Joint Commission seeks a Senior Healthcare Research Scientist with deep expertise in causal inference and health care data analytics to advance our enterprise-wide research and improvement agenda. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated success in applying rigorous statistical methods to observational data, including electronic health records (EHRs) and administrative claims, to generate actionable insights that support health system improvement, accreditation strategy, and public accountability. This individual must be adept at ensuring that externally communicated findings align with the Joint Commission’s strategic goals and mission. The role involves collaboration across JC’s accreditation, certification, standards, and performance measurement programs and helps extend the organization's analytic capabilities in ways that promote equity and quality in health care delivery. This position is remote and can be located anywhere in the US.

• Design, lead and direct multiple complex high-impact  applied research studies that estimate associations and causal effects from non-randomized health care data, contributing to JC’s priorities in quality measurement, accreditation, certification evaluation, and system-level learning.
• Apply cutting-edge causal inference techniques, ML and AI to healthcare data.  Pioneer approaches for analyzing emerging data sources including digital health platforms and patient generated data.
• Develop and implement advanced analytic methods, including but not limited to: instrumental variables, difference-in-differences, marginal structural models, propensity score-based techniques, synthetic controls, and machine learning.
• Develop and validate predictive models and clinical decision support tools.
• Work with JC’s diverse data resources, including accreditation findings, electronic health record (EHR) data, ORYX/eCQM submissions, and patient-level data (PLD) from participating health systems, as well as external sources such as Medicare and Medicaid claims.
• Translate research findings into accessible, policy-relevant insights for diverse audiences including regulators, hospital leaders, clinicians, and the public.
• Ensure that public-facing research outputs and communication reflect the strategic and reputational interests of the Joint Commission.
• Publish findings in peer-reviewed journals and contribute to internal strategic products, performance improvement resources, and external stakeholder briefings.
• Develop non-technical memos, briefs, and other materials to inform internal leadership decisions and support external stakeholder engagement.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams within the JC, the National Quality Forum (NQF), and external partners to inform accreditation standards, certification criteria, and benchmarking methodologies.
• Provide direction to and scientific oversight of data analysts and research assistants assigned to support project work, ensuring high-quality and timely execution of analytic tasks.
• Provide mentorship to junior researchers, data analysts, and research assistants.
• Contribute to a culture of rigor, transparency, and equity in research planning, execution, and dissemination.

Required Qualifications:

• PhD or equivalent in economics, health services research, epidemiology, biostatistics, or a related quantitative field.
• Minimum 5 years post-doctorate experience applying causal inference methods to real-world health care data, especially EHRs and administrative claims and healthcare outcomes research.
• Background with interactions with FDA, CMS, EMA, or other regulatory bodies.
• Strong peer-reviewed publication record in areas such as health care economics, outcomes, delivery, policy, quality, or safety.
• Demonstrated success communicating analytic findings to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to independently code, execute, and troubleshoot statistical analyses in R, Stata, or Python.
• Commitment to The Joint Commission’s mission to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with key stakeholders.
• Demonstrated track record of designing and overseeing analytic projects from concept through execution, including managing scope, timelines, and outputs in research or applied settings.
• Experience conducting research within an organization where outputs must align with institutional mission and communications strategy (e.g., ASPE, CMS, AHRQ, VA, state government agency, consulting company, etc.).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with JC quality and process measures in prior work.
• Familiarity with predictive modeling or statistical learning methods, including machine learning/AI, is welcome, especially when integrated with causal inference approaches.
• Familiarity with regulatory, payer, or policy contexts (e.g., CMS Conditions of Participation, state Medicaid programs, or alternative payment models).
• Experience working in cross-functional teams, including collaborating across roles and managing project-based responsibilities without direct supervisory authority.

We offer a comprehensive benefit package. For a complete overview of our benefits package, please visit our Joint Commission Career Page