RPHO Assistant Epidemiologist (Epi/Bio or Soc/Behav)

Overview

About this Role
Job Summary

This position supports the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) mission and strategic plan by supporting the transformation of California’s public health system through funding sources such as the Future of Public Health (FoPH) and California Strengthening Public Health Initiative (CASPHI) and may expand to other sources as prioritized by the department and office. The Research Scientist (RS) advances statewide modernization by strengthening Local Health Jurisdiction (LHJ) analytic capacity, improving data infrastructure, and supporting broad public health projects through regional technical assistance. The role centers on equity, systems improvement, and the implementation of statewide public health priorities.

Key Responsibilities
40% Support internal Regional Public Health Office analytic needs by developing rapid-turnaround analyses, visualizations, and summary briefs that inform leadership decision-making, strategic planning, and initiative coordination such as but not limited to Future of Public Health and California Strengthening Public Health Initiative (FoPH/CASPHI). This may include, but is not limited to, generating internal dashboards, updating shared tracking tools, and contributing to ongoing modernization efforts such as Databricks workspace buildout and shared code repositories. Provide analytic input during team discussions, help refine shared workflows, and support cross-team alignment for statewide public health transformation initiatives.
30% Provide epidemiologic and technical assistance to local health jurisdictions (LHJs) by completing ad hoc data analysis and coordination requests that address immediate public health priorities and capacity gaps. Translate ad hoc analyses into regional learning products (toolkits, templates, summary briefs) that standardize best practices and build reproducible analytic capacity across jurisdictions. Conduct needs assessments across LHJs to identify where epidemiologic support is most urgently required. Participate in cross-CDO collaborative epidemiology initiatives and data governance activities, such as Epi Forum Design Team planning, to ensure ad hoc local efforts support broader statewide modernization and consistency.
25% Support statewide evaluation frameworks and contribute to alignment work across the Agency. Assist LHJs broadly across multiple funding sources, including analytic workflows, workforce tracking, and performance / expenditure reporting. Support jurisdictions implement analytic tools, develop metrics, and assess progress toward statewide modernization goals.
5% Perform other job-related duties as required. Occasional travel for meetings, site visits, and technical training may be required. In the event of an emergency activation, the incumbent may, on short notice, be required to work irregular and overtime hours during disaster operations to support efforts.

Qualifications
All employees shall possess the general qualifications, as described in California Code of Regulations Title 2, Section 172, which include, but are not limited to integrity, honesty, dependability, thoroughness, accuracy, good judgment, initiative, resourcefulness, and the ability to work cooperatively with others.
Special Requirements

Conflict of Interest (COI)
Background Check and/or Fingerprinting Clearance
Medical Clearance
Travel: Light Travel, up to 5%, may be required
Bilingual: Pass a State written and/or verbal proficiency exam in
License/Certification:
Other:
Competencies: The competencies required for this position are found on the classification specification for the classification noted above. Classification specifications are located on the California Department of Human Resource’s Job Descriptions webpage.