Senior Research Scientist

The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

The Institute for Disease Modeling (IDM) at the Gates Foundation supports global efforts to eradicate infectious diseases and achieve permanent improvements in health of those most in need. We develop, use, and share computational modeling tools, advise policy makers, promote quantitative decision-making, and advance scientific methodologies. The IDM team comprises both research scientists and software engineers. IDM is committed to sharing its work as public goods benefiting the global community of scientists, policy makers, program implementers, and health-care workers, especially in low-income and low-resource parts of the world.

The Sexual & Reproductive Health team is part of IDM’s Gender, Vulnerability & Health Equity portfolio. You will play a key role in realizing our mission to catalyze, conduct, and elevate research which uncovers and investigates factors that give rise to health inequities.

Your Role

The Senior Research Scientist reports to the Research Manager of Sexual & Reproductive Health. You are a creative, resourceful, and curious researcher. You can seamlessly transition from complex modeling to presenting your results to key stakeholders. You have subject matter expertise in sexual and reproductive health, especially family planning and/or sexually transmitted infections. You also have expertise in one or more areas of statistical and dynamic modeling, such as longitudinal data analysis or agent-based modeling. You will work closely with internal and external partners to produce impactful, rigorous research that improves SRH programming and advances the field.

What You’ll Do

• Contribute to a robust research portfolio in Sexual & Reproductive Health, with a focus on family planning and/or STIs
• Build partnerships with relevant programmatic teams at the foundation as a thought partner and advisor
• Develop and implement research plans that include analyses of large-scale surveys, user insights research, and panel studies using rigorous statistical methods
• Utilize and improve agent-based modeling tools in the SRH space
• Work with teams of other researchers to design, execute, and complete research projects, including researchers in regional country offices and LMIC organizations.
• Present research results to technical and non-technical audiences to both internal foundation colleagues and external partners

Your Experience

• PhD or equivalent required, in a quantitative field such as biostatistics, public health, demography, or a social science
• 5+ years of experience
• Extensive background in statistical or dynamical modeling, such as agent-based modeling.
• Expertise in one or more areas of sexual and reproductive health, including family planning, sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and/or menstrual health. Familiarity with the field of family planning is highly desired.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate nuanced technical results to partners with a diverse set of backgrounds, including executive leadership, program staff, grantees, and government officials
• Exhibits professional courage – engages in trust-based debate, interrogates difficult and complex questions
• Demonstrated commitment to equitable global health for all.  

*Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.

The salary range for this role is $186,400 to $288,800 USD. We recognize high-wage market differences in Seattle and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $203,100 to $314,900 USD. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process.

Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Candidate Accommodations

If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request here.

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.