Principal Analyst - Technical Project, National Reimbursement

Principal-level technical leadership role within Material Services responsible for leading complex technical project assessments, guiding Senior Analysts, and establishing processes, frameworks, tools, and standards to evaluate reimbursement-funded projects across California and emerging EPR states. This position serves as a senior technical reviewer for higher-risk, higher-value, novel, precedent-setting, or technically complex reimbursement requests while supporting day-to-day execution of technical reviews.

About the role

Reporting to the National Reimbursement Senior Manager, the Technical Project Principal Analyst provides technical direction, quality review, coaching, and escalation support to Senior Analysts performing reimbursement project reviews. The role ensures analyst findings, documentation, questions, and recommendations are consistent, well-supported, regulatorily defensible, operationally practical, and aligned with CAA’s strategic priorities. While the role includes leadership and oversight, it remains execution-oriented, requiring direct hands-on review of complex applications, funding requests, technical documentation, and implementation plans.

The Principal Analyst works closely with Legal, Data & Analytics, Materials, Compliance & Regulatory Affairs, Finance, state teams, and other CAA functional groups to resolve review questions, support consistent application of eligibility criteria, and improve the review lifecycle. The position prepares and reviews clear findings, recommendations, and decision-support documents for internal stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead, guide, and support Senior Analysts performing technical review of reimbursement applications, proposed projects, and supporting documentation.
• Conduct hands-on technical review of complex reimbursement projects to assess feasibility, practicality, implementation readiness, risk profile, and alignment with objectives.
• Review funding requests for alignment with EPR laws, regulations, program plan requirements, covered-cost criteria, and CAA reimbursement policies.
• Assess whether proposed projects advance CAA’s strategic priorities, including regulatory compliance, improved recycling outcomes, operational effectiveness, equitable service delivery, system modernization, and measurable program value.
• Review complex reimbursement applications and supporting materials to determine if the proposed project is sufficiently defined for technical assessment and reimbursement consideration.
• Evaluate reimbursement applications to determine if requested funding is technically justified, adequately documented, and connected to eligible program outcomes.
• Collaborate across internal teams—including Legal, Data & Analytics, Materials, Finance, Planning, Compliance & Regulatory Affairs, and state teams—to obtain inputs for technical, regulatory, operational, and financial review.
• Conduct technical, regulatory, operational, and economic research to evaluate proposed projects and reimbursement requests.
• Document review rationale, assumptions, unresolved issues, and recommendation basis in a clear and audit-ready manner.
• Operate effectively in ambiguous, evolving environments by applying sound judgment, escalating material concerns, and distinguishing feasibility issues from documentation gaps.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in engineering, environmental science, environmental studies, public administration, economics, data analytics, project management, or a related field.
• MBA, CPA, or Master’s in engineering, environmental science, environmental studies, public administration, economics, data analytics, project management, or a related field highly preferred.
• 13+ years of relevant professional experience in technical project review, infrastructure or operations assessment, recycling or solid waste programs, regulated funding programs, reimbursement review, project analysis, analyst oversight, process development, or similar fields.
• Experience evaluating complex project scopes, costs, feasibility, regulatory alignment, implementation plans, technical documentation, and analyst work products preferred.
• Experience with EPR programs, recycling systems, municipal operations, public-sector funding programs, regulated programs, or application-based reimbursement processes preferred.

Skills

• Advanced technical judgment and ability to assess project feasibility, implementation readiness, operational dependencies, practical constraints, and broader program implications.
• Ability to lead, coach, guide, and review the work of Senior Analysts while maintaining a hands-on role in complex technical reviews.
• Ability to interpret regulatory, program, and reimbursement requirements and translate them into practical review criteria, decision tools, and repeatable processes.
• Experience reviewing complex technical project scopes, cost assumptions, documentation packages, implementation plans, operational dependencies, and performance expectations.
• Ability to identify unsupported assumptions, gaps, risks, inconsistencies, potential precedent-setting issues, and misalignment with strategic or regulatory objectives.
• Strong analytical and written communication skills, including the ability to prepare and review clear findings, recommendations, questions, escalation materials, and decision-support documents.
• Attention to detail and commitment to documentation quality, traceability, audit readiness, consistency, and defensibility across analyst work products.
• Ability to work with operational, financial, performance, and project data to evaluate reasonableness and supportability of funding requests.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, ambiguous, evolving environment with flexibility to pivot as needed and sound judgment to escalate material issues.
• Familiarity with recycling operations, infrastructure projects, municipal programs, environmental policy, EPR programs, regulated funding programs, or application-based reimbursement processes preferred.

Schedule

Remote from the United States of America, with some travel for meetings and stakeholder interactions.

Reports to: National Reimbursement Senior Manager