Data Scientist

Overview

The Data Scientist will play a crucial role in advancing the CDC Foundation's mission by leveraging data to inform strategic decisions and initiatives in a public health organization. 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 the Minnesota Department of Health, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Division, the Data Scientist will utilize advanced analytics, statistical techniques, and machine learning algorithms to derive insights that support public health efforts.  The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Collaborative for Rural Public Health Innovation (CRPHI) are partnering to advance data modernization effort to enhance the functionality, interoperability, and timeliness of public health data systems, focusing on chronic disease (CD) data. This role will engage with CRPHI partners to translate and adapt CD syndromic surveillance (SynS) case definitions* (developed by another data scientist) into tools and visualizations that resonate with and support rural local public health strategy and surveillance activities. They will lead development of workflows supporting CD SynS data sharing between MDH and CRPHI (and other rural health departments) that are integrated into a suite of CD data.

*Examples of the types of conditions of interest for case definition development include: heart attack, stroke, asthma, dental emergencies, and others.

The Data Scientist will be hired by the CDC Foundation and assigned to the Minnesota Department of Health, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Division. This position is eligible for a fully remote work arrangement for U.S. based candidates.

Responsibilities

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Data Science, Informatics, Statistics, or related field. Master’s or PhD in related field preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience.
• Proficiency in programming languages R. (required), Python (nice to have). 
• Experience with data manipulation and analysis tools (e.g., SQL, Pandas, NumPy).
• Knowledge of machine learning frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, Scikit-learn), not required, but preferred.
• Experience with data visualization tools, especially Power BI, R-Shiny, and Excel) to display data and support easy data sharing through downloads.
• Experience with databases (e.g., Amazon Athena, MongoDB).
• Familiarity with GIS systems (e.g., ArcGIS, DAX).
• Experience or familiarity with HL7 ADT message requirements, specifications, and structure.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities. 
• Ability to work with teams to interpret complex datasets and derive meaningful insights.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to convey technical concepts related to data science and informatics to non-technical partners and epidemiologists looking to learn effectively.
• Flexibility to adapt to evolving project requirements and priorities.
• Professional certifications in data science, machine learning, or public health analytics preferred.
• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills; collegial; energetic; and able to develop productive relationships with colleagues, partners, and partners.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.

Job Highlights

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.

The CDC Foundation is a smoke-free environment.

Relocation expenses are not included

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, mental or physical disabilities, veteran status, and all other characteristics protected by law. 

We comply with all applicable laws including E.O. 11246 and the Vietnam Era Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 governing employment practices and do not discriminate on the basis of any unlawful criteria in accordance with 41 C.F.R. §§ 60-300.5(a)(12) and 60-741.5(a)(7). As a federal government contractor, we take affirmative action on behalf of protected veterans.

About the CDC Foundation 

The CDC Foundation helps CDC save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world. The CDC Foundation is the go-to nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private-sector resources to support CDC’s critical health protection mission. The CDC Foundation manages hundreds of programs each year impacting a variety of health threats from chronic disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer, to infectious diseases like rotavirus and HIV, to emergency responses, including COVID-19 and Ebola. Visit www.cdcfoundation.org for more information.