Chief Review Judge — Remote-Eligible Leader of State Hearings

Chief Review Judge (WMS3/DLS)

This recruitment is posted continuously. Application review will begin on 9/1/2026and you are encouraged to submit your application materials as soon as possible. The hiring manager reserves the right to close the posting at any time once a selection has been made.

The Chief Review Judge leads the agency’s statewide administrative hearings and appeals programs, ensuring all processes are timely, fair, and compliant with State and Federal law while overseeing the contract with the Office of Administrative Hearings. The position holds Delegated Authority from the agency Director to independently administer the hearing system, supervise the Board of Appeals, and decide second-level Medicaid-related appeals, while also serving as the primary review judge for public and school employee benefits programs.

This high-visibility leadership role with significant independent authority is ideal for a Washington State Bar Licensed Attorney with experience in administrative law and team supervision.

All HCA employees will apply an equity lens to their work, which may include but is not limited to all analyses of core business and processes.

About the division:

Within HCA, the Division of Legal Services (DLS) provides centralized administrative support to all HCA divisions at all employee levels to mitigate risks, comply with changing state and federal laws, and assist HCA in accomplishing its goals. DLS supports all programs within HCA.

About the position:

The Chief Review Judge reports directly to the Chief Legal Officer and provides legal, policy, and administrative support to ensure the HCA meets its legal requirements under state and federal law to provide fair, impartial adjudicative proceedings.

The Chief Review Judge is primarily responsible for:
Appeals administration, judicial office management, and acts as the Presiding Officer.

This position is eligible to telework but is frequently required to report onsite to meet business needs. The default assigned work location of all Health Care Authority (HCA) positions – both on-site and telework eligible positions – is within the State of Washington. This position reports to Olympia, WA. Frequency of onsite work will vary based on business and operational needs.

All agency employees are required to report on-site in Olympia on their first and last days of employment to pick up and return state-issued equipment, regardless of telework status or location.

Some of what you will do:

• Plans, leads, and develops adjudicative proceedings processes ensuring compliance with all state and federal laws, regulations and policies, ensuring due process under the law.
• Manages the development of rules, policies, trainings, statewide for HCA’s hearings and appeals programs coordinating closely with the HCA programs (PEBB/SEBB, Medicaid, and Behavioral Health) as well as external stakeholders such as legal advocates, Office of Administrative Hearings, and the Department of Social and Health Services.
• Develops and amends contractual language and manages the interagency agreement with the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) to ensure that OAH conducts hearings in a manner that is timely and fair, affords due process, and that decisions are legally accurate and supported by a complete record in compliance with Chapter 34.05 RCW and 42 CFR 431 Part E, and other relevant laws and regulations.
• Maintains and ensures the highest level of judicial integrity of self and staff.
• Supervises the Legal Administrative Manager to ensure the highest level of administrative efficiencies within the Board of Appeals. Is a second level supervisor to the Legal Assistant 3 that reports to the Legal Administrative Manager providing coaching, mentorship, and support.
• O…