Assistant, Associate, or Full Project Scientist - Public Health

Position overview

Position title: Public Health Project Scientist

Salary range: A reasonable salary range estimate for this position is $80,200 - $129,100. The posted  UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and/or step  the following table for the salary scale for this position:
Project Scientist

Open date: July 21, 2026

Next review date: Thursday, Aug 6, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Wednesday, Jul 21, 2027 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

The Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego is committed to academic excellence within the faculty, staff, and student body and invites applications for an Assistant, Associate, or Full Project Scientist position in Health Services Research, Health Policy, and Implementation Science.

The HWSPH has focal areas of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Climate & Environmental Health, Community Health Services and Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, Health Equity and Justice, Global Health, Health Behavior, Health Policy, Public Mental Health, and Technology & Precision Health and offers six degree programs: BS in Public Health, MPH, MS and PhD in Biostatistics, a Joint doctoral program with SDSU, and PhD in Public Health.

The first concentration of the School’s new PhD in Public Health program is in Health Services Research and Implementation Science. Further, the School has a Preventive Medicine Residency program. The School has extensive collaborations with the School of Medicine, Moores Cancer Center, Rady School of Management, Jacobs School of Engineering, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Skaggs School of Pharmacy, and with other partners across the UC San Diego campus.

Partnerships with the community and health agencies are fundamental to the School. The School comprises more than 125 primary faculty and academics, 25 secondary faculty, and 150 staff members and provides instruction and mentorship to 850 BSPH majors and 225 postgraduate students, and the School’s faculty and academics hold ~$255M total awarded grants and contracts.

Position Duties:
The Project Scientist will contribute to NIH- and state-funded research projects focused on digital health interventions, wearable/mobile sensing, and adaptive behavior change systems. The role will involve evaluating the design, deployment, and effectiveness of personalized intervention systems using computational modeling and analysis of real-world datasets generated through experimental and optimization-based intervention research. The Project Scientist will contribute to the development and evaluation of scalable digital health platforms, the design, implementation, and refinement of Just-In-Time Adaptive Intervention (JITAI) protocols, and the recruitment and retention of human participants.

The role will include the use of data science, behavioral science, and optimization methods, including idiographic and within-person modeling, adaptive control approaches, AI-supported decision-making systems, and real-world evidence generation and analysis across the intervention lifecycle. The Project Scientist will also contribute to scientific writing, manuscript preparation, grant development, and dissemination of findings related to digital health, health behavior change, and adaptive intervention science, with the hope and expectation that they request and receive a PI exemption, such that they may seek funding both collaboratively with others at EPARC and independently.

At UC San Diego, Project Scientists are academic researchers who are expected to make significant and creative contributions to a research team, but are not necessarily leaders of the research team. They are not required to carry out independent research or develop an independent research reputation, but will publish and carry out research or creative programs with supervision by a member of the Professor or…