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About This Role
Ready to help us transform healthcare? Bring your true colors to blue.
The Financial and Evaluation Measurement team is seeking a Data Scientist with strong technical expertise and a background in a quantitative discipline. In this role, you’ll work with large, complex healthcare datasets to project and evaluate the financial impact of policy changes, clinical programs, and third\-party solutions. You’ll design analytical models and compelling visualizations that inform key business decisions, helping shape strategies to lower costs and improve the quality of care for our members.
This role is eligible for our Flex Persona, with candidates local to our Boston or Hingham office preferred.
Your Day to Day
Analyze large, complex datasets from a robust Enterprise Data Warehouse to identify drivers of healthcare cost trends, market pressures, and profitability.
Design and execute advanced statistical models and predictive analytics to inform financial projections and evaluate cost/benefit of business initiatives.
Create clear, compelling data visualizations and communicate actionable recommendations that reduce healthcare costs and improve member outcomes.
Lead cross\-functional analytic projects from design through implementation, ensuring consistent representation of financial performance across the organization.
Partner closely with teams including Payment Integrity, Health and Medical Management, Provider Contracting, and others, to ensure alignment between analytics and business strategy.
We’re Looking For
Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, Economics, Healthcare Analytics, or related field required. Master’s degree preferred.
5\+ years of professional experience in data science, healthcare analytics, or a related field.
Proficiency in SQL, Python and/or R for data extraction, manipulation, and modeling.
Experience with data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI).
Familiarity with SAS is a plus but not required.
Strong analytical and problem\-solving skills with attention to detail.
Excellent communication skills—able to distill complex analyses into clear, actionable insights for non\-technical audiences.
The proven ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast\-paced environment.
A collaborative mindset and adaptability to shifting business priorities.
What You Bring
A passion for using data to improve healthcare quality and affordability.
A creative, solution\-oriented approach to complex business problems.
The ability to influence decision\-making through clear data\-driven insights and strong stakeholder partnerships.
A team\-first perspective with a proven record of driving projects to completion and measurable impact.
What You'll Gain
You will design and validate analytic frameworks, uncover emerging drivers of healthcare cost and utilization, and deliver insights that shape strategy in pricing, product development, financial planning, and forecasting.
The Financial and Evaluation Measurement team executes innovative analytics to inform corporate strategy in critical areas including competitiveness, affordability, profitability, provider payment reform and health care policy. As Data Scientist on this team, you will work with a rich dataset and a robust well\-established Enterprise Data Warehouse to identify emerging drivers of health care trend and cost, market pressures, and profitability.
\#LI\-Hybrid
Minimum Education Requirements:
High school degree or equivalent required unless otherwise noted above
Location Boston Time Type Full time
Salary Range: $116,190\.00 \- $142,010\.00
The job posting range is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. An employee’s pay position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue\-based metrics, and business or organizational needs and affordability.
This job is also eligible for variable pay.
We offer comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, 401(k), and a suite of well\-being benefits to eligible employees.
Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, or any other form of compensation that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.
WHY Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA?
We understand that the confidence gap and imposter syndrome can prevent amazing candidates coming our way, so please don’t hesitate to apply. We’d love to hear from you. You might be just what we need for this role or possibly another one at Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA. The more voices we have represented and amplified in our business, the more we will all thrive, contribute, and be brilliant. We encourage you to bring us your true colors, , your perspectives, and your experiences. It’s in our differences that we will remain relentless in our pursuit to transform healthcare for ALL.
As an employer, we are committed to investing in your development and providing the necessary resources to enable your success. Learn how we are dedicated to creating an inclusive and rewarding workplace that promotes excellence and provides opportunities for employees to forge their unique career path by visiting our Company Culture page. If this sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, we’d love to hear from you. You can also join our Talent Community to stay “in the know” on all things Blue.
At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, we believe in wellness and that work/life balance is a key part of associate wellbeing. For more information on how we work and support that work/life balance visit our " How We Work " Page.
Salary Context
This $116K-$142K range is in the lower quartile for Data Scientist roles in our dataset (median: $166K across 345 roles with salary data).
View full Data Scientist salary data →Role Details
About This Role
Data Scientists extract insights and build predictive models from data. In the AI era, many roles now include LLM-powered analytics, automated reporting, and integration with generative AI tools. The role has evolved from 'the person who runs SQL queries' to 'the person who builds AI-powered data products.'
Modern data science roles fall into two camps: analytics-focused (insights, dashboards, experimentation) and ML-focused (building predictive models, recommendation systems, NLP features). The best data scientists can operate in both modes. The AI shift means that even analytics-focused roles now involve building automated insight pipelines using LLMs, going well beyond one-off reports.
Across the 26,159 AI roles we're tracking, Data Scientist positions make up 2% of the market. At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.
Data Scientist roles remain in high demand, though the definition keeps shifting. Companies increasingly want candidates who can bridge traditional statistics with modern ML and LLM capabilities. The 'pure insights' data scientist role is consolidating into analytics engineering, while the 'build models' data scientist role is merging with ML engineering.
What the Work Looks Like
A typical week includes: analyzing experiment results for a product feature launch, building a predictive model for customer churn, creating an automated reporting pipeline using LLM-powered summarization, presenting insights to stakeholders, and cleaning data (always cleaning data). The ratio of analysis to engineering varies by company, but expect both.
Data Scientist roles remain in high demand, though the definition keeps shifting. Companies increasingly want candidates who can bridge traditional statistics with modern ML and LLM capabilities. The 'pure insights' data scientist role is consolidating into analytics engineering, while the 'build models' data scientist role is merging with ML engineering.
Skills Required
Python, SQL, and statistical modeling are the foundation. Increasingly, roles want experience with LLMs for data analysis, automated insight generation, and building AI-powered data products. Familiarity with cloud data platforms (Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks) and ML frameworks (scikit-learn, PyTorch) covers most job requirements.
Experimentation design and causal inference are underrated skills that separate strong candidates. Companies care about whether their product changes cause improvements, and can distinguish causation from correlation. A/B testing methodology, Bayesian statistics, and the ability to communicate uncertainty to non-technical stakeholders are high-value skills.
Good postings specify the data stack, the types of problems you'll work on, and the team structure. Look for companies that differentiate between analytics and ML data science. Vague 'data scientist' postings that list every skill under the sun usually mean the company doesn't know what they need.
Compensation Benchmarks
Data Scientist roles pay a median of $204,700 based on 441 positions with disclosed compensation. Mid-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $131,300. This role's midpoint ($129K) sits 37% below the category median. Disclosed range: $116K to $142K.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $184,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $244,000. The 90th percentile reaches $309,400. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Engineering Manager ($293,500) and AI Architect ($292,900). By seniority level: Entry: $76,880; Mid: $131,300; Senior: $227,400; Director: $244,288; VP: $234,620.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts AI Hiring
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has 4 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across Data Scientist, AI/ML Engineer. Positions span Boston, MA, US, Hingham, MA, US. Compensation range: $136K - $184K.
Location Context
AI roles in Boston pay a median of $218,900 across 268 tracked positions. That's 19% above the national median.
Career Path
Common paths into Data Scientist roles include Data Analyst, Statistician, Quantitative Researcher.
From here, career progression typically leads toward Senior Data Scientist, ML Engineer, AI Product Manager.
Start with statistics and SQL. Build a real analysis project on public data that demonstrates insight generation alongside model building. The market values data scientists who can communicate findings clearly to business stakeholders. If you want to move toward ML engineering, invest in software engineering fundamentals and production deployment skills.
What to Expect in Interviews
Interviews combine statistics, coding, and business acumen. SQL is almost always tested, often with complex joins and window functions. Expect a case study round where you're given a business problem and asked to design an analysis plan. Coding rounds focus on pandas, statistical modeling, and visualization. The strongest differentiator is how well you communicate insights to non-technical stakeholders during presentation rounds.
When evaluating opportunities: Good postings specify the data stack, the types of problems you'll work on, and the team structure. Look for companies that differentiate between analytics and ML data science. Vague 'data scientist' postings that list every skill under the sun usually mean the company doesn't know what they need.
AI Hiring Overview
The AI job market has 26,159 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 2,416 entry-level, 16,247 mid-level, 5,153 senior, and 2,343 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 7% of the market (1,863 positions). The remaining 24,200 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $184,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $244,000. The 90th percentile reaches $309,400. Highest-paying categories: AI Engineering Manager ($293,500 median, 28 roles); AI Architect ($292,900 median, 108 roles); AI Safety ($274,200 median, 19 roles).
Data Scientist roles remain in high demand, though the definition keeps shifting. Companies increasingly want candidates who can bridge traditional statistics with modern ML and LLM capabilities. The 'pure insights' data scientist role is consolidating into analytics engineering, while the 'build models' data scientist role is merging with ML engineering.
The AI Job Market Today
The AI job market spans 26,159 open positions across 15 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (23,752), AI Software Engineer (598), AI Product Manager (594). These three account for the majority of open positions, though smaller categories often have higher per-role compensation because of specialized skill requirements.
The seniority mix tells a story about where AI teams are in their maturity. Entry-level roles (2,416) are outnumbered by mid-level (16,247) and senior (5,153) positions, reflecting that most companies are past the 'build a team from scratch' phase and need experienced engineers who can ship production systems. Leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level) total 2,343 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 7% of all AI roles (1,863 positions), with 24,200 requiring on-site or hybrid attendance. The remote share has stabilized after the post-pandemic correction. Senior and specialized roles (Research Scientist, ML Architect) are more likely to be remote-eligible than entry-level positions, partly because experienced hires have more negotiating power and partly because these roles require less hands-on mentorship.
AI compensation is structured in clear tiers. The market median sits at $184,000. Top-quartile roles start at $244,000, and the 90th percentile reaches $309,400. These figures include base salary with disclosed compensation. Total compensation (including equity, bonuses, and sign-on) runs 20-40% higher at companies that offer those components.
Category matters for compensation. AI Engineering Manager roles lead at $293,500 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $122,200. The spread between highest and lowest-paying categories reflects the premium on specialized technical skills versus broader analytical roles.
The most in-demand skills across all AI postings: Rag (16,749 postings), Aws (8,932 postings), Rust (7,660 postings), Python (3,815 postings), Azure (2,678 postings), Gcp (2,247 postings), Prompt Engineering (1,469 postings), Openai (1,269 postings). Python dominates, appearing in the vast majority of role descriptions regardless of category. Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is the second most common requirement. The newer entrants to the top skills list (RAG, vector databases, LLM APIs) reflect the shift from traditional ML toward generative AI applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
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