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Ascension is seeking an experienced Senior Data & Algorithm Analyst to support CMS in analyzing, validating, and improving the data and algorithms that underpin the Federal Long-Term Care Survey Process.

This position is intended for a senior analytical professional who can move confidently between raw healthcare and regulatory data, statistical and computational analysis, algorithm testing, survey-process operations, and recommendations for Federal decision-makers. The successful candidate will help CMS determine whether survey processes and supporting algorithms are operating accurately, consistently, and as intended before and after survey-process releases.

The ideal candidate will bring strong quantitative judgment, disciplined data-management practices, and the ability to investigate complex or ambiguous analytical problems with limited direction. This individual should be comfortable examining large datasets, identifying patterns and anomalies, tracing unexpected results to their source, testing analytical logic, documenting findings, and translating technical analysis into clear recommendations for program, policy, survey, and technology stakeholders.

This is more than a reporting position. The Senior Data & Algorithm Analyst will help CMS answer questions such as:

• Are survey data demonstrating the expected results after a process or system release?
• Are system algorithms producing accurate, consistent, and defensible outputs?
• What patterns, anomalies, or data-quality issues warrant further investigation?
• What algorithm or business-rule changes may be needed before the next release?
• What does the available data indicate about the efficiency, consistency, and effectiveness of the Long-Term Care Survey Process?
• How should analytical findings be translated into business requirements, corrective actions, monitoring strategies, or survey-process improvements?

The role is particularly well suited for an individual who combines advanced analytical skills with an understanding of healthcare, regulatory, quality, survey, or government program data.

Position Summary

The Senior Data & Algorithm Analyst will provide primary analytical support for CMS Long-Term Care survey-process development, monitoring, validation, inquiry review, and data surveillance activities.

The position will support analysis associated with the Long-Term Care Survey Process, or LTCSP, the Risk-Based Survey process, survey-process releases in iQIES, and other survey types or initiatives identified by CMS. Analytical work may involve information available through the CCSQ Data & Analytics Portal, Minimum Data Set, iQIES Dashboard, Nursing Home Care Compare, Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports, and other CMS-approved data sources.

A major responsibility of the role will be supporting algorithm surveillance and validation. The Analyst will evaluate proposed algorithm changes, establish and execute test logic, compare expected and actual outputs, identify defects or unintended consequences, document findings, and recommend modifications or corrective actions. Analysis may occur before releases, after releases, or as part of ongoing monitoring directed by CMS.

The position will also support development of business requirements for iQIES, survey-process testing, monitoring after releases, review of survey inquiries and help-desk information, development of analytical white papers, and preparation of data-driven findings for presentations and decision-support materials.

The successful candidate must be able to maintain analytical rigor while working in a dynamic Federal environment where regulations, policy priorities, survey methodologies, system releases, and operational needs may evolve throughout the period of performance.

Position Purpose

The Senior Data & Algorithm Analyst helps provide CMS with objective evidence that Long-Term Care survey processes, associated data, and supporting algorithms are functioning as intended.

The Analyst turns complex CMS survey and healthcare data into usable information by establishing repeatable analytical methods, testing assumptions and algorithms, identifying inconsistencies, and explaining the operational significance of findings. This work supports CMS’s continued efforts to improve the accuracy, consistency, efficiency, and effectiveness of nursing home surveys used to assess compliance with Federal health and safety requirements.

Expected Day-to-Day Activities

The Senior Data & Algorithm Analyst will be expected to:

• Collect survey, facility, quality, operational, and system-generated data from CMS-authorized sources to support analysis, testing, validation, and monitoring activities.
• Extract and organize analytical datasets from CMS data environments and approved repositories in accordance with established access, security, privacy, and data-governance requirements.
• Cleanse datasets by identifying missing, inconsistent, duplicate, out-of-range, or otherwise questionable values and documenting data-quality decisions.
• Validate source data, calculations, transformations, business rules, and analytical outputs before findings are used for decision-making.
• Analyze survey data following survey-process releases or at the direction of the COR to assess accuracy, consistency, trends, patterns, and potential performance issues.
• Evaluate current and proposed survey-process algorithms to determine whether calculations, rules, thresholds, decision logic, and resulting outputs perform as intended.
• Design repeatable test methods, validation scenarios, comparison datasets, queries, scripts, and analytical checks for algorithm testing.
• Test algorithms before survey-process releases and support post-release testing and surveillance when directed by CMS.
• Compare expected results against actual algorithm and system outputs to identify discrepancies, edge cases, unexpected behavior, or potential defects.
• Investigate anomalies and unusual patterns by tracing results through underlying data, calculation logic, business rules, and survey-process requirements.
• Document algorithm-testing procedures, assumptions, data sources, test cases, results, discrepancies, limitations, and recommended corrective actions.
• Develop recommendations for algorithm modifications, process changes, additional monitoring, data-quality controls, or business-rule refinements based on analytical findings.
• Monitor survey data following implementation of revised survey processes to identify emerging trends, unintended consequences, or opportunities for improvement.
• Prepare analytical findings and recommendations for CMS within required delivery timelines following testing, validation, and monitoring activities.
• Produce technical white papers that translate complex analytical findings into clear recommendations for corrections and continuous improvement.
• Support development and revision of iQIES business requirements by translating analytical findings, survey-process logic, and proposed algorithm changes into clear functional or data requirements.
• Review survey-process-related iQIES Help Desk data and tickets to identify recurring issues, data patterns, potential policy concerns, or system/process problems requiring further analysis.
• Analyze information associated with survey inquiries and stakeholder questions when quantitative or data-supported analysis is necessary to develop a CMS response.
• Collaborate with Long-Term Care survey-process SMEs, business analysts, the Program Manager, CMS personnel, State Survey Agency stakeholders, and other authorized contractors to interpret analytical findings and determine appropriate actions.
• Participate in survey-process testing and validation planning to establish appropriate test criteria, metrics, scenarios, case studies, and data requirements.
• Support remote or onsite testing activities when analytical participation is requested by CMS.
• Develop tables, charts, visualizations, analytical summaries, and other decision-support materials that clearly communicate trends and findings to technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Present analytical results during working sessions, project meetings, technical reviews, or presentations when requested.
• Maintain reproducible analytical code, queries, transformation logic, data dictionaries, assumptions, methodology documentation, and version-controlled analytical artifacts where applicable.
• Use R, Python, SQL, PySpark, and other CMS-approved analytical tools within authorized CMS or CCSQ data environments.
• Modernize existing analytical logic when necessary by supporting the conversion of legacy SAS-based analytical processes into approved open-source analytical languages.
• Apply statistical and quantitative techniques appropriate to the analytical question rather than relying solely on descriptive reporting.
• Perform peer review and quality-control checks on analytical products before delivery to confirm accuracy, reproducibility, traceability, and consistency with source data.
• Protect CMS information, including PII and Controlled Unclassified Information, in accordance with applicable CMS/HHS security, privacy, records-management, and data-handling requirements.
• Develop Section 508-compliant analytical reports, tables, presentations, and electronic deliverables as applicable.