Data Research Analyst

Research Data Analyst turns research questions into precise, reproducible data questions and prepares governed, analysis-ready datasets for approved research use at Beacon Health System. The role bridges investigators and data engineering: it defines cohorts, builds phenotype logic, works in the institutional common data model, and documents and validates every dataset it prepares before that dataset moves to independent pre-release review.

This is a remote position. To be considered, applicants must reside in one of the following approved states: California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas.

MISSION, VALUES and SERVICE GOALS

• MISSION: We deliver outstanding care, inspire health, and connect with heart.
• VALUES: Trust. Respect. Integrity. Compassion.
• SERVICE GOALS: Personally connect. Keep everyone informed. Be on their team.

Responsibilities:

• Submit cohort definitions and data element lists for Beacon Data Governance approval before extraction or analysis and begin work only on requests that have cleared front-end data classification.
• Confirm the Institutional Review Board protocol is active, and the requested variables match the approved protocol before extraction begins.
• Run aggregate feasibility counts. Counts only, no record level output.
• Perform concept mapping and vocabulary work in the institutional common data model and in the Oracle Real-World Data environment, keep the two distinct, and document where source data does not map cleanly.
• In the Oracle Real-World Data environment, conduct analysis in-platform only. Data does not leave the platform, and any export is restricted and governed.
• Prepare analysis-ready datasets to approved specification under minimum necessary discipline, including derived variables.
• Verify de-identification conformance on releases prepared by data engineering staff, and flag re-identification risk from small cells, rare diagnoses, and date or geographic precision.
• Profile and validate source data, reconcile counts to the system of record, and document known limitations for each release.
• Produce a data dictionary and reproducible query logic for every released dataset.
• Contribute release metadata to the chain-of-custody log for each release.
• Estimate effort for each request and track time against it.
• Report intake and release status monthly, including queue position, aging, and throughput.
• Complete required HIPAA and human subjects research training before access to research data is granted.
• Document dataset construction procedures in writing and apply Institutional Review Board access conditions to each request.
• Advise investigators on data feasibility, cohort attrition, and documentation limitations that constrain observational study design.

Core Competencies:

• Clinical data fluency: finds a clinical concept in the data and recognizes where the data misrepresents it.
• Cohort and phenotype logic: turns a research question into precise, testable inclusion and exclusion criteria.
• Advanced SQL and reproducible methods: versioned, documented query logic that another analyst can rerun.
• Study design judgment: holds a methodology conversation with investigators and states plainly what the data can and cannot support.
• Privacy discipline: applies minimum necessary, spots re-identification risk, and documents work so chain of custody can be verified.
• Translation across audiences: communicates clearly in writing and in person with clinicians, investigators, and technical staff.
• Integrity within controls: works inside separation of duties and escalates rather than works around a control.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in health informatics, public health, epidemiology, statistics, data science, or a related quantitative or clinical field.
• Three or more years of clinical data analysis experience in a health system, academic medical center, or health research environment.
• Advanced SQL against large relational clinical data, and proficiency in R or Python.
• Git version control for cohort definitions and query code.
• Clinical fluency sufficient to find a clinical concept in the data and recognize where the data misrepresents it.
• Working command of ICD-10-CM, CPT and HCPCS, LOINC, RxNorm, and SNOMED CT.
• Quantitative methods background sufficient to hold a study design conversation.
• Working knowledge of HIPAA de-identification standards at 45 CFR 164.514, including the difference between Safe Harbor and Expert Determination.
• Documentation discipline: written specifications, versioned logic, and reproducible output.

Preferred Experience:

• Master's degree in public health, biostatistics, epidemiology, or health informatics.
• Common data model experience for observational research, for example OMOP.
• Phenotype engineering and observational study design.
• OHDSI tools, including ATLAS and the Data Quality Dashboard.
• Institutional Review Board and academic research workflow familiarity.
• Prior work supporting external research collaborations under a data use agreement.
• Exposure to natural language processing for extracting result-level variables from clinical narrative text.
• Experience with Oracle Health (Millennium) or comparable EHR source data, such as Epic Clarity, including code values, encounter and clinical event structures, and Cerner Command Language.

Work Environment:

Analytical, computer-based role. Works with research data classified as identifiable, limited dataset, de-identified, or aggregated, and handles each only as its approved governance pathway allows, inside secured, approved research environments only. All work is governed by HIPAA, Institutional Review Board requirements, and executed data use agreements, and is routed through formal research intake. Collaborates with investigators, data engineering staff, designated pre-release reviewers, Compliance, and the Institutional Review Board. No direct patient care. Work location and remote eligibility follow Beacon policy. This position is grant funded. It is a Beacon Health System position under Beacon supervision and Beacon governance.

Professional office environment. Routinely uses computers and standard office equipment. Sedentary work that requires sitting for extended periods, keyboard use, and sustained screen viewing. No exposure to hazardous materials. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.

The above statements describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals in this position. They are not an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills.