Lead Data Scientist, Medicaid (Contract)

For People is a team of skilled technologists improving government digital services for disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. We embed directly in government agencies to modernize software, systems, and platforms so that they better serve people.

Your Impact

You'll lead a talented data team of four on a short-term, high-profile project with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). We're helping the government replace a critical manual process with an automated data solution that will serve millions of people. As the Lead Data Scientist, you will be the final authority on the accuracy and integrity of the data, ensuring the right information gets to the right people at the right time. Your leadership will directly impact the efficiency and reliability of a vital government program, building a sustainable system that makes a real-world difference.

Our Culture

For People is a team of humans. We place a significant amount of emphasis on positive work-life balance, setting healthy expectations, and making sure our loved ones are taken care of first. That means picking a child up from school during the day or going for a mid-day walk is okay!

This is a 6-month contract position with a competitive hourly rate of $150/hr. This is a fully remote role, open to candidates located anywhere within the United States.

Due to the accelerated 6-month timeline and the complexity of the project, we have a strong preference for candidates with prior experience working with CMS or state Medicaid data. This background will be crucial for ramping up quickly and making an immediate impact on this high-priority initiative.

Your Opportunities

At For People, you will:

• Lead, mentor, and provide technical direction for a team of data scientists in a collaborative environment.
• Establish the vision and standards for data analysis, quality assurance, and validation to ensure the highest level of accuracy.
• Design, write, and optimize complex queries against large-scale government medical datasets like T-MSIS.
• Serve as the bridge between policy and technology by translating complex business requirements into testable data logic.
• Collaborate closely with data engineers to design and implement a new automated data pipeline within a cloud-based data lakehouse platform.
• Act as the final decision-maker on the correctness of the data and logic before it is delivered to state government partners.

You Bring

• A humble and caring attitude aligning with For People’s values – how we work with passion, fun, curiosity, sustainability, humility, and respect
• Proven experience leading and mentoring data science or analytics teams on complex projects.
• Expert-level proficiency in SQL and a strong programming background in Python for data analysis and automation.
• A deep understanding of data quality best practices and experience building frameworks to ensure data integrity, especially when working with sensitive information like PHI.
• Experience architecting data solutions in a modern cloud environment.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a demonstrated ability to explain complex technical subjects to non-technical stakeholders.
• Familiarity with Medicaid data is a significant plus.

Additional Details

You will be working on a United States government platform, and they have a few basic requirements for contractors like ourselves. You must perform all work physically within the United States at all times. In addition, you must be a United States citizen and be able to pass a government-performed public trust background check.

For People is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, and/or veteran status.