Health Policy Data Analysis Graduate Intern--McLean or Baltimore

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As a member of MITRE’s Center for Transforming Health, the graduate intern will join our Health Policy and Analytics team supporting the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other federal civilian agencies.

This position is designed for candidates who want to apply quantitative and computational methods to address health policy and public health challenges. The intern will use data and analytics to inform policy decisions, evaluate programs, and improve the quality, equity, and efficiency of the U.S. health system.

Key Responsibilities

• Support federal sponsors (e.g., CMS, NIH, CDC) by conducting quantitative analyses of health data to inform policy and regulatory decisions, program design, and implementation.
• Work with project teams to design and execute analytic plans, including data cleaning, descriptive and inferential analysis, and visualization of results using tools such as R, Python, or Stata.
• Contribute to program evaluation and quality measurement efforts, including assessing program performance, analyzing trends in utilization and outcomes, and exploring differences across populations or providers.
• Assist in the development, testing, and refinement of health quality and performance measures (e.g., for Medicare fee-for-service quality reporting and incentive programs), including assessing measure feasibility, reliability, and potential impact.
• Translate analytic findings into clear, concise presentations, data visualizations, and written reports for non-technical audiences, including policymakers and program staff.
• Support teams in integrating analytic insights with legal, regulatory, and policy considerations to inform rule writing, guidance, and strategic recommendations.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams of clinicians, policy experts, data scientists, and IT specialists to design data-driven approaches to public health and health care challenges.
• Maintain rigorous documentation and reproducible analytic workflows, including version-controlled code and data management practices.

Example Project Work

• Contribute to MITRE’s support for the CMS Division of Value, Incentives, and Quality Reporting by:
– Analyzing Medicare fee-for-service claims and quality reporting data to assess the performance of existing quality and incentive programs;
– Exploring the potential impact of proposed rule changes using quantitative models and simulations;
– Providing data-driven insights that shape rule writing, regulatory research, and program evaluation for multiple quality reporting and incentive programs.

Basic Qualifications

• Must be enrolled full-time in an accredited Masters, Legal, or Doctoral degree-seeking program in Public or Global Health or related
• Basic understanding of U.S. health policy and public health (e.g., awareness of how policy and regulatory choices can affect patient outcomes, provider behavior, cost, and equity).
• Foundational knowledge in statistics, econometrics, or data science as applied to health services research, public health, or related fields.
• Experience working with data analysis software (e.g., R, Python, or Stata) to import, clean, manipulate, and analyze structured datasets.
• In-person work at one of our locations is required – Baltimore or McLean.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in health policy, public health, health services research, or a related area at the federal, state, local, or health system level, with a focus on data-driven analysis of health programs or policies.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing health-related datasets (e.g., claims, EHR, survey, or public health surveillance data) and applying statistical methods such as regression, risk adjustment, or time-series analysis.
• Proficiency with data management and reproducible workflows (e.g., using SQL, Git/GitHub, scripted ETL, or workflow management tools). AI/ML experience and use of GitHub for collaborative development are a plus.
• Familiarity with state and federal public health laws, regulation processes, and how analytics can support rulemaking, regulatory impact analysis, and program evaluation.
• Capability in at least one complementary domain (e.g., health communication, informatics, data visualization, or health IT), such as developing dashboards (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, or R Shiny) to communicate analytic findings.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with interdisciplinary teams, including clinicians, policy analysts, and technologists, and to incorporate their perspectives into analytic design and interpretation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to summarize analytic methods and results for non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of interdisciplinary teams in a fast-paced project environment.

This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s):

None

This requisition requires the hired candidate to have or obtain, within one year from the date of hire, the following clearance(s):

None

Salary compensation range and midpoint:

$70,800 - $88,500 - $106,200 Annual

Work Location Type:

Onsite

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local or international law.

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