Data Scientist

Alignment Healthcare USA, LLC is hiring a mission-driven Data Scientist for its Stars team focused on HOS (Health Outcomes Survey) analytics in Orange, CA.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Stars, clinical, and care management leaders to understand HOS performance drivers and translate them into analytical solutions.
• Segment members by likelihood to complete the HOS survey and by predicted physical or mental health trajectory to prioritize outreach and interventions.
• Build and fine-tune predictive models for member-level risk of HOS composite decline, including Improving/Maintaining Physical Health , Improving/Maintaining Mental Health , Monitoring Physical Activity , and Reducing the Risk of Falling .
• Analyze HOS survey data at the item level to identify which specific questions drive measure performance, beyond composite scores.
• Create pipelines to track HOS survey administration cycles, including baseline and follow-up cohorts, sampling, fielding, and response rates.
• Validate case-mix adjustment logic against CMS methodology.
• Model statistical significance and year-over-year variance to separate genuine performance changes from survey noise or sampling error.
• Coordinate with HOS survey vendors on cohort tracking, sampling methodology, fielding timelines, and case-mix adjustment specifications.
• Work with engineering teams to version, test, and deploy models using Git , CI/CD pipelines, and VM environments.
• Collaborate with clinical, care management, complex case management, Compliance, and Legal teams to ensure HOS-related outputs and interventions align with CMS guidance.
• Build dashboards showing measure-level HOS performance against Star Rating cut points and prior-year trends for each composite.
• Standardize definitions, documentation logic, and reporting workflows to scale HOS analytics enterprise-wide.

Requirements

• 2+ years of relevant experience in predictive modeling and analysis, with demonstrated use on longitudinal or outcomes-based member data.
• Required: PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience with CMS HOS survey methodology, including baseline/follow-up cohort design, case-mix adjustment, and item response theory or other psychometric methods.
• Working knowledge of individual HOS composite measures: Improving/Maintaining Physical Health , Improving/Maintaining Mental Health , Monitoring Physical Activity , Reducing the Risk of Falling .
• Working knowledge of CMS Star Ratings procedures, including HOS measure weighting, cut-point determination, and integration into overall Star Ratings.
• Excellent communication, analytical, and collaborative problem-solving skills.
• Experience delivering end-to-end data science solutions and applying machine learning methods to real-world problems with measurable outcomes.
• Strong fundamentals in data structures and algorithms.
• Strong programming skills in one or more of: Python , Java , R , Scala , or C++ .
• Demonstrated proficiency in SQL and relational databases.
• Experience with data visualization and presenting complex longitudinal outcomes analysis in clear, actionable terms for non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience designing experimental or analytical frameworks for complex, ambiguous scenarios, including longitudinal/cohort study design.
• Understanding of statistical measures such as confidence intervals, significance and error measurement, and development/evaluation data sets.
• Experience working with complex, high-volume, high-dimensionality, and unstructured data from varying sources.

Technologies

• Git
• CI/CD pipelines
• Virtual machine (VM) environments
• Python
• Java
• R
• Scala
• C++
• SQL
• Relational databases

Preferred Qualifications

• Healthcare experience, particularly within Medicare Advantage.
• Experience with functional status, frailty, or geriatric outcomes modeling.
• Experience with cloud ecosystems such as Azure or AWS .
• Published work in academic conferences or industry circles related to survey methodology, psychometrics, or health outcomes measurement.
• Demonstrable track record of handling ambiguity, prioritizing needs, and delivering results in an agile, dynamic environment.

Work Environment

• Work environment characteristics described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing essential functions.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Essential Physical Functions

• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
• Regularly required to talk or hear.
• Regularly required to stand, walk, sit; use hand to finger; handle or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms.
• Frequently lifts and/or moves up to 10 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required: close vision and ability to adjust focus.

Location

• Orange, CA (onsite)

Compensation

• USD 149,882 - 224,823 per year
• Pay range may be based on market location, education, responsibilities, experience, and related factors.