SUMMARY

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Division of Communicable Disease Control (DCDC) and Heluna Health are recruiting for a Data Manager/Data Scientist for the CDPH Wastewater Surveillance Program, an enhanced surveillance system that utilizes wastewater data to augment other infectious disease surveillance data to inform epidemiologic and public health needs. This position is supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) cooperative agreement. The CDPH Wastewater Surveillance Program is a national Center of Excellence and a part of the CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS).

Wastewater, or sewage, can be tested for RNA from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as for other infectious diseases of public health importance (e.g., influenza, mpox, norovirus). Viral/pathogen concentrations can then be used to provide information about level of disease activity in the community. This position will serve as a data manager on the CDPH wastewater surveillance team and is responsible for database management, data systems design, quality control and assurance, data stewardship and governance, data dictionary and standards, and data analysis.

The wastewater surveillance Data Manager/Data Scientist will serve as data steward and will be responsible for data infrastructure and governance on a team of epidemiologists and data scientists all working on subsets of wastewater surveillance data to ensure data flows are connecting seamlessly across the ecosystem. The Data Manager/Data Scientist works with others on the wastewater surveillance team to develop and implement sophisticated, complex data processing workflows to support analyses for monitoring SARS CoV-2 and other pathogens in wastewater and improve efficiency and automation. Specifically, the Data Manager/Data Scientist will develop workflows to efficiently integrate data from multiple sources. The Data Manager/Data Scientist also conceives of and oversees the implementation and validation of new automation processes and provides documentation of script changes and data system protocols. The Data Manager/Data Scientist builds upon and reiterates existing data flow infrastructure to improve database efficiency and organization to better utilize wastewater surveillance data ecosystem.

The Data Manager/Data Scientist will work closely in collaboration with wastewater analysis laboratories on data and data systems including potentially with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), as well as data submitted from wastewater utilities. The Data Manager/Data Scientist will also work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California State Water Resources Control Board (CA State Water Board) on data standards and formatting, and automated data transmission through application programming interfaces (APIs). This position will work with local health departments, and other partners (e.g., academia, state partners) as appropriate. This position will also support other projects including, but not limited to, enhanced surveillance projects, outbreak investigations and surge efforts.

The Data Manager/Data Scientist will also support epidemiological analyses, summary report generation, dashboards, and other projects and routine tasks as necessary to support the use of wastewater surveillance data for public health.

The salary range for this position is $79, 000 to $98, 000 annually depending on experience/ qualifications.

Applicants must submit a cover letter and resume to be considered.

This position is a fully remote working position. Some travel for conferences or meetings is expected.

Must be able to work flexible hours that may include occasional holidays and weekends.

If hired for this position, applicant will be required to provide proof of full vaccination for COVID-19 prior to the start date; or have a valid religious or medical reason qualifying the applicant for an exemption (that may or may not require accommodation). The applicant will need to have the qualifying exemption.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Lead wastewater data management and infrastructure development, in collaboration with CDPH wastewater team, other CDPH data teams, and external partners as appropriate.
• Streamline wastewater data systems and oversee database governance and integrity.
• Oversee data flow automation and spearhead data systems strengthening.
• Lead Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) efforts of wastewater database architecture and troubleshoot problems as they arise.
• Create and manage large relational datasets including environmental and spatial datasets.
• Assist development of visualizations of wastewater surveillance study data including creation and maintenance of online dashboards.
• Generate summary reports for state and local health leadership.
• Contribute intellectually to the design and implementation of wastewater surveillance data systems and data standards to inform the California COVID-19 public health response.
• Plan and participate in regular conference calls with CDC, Local Health Officers, Sanitation Agencies, and other partners.
• Present on conference calls with partners, at meetings and scientific conferences, as needed.
• Collaborate with other CDPH epidemiology, data, and surveillance teams to integrate and interpret wastewater data in the context of the overall CDPH COVID-19 response.
• Collaborate with CDC, state and local public health departments, laboratories, sanitation agencies, water boards and other partners (e.g., academia).
• Collaborate effectively in a team environment.
• Collaborate with data scientists and epidemiologists dedicated to this project.
• Perform other duties as directed by leadership.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing with public health and healthcare professionals and internal partners
• Strong understanding of database management, data stewardship and governance, data standards, and informatics
• Fluency in at least one programming language (preferably R) and familiarity with data querying languages (e.g., SQL)
• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing with public health and healthcare professionals and internal partners
• Ability to perform data entry and write efficient code to perform data importation, cleaning, and wrangling, and assess and ensure data quality with attention to detail, best data practices, and good statistical judgement
• Manage databases and large data sets by using relational databases in data warehouses like Snowflake
• Ability to perform statistical data manipulation, cleaning and quality control
• Understanding of the fundamentals and principles of epidemiology, biostatistics, geographic information systems, public health, and data visualization
• Basic skills in statistics relevant to infectious disease epidemiology, including execution and interpretation of statistics and a preference for experience in statistics tied to real-world or public health implications
• Knowledge and application of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements and protection of health information
• High level analytical and problem-solving skills
• Familiarity with environmental surveillance techniques and data preferred
• Familiarity with laboratory data preferred
• Completes assignments in a timely and efficient manner
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks, and work independently
• Demonstrate reliability and integrity
• Fluency in spoken English is required

Education/Experience

• Master’s degree in public health or related field, or equivalent work experience (e.g., 2 or more years in public or environmental health, or in data management) required
• Experience implementing and writing QA/QC data standards and procedures
• Experience in database management, cleaning and analyzing data
• Experience in designing and overseeing data flow and data processes
• Experience with statistical programming, including R and/or SAS preferred
• Proficiency in multiple programming languages (e.g., R, SQL, and/or Python) highly preferred
• Experience in reporting and visualization of public health or epidemiologic data preferred
• Intermediate knowledge and experience in dashboard development (i.e. R Shiny, Tableau) preferred
• Experience in data script version control and data process optimization, and version control software (i.e., Azure DevOps or Git)
• Familiarity with data warehouses (e.g. Snowflake) preferred
• Familiarity with laboratory data and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) preferred

Certificates/Licenses/Clearances

• None

Other Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge of and skilled in the use of Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, and PowerPoint

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Stand: Frequently
• Walk: Frequently
• Sit: Frequently
• Handling / Fingering: Frequently
• Reach Outward: Occasionally
• Reach Above Shoulder: Occasionally
• Climb, Crawl, Kneel, Bend: Occasionally
• Lift / Carry: Occasionally - Up to 30 lbs
• Push/Pull: Occasionally - Up to 30 lbs
• See (Vision): Constantly
• Taste/ Smell: Not Applicable

KEY

• Constantly = (5+ hrs/day)
• Frequently = (2+ - 5 hrs/day)
• Occasionally = (0 - 2 hrs/day)
• Not Applicable = Not required for essential functions

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Fully remote, with occasional travel expected.

Must have functioning internet access at remote location.

EEOC STATEMENT

It is the policy of Heluna Health to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)