Medical Officer Surveillance

CDPH is currently hiring a Public Health Medical Officer III (Epidemiology) within our Center for Infectious Diseases, Division of Communicable Disease Control! In this role, you will serve as the Wastewater Surveillance (WWS) Unit Chief. You will oversee WWS programs, manage grants and budgets, coordinate with the CDPH wastewater analysis laboratory, and supervise doctoral and master's level research and data scientists. Additionally, you will conduct advanced epidemiologic analyses, modeling, and data management, and produce summary reports, dashboards, and interpretations in support of local health departments and CDPH disease programs, as well as outbreak and emergency response efforts.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develops and implements a comprehensive programmatic vision to ensure wastewater surveillance is meeting the CDPH strategic mission and providing representative statewide coverage to fill different public health priorities
• Proactively identifies public health needs by collaborating with disease program subject matter experts and local health departments
• Works with CDPH leadership and programs to determine new pathogen targets and use cases for wastewater surveillance, assessing efficacy and value based on clinical and public health knowledge of diseases, severity, and public health surveillance, interventions, and gaps
• Analyzes and interprets wastewater data and provides guidance to CDPH programs and local public health on public health actions, and plays a critical role in supporting CDPH responses to outbreaks and emergencies by developing response plans and protocols and providing clinical knowledge
• Collaborates with utilities, laboratories, and local health departments to plan, implement, and continue wastewater surveillance across the state. Initiates and directs collaboration with multidisciplinary CDPH and other partners
• Leads projects to advance wastewater surveillance systems and formulates major intellectual contributions to plan, design, analyze, and execute new and ongoing large scale and complex analytical projects
• Develops and writes protocols and standard operating procedures to ensure consistency and quality in surveillance activities
• Conceptualizes, coordinates, and produces reports, data visualizations, dashboards, manuscripts and public-facing materials that describe and interpret epidemiologic analysis to further disease control and prevention
• Manages, interprets, and reports surveillance data, communicates notification of routine surveillance and outbreaks to local, state, and federal partners, and documents investigations with written summaries and reports
• Supports utilities in assessing and understanding infectious diseases monitored in wastewater, including transmission, infectivity, and prevention, to support wastewater worker safety

Telework Policy and Residency Requirement:

This position may be eligible for telework. The amount of telework permitted is at the discretion of the Department and is subject to change, consistent with CDPH’s Telework Program. All employees who telework are required to be California residents in accordance with Government Code 14200. Candidates who reside outside of the state of California may be interviewed; however, the selected candidate must have a primary residency in the state of California prior to appointment (and continue to maintain California residency) as a condition of employment. Failure to meet this requirement may result in the job offer being rescinded.