[Hiring] Managing Director, Healthcare Systems @American Institutes for Research

Role Description

Join AIR as a Managing Director – Healthcare Systems with our Healthcare Innovations team. Our team works collaboratively to unravel the intertwined challenges of health care quality, costs, and access. The Managing Director will lead complex implementation, monitoring, and technical assistance (TA) initiatives for federal health agencies, managing multi‑year projects involving:

• Operational oversight
• Implementation planning
• Monitoring frameworks
• Stakeholder engagement
• Data collection
• TA delivery
• Performance reporting

This role is ideally suited for candidates who have successfully led major federal health projects and can serve as strong director on implementation and monitoring contracts. This position has the flexibility to work remotely within the United States (U.S.) or from one of our U.S. office locations.

Responsibilities

• Project Leadership & Oversight
  • Serve as the principal architect for designing data systems to support AIR’s health research projects.
  • Lead cross-functional teams in the development of innovative data solutions using tools such as Databricks, R, Python, Stata, SAS, and Git.
  • Provide strategic oversight of data management and analytics pipelines.
  • Design and implement advanced statistical programming methodologies.
  • Act as a senior advisor to project directors, statisticians, and clients.
  • Spearhead the development of enterprise-wide programming standards.
  • Mentor and coach senior programmers and analysts.
  • Lead technical contributions to proposals.
  • Represent AIR in high-level client engagements and professional forums.
  • Monitor emerging technologies and trends in data science and health analytics.
• Strategic Direction & Federal Business Growth
  • Create business development strategy for established areas and new areas of growth.
  • Coordinate pursuit plans and pipelines for federal opportunities.
  • Support bid/no‑bid decisions and ensure alignment with AIR capabilities.
  • Lead or contribute to proposal pursuits.
  • Cultivate and maintain relationships with potential partners and federal clients.
  • Monitor ongoing projects to understand client expectations.
  • Assess staff capacity and align resources.
• Team Leadership, Staff Development & Collaboration
  • Foster cross‑functional collaboration across teams.
  • Provide coaching and support to rising project leaders.
  • Contribute to a collaborative environment that values diverse perspectives.
• Thought Leadership & External Engagement
  • Represent AIR in federal stakeholder meetings and conferences.
  • Collaborate with communications teams to translate insights into publications.
  • Contribute to AIR’s visibility and reputation in federal health program implementation.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in Statistics, Data Science, Public Health, Epidemiology, Economics, or a related quantitative discipline.
• Minimum of 11 years of progressive experience in programming health data.
• Demonstrated experience using Medicare and Medicaid enrollment and claims data.
• Experience designing complex data systems from multiple data sources.
• Proven track record of leading large-scale, multi-disciplinary data projects.
• Deep experience with secure computing environments and data privacy regulations.
• Experience working with or for CMS or similar federal health agencies.
• Demonstrated success leading federal proposal development.

Requirements

• Working knowledge of CMS program structures and policy priorities.
• Strong communication skills for federal audiences.
• Experience overseeing large budgets and managing risks.
• Proven ability to lead large‑scale research or implementation projects.
• Demonstrated ability to lead mission‑driven teams.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to structure complex initiatives.
• Collaborative leadership style and commitment to mentorship.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.

Benefits

• Anticipated annual salary range: $189,000 — $240,000 USD.