Data Scientist

at  State of Utah

LOVE TO SWIM IN DATA AND IMPROVE ITS VALUE TO END USERS? COME WORK FOR THE OFFICE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES WITHIN THE UTAH STATE MEDICAID PROGRAM AS A DATA SCIENTIST.

Medicaid is a valuable public good that around 15% of Utah’s population accesses every year. The Data Scientist role allows you to directly impact the individuals who rely on these services by providing reports, visualizations, and predictive analytics to the legislators, federal agencies, and advocacy groups in charge of improving access to care and health outcomes. For information about Utah’s Medicaid program please

A SKILLS TEST WILL BE ADMINISTERED TO ASSESS SKILLS NEEDED FOR THIS POSITION PRIOR TO INTERVIEWS BEING SCHEDULED.

Preference may be given to those with a completed Master’s degree in Statistics, Economics, Mathematics, Finance, or a related field as determined by the hiring official.
Note: as of April 8, 2024, DHHS employees will be working a hybrid schedule, which includes 2 office days per week and 3 telework days.

Why work for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services? In addition to the rich benefits the State of Utah offers, the department offers:

• On-site fitness center, for a minimal membership fee
• UTA Eco Pass, at a discounted monthly rate
• Teleworking opportunities with a minimum 2 office days per week beginning 04/2024.
• On-site day care center at the Cannon Health Building with First Steps Day Care - contact for rates and availability, 801-538-6996

If offered this position, your employment will be contingent upon passing a background check and review. There will be no cost to you for this check. This check will include fingerprinting, which will be available at various DHHS locations for your convenience. Fingerprinting will be completed prior to your first day of employment. You may review the policy by

QUALIFICATIONS

(Includes knowledge, skills, and abilities required upon entry into position and trainable after entry into position)

• Create advanced SQL procedures to extract, categorize, monitor, manipulate and organize data for solving agency problems.
• Utilize moderate to advanced skills in Python or R (with extra preference given to Python) to create workflow programs, import data, and perform high-level analyses.
• Forecast member enrollment using time-series techniques and predictive analytics.
• Store and maintain code and documentation within GitLab repositories.
• Independently evaluate patterns in data to explain variances in utilization and practice patterns.
• Perform advanced mathematical calculations to solve problems.
• Procure and track administration of contracts, grants, or similar agreements.
• Weigh the relative costs and benefits of a potential action.
• Make a decision or solve a problem by using logic to identify key facts, explore alternatives, and propose quality solutions.
• Use logic to analyze or identify underlying principles, reasons, or facts associated with information or data to draw conclusions.
• Assess the operational impact of legislation or audit recommendations on services.
• Understand principles, theories, and practices of the Medicaid/Medicare system.
• Plan, organize and prioritize time and workload to accomplish tasks and meet deadlines.
• Perform statistical sampling, modeling, and analysis techniques.
• Compile, code, categorize, calculate, tabulate, audit, verify, or process information or data.
• Read, interpret, and apply laws, rules, regulations, policies and/or procedures.
• Read and interpret reporting technical specifications from federal regulators.
• Compose and produce reports, documents, and related materials.
• Communicate information and ideas clearly, and concisely, in writing; read and understand information presented in writing.
• Work independently to find new solutions to problems.

• Reports total quarterly costs of the Medicaid program to Federal Agencies to procure federal funds.
• Forecasts changes in member enrollment and costs for implementation of new initiatives, including implementing predictive analytics and time-series forecasting for certain problems.
• Automates complex reporting and extract, transform, load (ETL) processes.
• Builds on existing reports to expand their scope and efficiency.
• Builds data visualizations and interactive dashboards, including with open-source tools, preferably Bokeh in Python or Flex and/or Shiny Dashboards with R.
• Documents the data warehouse, including locations and meanings of key fields and how they can be joined with other data.
• Documents issues with the data warehouse and communicates those issues effectively to the appropriate parties.
• Builds new mathematical paradigms to model unknown enrollment patterns, such as disenrollment trends with the end of the public health emergency (related to COVID-19), as well as predicting enrollment within new benefit programs.
• Categorizes, stratifies, and assigns priorities to risk factors for covered clients.
• Arrays the data in terms of demographics, eligibility components, age, sex, severity of illness, etc., and use of data in conjunction with analysis of various services.
• Provides statistical and accounting data to obtain federal approval for State of Utah waiver requests.
• Maintains areas of the State Plan and Administrative Rules dealing with reimbursement, including interfacing with federal officials to ensure compliance with federal regulations.
• Designs detailed analysis, summarizes findings, and communicates effectively to management and other staff.
• Provides day-to-day monitoring and tracking of assigned reimbursement programs ensuring accurate payment of planned expenditures.
• Independently finds solutions to problems.