PhD-level Research Economist - Department of Health Care Systems Research

RTI International is an independent, scientific research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Our vision is to address the world's most critical problems with technical and science-based solutions in pursuit of a better future. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach-one that integrates expertise across social, statistical, data, and laboratory sciences, engineering, and other technical disciplines to solve the world's most challenging problems.

We believe in the promise of science and technical solutions, and we push ourselves every day to deliver on that promise for the good of people, communities, and businesses in the US and around the world. If you are looking for the opportunity to make a real difference, RTI is the place for you.

RTI International's Department of Health Care Systems Research has an opening for a PhD-level Research Economist to serve as a task and project leader for evaluation, analysis, design, and implementation of innovative health care delivery policies, programs, and models.

As a Research Economist, you will provide cutting-edge analyses that will influence health care policy and health care system innovation, particularly within the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Using large health care datasets, you will design, evaluate, and support policies related to health care insurance, payment, and delivery models; managed care; health care financing, costs, utilization, and quality; health insurance coverage and access; prescription drugs; and risk and case-mix adjustment through statistical analysis. You will lead analytic projects as an integral part of a team, apply an in-depth understanding of critical health policy issues and methods, contribute to and lead proposals to funding entities, and publish and present on findings for scientific audiences. (see: https://www.rti.org/focus-area/health).

Opportunities exist for new and experienced Ph.D.'s and Masters, and economists and policy analysts with relevant experience in academia, government, industry, or consulting.

This position will start in Spring or Summer 2026. Candidates may choose to work remotely within the United States or from RTI's headquarters in Research Triangle Park, NC.

Please submit the following documents with your application:

• Letters of Reference
• Job Market Paper
• Cover Letter
• CV

• Lead and/or contribute to quantitative research and evaluation activities on a broad range of health policy and health services research topics.
• Specify and supervise descriptive and statistical analyses of large, complex datasets.
• Succinctly present results for a diverse technical and policy audience.
• Author technical reports, memoranda, articles, documentation, and regulations.
• Ensure high quality and accuracy of work products.
• Develop and manage budgets to achieve goals within available resources.
• Supervise and manage research staff in completing project tasks.
• Communicate and negotiate work plans, timelines, budgets, and results with clients.
• Lead and/or contribute to technical proposals including methodological designs.
• Collaborate with teams of mixed levels of technical skills and experience.
• Develop expertise in several health care policy, research methods, and health care data areas.

Minimum Qualifications:

• PhD or PhD candidate (target defense in 2025/2026) in economics, health policy, health services research, actuarial science, operations research, finance, or a related quantitative field; or a Master's degree in the same fields with at least 6 years of relevant experience.
• Completed coursework and experience with quantitative research.
• Experience with and skills in advanced micro-econometrics, simulation analysis, and program evaluation.
• Experience with and skills in a variety of advanced causal and statistical inference methods.
• Ability to communicate (both written and verbal) complex ideas and information clearly and precisely to diverse audiences.
• Ability to collaborate effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).
• To qualify, applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States and should not require, now or in the future, sponsorship for employment visa status(e.g., H-1B visa status, etc.).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience conducting analysis to understand the impact of public programs and other policy interventions.
• Experience with the analysis of prescription drug pricing and utilization.
• Experience with domestic (United States) health policy, particularly the Medicare or Medicaid programs.
• Experience with large program and administrative data.
• Experience in project, task, timeline, and budget management.
• Ability to program and analyze quantitative data with R, Python, SQL, and/or Stata.

For San Francisco, CA USA Job Postings Only: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Further information is available here.

RTI accepts applications to our job openings from candidates with criminal histories or conviction records in accordance with all applicable laws, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

For Applicants in Massachusetts Only: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below. Our pay ranges represent national averages and may vary by location as a geographic differential may be applied to some locations within the United States. RTI considers multiple factors when making an offer including, for example: established salary range, internal budget, business needs, and education and years of work experience possessed by the applicant. Further, salary is merely one element to our offer.

At RTI, we demonstrate our commitment to rewarding individual and team achievement through a total rewards package. This package includes (among other things) a competitive base salary, a generous paid time off policy, merit based annual increases, bonus opportunities and a robust recognition program. Other benefits include a competitive range of insurance plans (including health, dental, life, and short-term and long-term disability), access to a retirement savings program such as a 401(k) plan, paid parental leave for all parents, financial assistance with adoption expenses or infertility treatments, financial reimbursement for education and developmental opportunities, an employee assistance program, and numerous other offerings to support a healthy work-life balance.