Principal - Medicaid Actuary
Principal – Medicaid Actuary
Location: Remote (with occasional travel to client sites, industry conferences and Athena hub cities)
Type: Full-Time, Salaried
Role Overview
As a Principal at Athena, you’ll serve as a senior client leader and account owner responsible for setting strategic direction, owning key client relationships, and guiding complex Medicaid actuarial engagements from pursuit through delivery. You’ll collaborate closely with other Principals, Senior Managers, junior staff, clients, and Athena’s executive team to shape solutions that drive meaningful impact. In this role, you will play a key part in growing our practice, developing high-performing teams, and strengthening Athena’s reputation as a trusted advisor in the health space.
Key Responsibilities
Client Leadership & Delivery
Own and grow key client accounts, leading engagements ranging from targeted actuarial analyses to multi-year consulting relationships
Serve as the senior strategic advisor and primary client contact, ensuring work is aligned with client objectives and delivered at the highest level of quality
Provide senior technical oversight of actuarial modeling, methodology, and analytical frameworks to ensure rigor, consistency, and defensibility
Team Leadership
Mentor and develop actuarial staff, supporting professional growth through coaching, technical guidance, and feedback
Help shape and strengthen Athena’s health practice by partnering with leadership on hiring, team development, and strategic priorities
Health Practice Growth & Business Development
Identify and pursue new opportunities within existing and prospective client relationships to expand Athena’s Health practice
Contribute to business development efforts through proposal leadership, pursuit strategy, and technical writing
Represent Athena externally through industry conferences, publications, and thought leadership
Firm Leadership
Demonstrate exemplary levels of personal and professional integrity, and ability to support and promote Athena’s mission and values
Participate in firmwide strategy discussions and contribute perspective on Athena’s long-term vision and growth
What We’re Looking For
Must-Haves:
10+ years of health actuarial experience, including 5+ years in consulting and 5+ years in Medicaid-specific program work
ASA and MAAA certification
Deep actuarial expertise with Medicaid programs in areas such as rate setting, waiver programs, state policy initiatives, or federal interactions
Proven experience leading large, complex actuarial engagements and managing multiple client relationships
Demonstrated success owning client accounts and expanding consulting engagements
Strong ability to translate complex technical concepts for both technical and non-technical audiences
Advanced technical proficiency in Excel and actuarial modeling tools
Experience mentoring and developing actuarial staff
Ability to lead teams in a remote environment and travel to client locations as required
A leadership mindset grounded in curiosity, thoughtful challenge, and commitment to high-quality work
Nice-to-Haves:
FSA certification preferred
Other health actuarial experience, including Government-funded (TRICARE, VA, Medicare), Commercial/Employer, and/or other Public/State programs
Experience contributing to proposals, publications, and/or thought leadership
Active participation in industry conferences or professional speaking engagements
Proficiency in data visualization design and tools
Elevate Your Consulting Career with Athena
At Athena, we believe actuarial consulting and specialty advisory services is more than just calculating risk: It’s a lens for reimagining what’s possible. That’s why we’ve built a team of passionate experts who infuse the power of data and predictive modeling with imagination, human insight, and a commitment to helping people thrive.
Every day at Athena, we seek to live and lead—to serve and solve problems—with courage as our fuel. That means challenging assumptions in search of untapped potential that benefits our clients. It looks like striving to ask better questions that might yield breakthrough answers for a community. And it means seeing people not as problems, but full of possibility—because we know the future isn’t prescribed, it’s built. Courage is a competitive advantage in actuarial consulting—not just because it emboldens people, but because it moves businesses forward.
Athena is a new kind of actuarial services company, founded by a former leader at a ”Big 4” firm who had a vision and drive to build something different. We tackle big challenges with small teams of experienced pros who look beyond traditional risk modeling to find innovative solutions.
Perks & Benefits
Paid Time Off & Holidays
Flexible Schedule Opportunities
Medical Coverage — 100% Employer-Paid Employee Premium
Dental & Vision Coverage
Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance
Paid Parental Leave
Life Insurance
401(k) with Employer Match
Annual Bonus Opportunity
Long-term Incentive Plan Opportunities
Additional Info
Candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents
We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other legally protected status