Data Scientist

The CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world. The CDC Foundation is the go-to nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private-sector resources to support CDC’s critical health protection mission. Since 1995, the CDC Foundation has raised over $1.9 billion and launched more than 1,300 programs impacting a variety of health threats from chronic disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer, to infectious diseases like rotavirus and HIV, to emergency responses, including COVID-19 and Ebola. The CDC Foundation managed hundreds of programs in the United States and in more than 90 countries last year. Visit for more information.

Job Highlights

Location: Preference for candidates residing in the Tri-State Area (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut). Hybrid work preferred, but fully remote work is possible for the right candidate. Must be based in the United States

Salary Range: $92,700-$134,275 per year, plus benefits. Individual salary offers will be based on experience and qualifications unique to each candidate.

Work Schedule: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm EST, Monday to Friday 

Position Type: Grant funded, limited-term opportunity

Position End Date: June 30, 2025

• The Data Scientist will play a crucial role in advancing the CDC Foundation's mission by leveraging data to inform strategic decisions and initiatives in a public health organization. This role is aligned to the Workforce Acceleration Initiative (WAI). WAI is a federally funded CDC Foundation program with the goal of helping the nation’s public health agencies by providing them with the technology and data experts they need to accelerate their information system improvements.

• Working within the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Center for Population Health Data Science, the Data Scientist will primarily work on supporting the privacy of confidential data by employing advanced statistical techniques to work with various sensitive datasets. In this role, the Data Scientist will also be acting as a data steward to ensure data governance requirements are adhered to by the organization.

• The Data Scientist will be hired by the CDC Foundation and assigned to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Center for Population Health Data Science (CPHDS). Preference for candidates residing in the Tri-State Area (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut). This position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement for U.S. based candidates.

• Work with and understand confidential datasets
• Work with stakeholders of confidential datasets to understand reporting needs and disclosure risks
• Identify, document and employ (statistical) data risk management techniques on confidential datasets
• Generate and utilize synthetic data
• Work with and understand electronic health and other public health records
• Document methods and engineering processes especially related to risk management
• Collaborate with team members and stakeholders to optimize workflows, including reporting
• Ensure data governance requirements are met with data users

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Data Science, Statistics, Epidemiology, or related field
• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience
• Familiarity with data governance and data protection regulations.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, SAS or R.
• Experience with data manipulation and analysis tools (e.g., SQL, DBT, Pandas, NumPy).
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to interpret complex datasets and derive meaningful insights.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to convey technical concepts to non-technical partners effectively.
• Flexibility to adapt to evolving project requirements and priorities.
• Professional certifications in data science, machine learning, or public health analytics preferred.
• Outstanding interpersonal and teamwork skills; collegial; energetic; and able to develop productive relationships with colleagues, partners, and partners.
• Demonstrated ability to work well independently and collaboratively within teams.
• Experience working in a virtual environment with remote partners and teams.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.

Special Notes

This role is involved in a dynamic public health program. As such, roles and responsibilities are subject to change as situations evolve. Roles and responsibilities listed above may be expanded upon or updated to match priorities and needs, once written approval is received by the CDC Foundation in order to best support the public health programming.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, mental or physical disabilities, veteran status, and all other characteristics protected by law.

We comply with all applicable laws including E.O. 11246 and the Vietnam Era Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 governing employment practices and do not discriminate on the basis of any unlawful criteria in accordance with 41 C.F.R. §§ 60-300.5(a)(12) and 60-741.5(a)(7). As a federal government contractor, we take affirmative action on behalf of protected veterans.

The CDC Foundation is a smoke-free environment.

Relocation expenses are not included.