[Hiring] Mental Health Senior Advisor @USmax Corporation

Role Description

USmax Corporation is seeking a Mental Health Senior Advisor to support the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). This position serves as a senior scientific and strategic advisor to Program Managers and Office Leadership within the Proactive Health Office at ARPA-H. The role provides high-level expertise in mental health, suicide prevention, health psychology, and applied quantitative research to shape, execute, and oversee ARPA-H style, high-risk/high-reward R&D programs.

This is a remote position.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Program Strategy & Technical Advising
  • Advise the Program Manager and leadership on program strategy, technical direction, and portfolio execution in mental health and suicide prevention.
  • Support program development from concept through execution, including development of technical theses, milestones, and evaluation frameworks.
  • Identify emerging scientific opportunities, technology inflection points, implementation barriers, and policy considerations and translate into actionable programmatic strategies.
  • Lead development of clear technical problem statements and program constructs suitable for ARPA-H Requests for Solutions (RFS).
  • Develop and pressure-test measurable technical milestones, quantitative evaluation frameworks, and risk mitigation strategies.
  • Anticipate scientific, operational, and portfolio-level risks and proactively propose mitigation pathways.
  • Provide independent recommendations and options to leadership, including trade-off analyses and scenario planning.
• Portfolio & Proposal Support
  • Oversee intake and technical evaluation of proposals, white papers, and submissions.
  • Assess study design, statistical approaches, feasibility, scalability, and real-world impact.
  • Develop and monitor performance metrics and data-driven evaluation frameworks.
  • Support site visits, technical demonstrations, and performer assessments.
  • Prepare executive briefings, decision memos, and portfolio updates.
  • Coordinate with business financial managers, public affairs, and contracting.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Coordination
  • Identify and engage subject matter experts, performers, and strategic partners.
  • Support strategic teaming across multidisciplinary performers.
  • Participate in technical discussions, working groups, and interagency engagements as needed.

Qualifications

• Strong quantitative and statistical expertise.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven ability to operate independently and manage competing priorities.
• Record of funded research and publications preferred.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in mental health research, including suicide prevention; 10+ years of experience preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex research initiatives and multidisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrated experience with mental health clinical trials design and meta-analysis.
• Experience advising government leadership or supporting federal programs.
• Experience in high-risk R&D environments preferred.
• Experience with federal funding, contracting, or program oversight preferred.
• Experience supervising or leading technical staff preferred.

Required Education

• PhD in social psychology, clinical psychology, health psychology, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, or related field.

Security Clearance Requirements

• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust.

Work Location / Schedule

• Remote