storage.
• Create new and update existing health integration engine (Rhapsody) routes to handle new data elements and formats creating the necessary output for upload into surveillance systems and databases as well as reporting to the CDC.
• Develop, implement, and improve data analysis and visualization tools for use by organization staff, to provide timely, relevant information that informs decisions affecting the public’s health.
• Analyze diverse datasets related to public health issues to identify trends, patterns, and correlations.
• Apply statistical methods and machine learning algorithms to extract actionable insights.
• Develop predictive models to anticipate disease patterns, assess risk factors, and guide intervention strategies.
• Continuously optimize algorithms for enhanced accuracy and performance.
• Create compelling visualizations and reports to communicate findings to partners and decision-makers.
• Present data-driven insights in a clear and understandable manner to facilitate informed decision-making.
• Collaborate with the public health organization and its partners to understand their data needs and objectives.
• Provide data-driven support and guidance to inform public health policies and initiatives.
• Knowledgeable about industry trends, best practices, and emerging technologies in informatics and data management, and incorporating the trends into the organization's data infrastructure.
• Provide technical guidance to other staff.
• Prepare and maintain system documentation and architecture diagrams for processes assigned (new and existing).

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Informatics, Computer Science, Information Technology, Data Science, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience
• Proficiency in programming languages commonly used in data engineering, such as Python, Java, Scala, or SQL. Candidate should be able to implement data automations within existing frameworks as opposed to writing one off scripts.
• Knowledge of machine learning frameworks (, TensorFlow, Scikit-learn).
• Experience with data visualization tools (, Tableau, Power BI).
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to interpret complex datasets and derive meaningful insights.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Expertise with Rhapsody Integration Engine (Rhapsody Certification or ability to obtain certification preferred)
• Experience with multiple health data types ( HL7, ELR, eCR, FHIR)
• Solid understanding of API-based architectures (including FHIR)
• Ability to convey technical concepts to non-technical partners effectively.
• Flexibility to adapt to evolving project requirements and priorities.
• Professional certifications in data science, machine learning, or public health analytics preferred.
• Outstanding interpersonal and teamwork skills; collegial; energetic; and able to develop productive relationships with colleagues, partners, and partners.
• Demonstrated ability to work well independently and within teams
• Experience working in a virtual environment with remote partners and teams
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.

Special Notes This role is involved in a dynamic public health program. As such, roles and responsibilities are subject to change as situations evolve.

Roles and responsibilities listed above may be expanded upon or updated to match priorities and needs, once written approval is received by the CDC Foundation in order to best support the public health programming.