Careers

Innovate. Impact. Inspire.

Westat draws on 60 years of excellence in statistical research and data science, data collection and management, evaluation, and technical assistance while prioritizing community and collaboration to pursue innovation and strategic growth.

Join Us!

Westat is an employee-owned professional services firm that delivers high-quality research and information services that contribute to improvements in health care, education, and many other program areas.

The key to our success has always been our employee-owners, and in addition to our work, we are committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work. Join us and build your career, improving lives through research.

Erin Wiley, Senior Statistician, joined Westat 20 years ago. Her longevity is driven by the culture and vitality of the staff, and working alongside prestigious names within the statistics community.

Corporate Jobs

Our corporate job opportunities include research and administrative positions requiring a wide range of expertise, such as designing surveys, analyzing data, evaluating programs, and communicating results. These positions also support research activities, including accounting, contracts, business development and marketing, IT, field services, and more.

Field Data Collector Jobs

Field data collectors are vital to Westat. Our specially trained field staff are essential to obtaining high-quality data by interviewing people in their homes or businesses, by abstracting data from records and databases, by administering standardized tests, and more. Westat’s data collection staff reach out within communities across the nation to get feedback and answers on important topics.

Internship Program

Internships provide real-life exposure to working on meaningful projects and research, while being mentored by the best in the field and experiencing a broad overview on the dynamics of social science research. An internship is education in action, and we’re proud to offer these opportunities across our topic areas.

Group of interns
Westat summer interns

Westat’s Summer Internship Program is 9 weeks and offers opportunities to undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students to engage in tangible work and educational experiences, learning more about the social science research field and the business of a government contractor.

Westat interns have an opportunity to build their professional work experience and develop a network they can carry forward as they grow their career. 

Westat only considers online applications submitted to our company website. We do not use Google Hangouts or WhatsApp for recruiting. Learn more about protecting yourself from Employment Fraud.

Westat’s Corporate Culture

We are dedicated to improving lives through research. We are passionate problem-solvers and approach each challenge from all angles with investigative curiosity. As an employee-owned company, our strength is in our staff, a staff built on the foundation of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Our company is rooted in respect for our team members and our individual differences, and we use all those perspectives to strengthen our teamwork and collaboration. It is from this diversity of perspectives that we can find solutions to any challenges our clients may face.

OUR MISSION

We improve lives by delivering exceptional data-driven research and technical assistance, fostering insights and solutions to advance health, education, and social and economic opportunity.

OUR VALUES

Meaningful work. We are passionate about work that has a positive impact on individuals and society.

Uncompromising excellence. We bring integrity and rigor to deliver quality in everything we do.

Client commitment. We serve our clients with dedication, expertise, deep understanding, and humility.

Innovative solutions. Our shared curiosity and problem-solving helps us push the boundaries of what is possible.

Inclusion and belonging. We foster a welcoming and collaborative culture that respects and empowers everyone, supports growth and well-being, and values equity and diversity in all forms.

Employee ownership. As employee owners, we act in the best interests of Westat, are good stewards of company resources, and share in our collective success.

OUR FOCUS

Client-centric. Our pledge is to put the client first, meeting their challenges with innovation, insight, and commitment to open, responsive, and reliable relationships. Just because what we do for clients today is working, we continually look for new strategies to meet tomorrow’s needs. We don’t rest on our laurels; we continue to explore best methods moving forward.

Collaborative. The foundation of Westat, since our very first day in 1963, is collaboration. As we’ve grown, our cross-area collaboration has set us apart from our competitors and is a draw to clients, where we can strategically apply our experts and expertise to tailor research strategies that meet research needs. You get the opportunity to work with the best and the brightest in a range of projects.

Balanced. We work to live, not live to work. Our company understands you have a life outside of work. We support and encourage initiatives that allow you to pursue your interests and allow time and energy for your family, volunteering, and health-related activities.

We provide additional benefits like employee discounts and social and personal growth opportunities. Our in-house Be Well@Westat program offers resources for mental, financial, and physical health.

Michelle Amsbary, Vice President & Associate Director, has been with Westat for 24 years. She discusses building qualified teams, relationships with clients, and what it’s like working for an employee-owned company.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

We are committed to building a diverse workforce and a culture of inclusivity, belonging, and equity for all. We aim to create an environment where everyone is valued, respected, and supported to grow and thrive.

We believe that our greatest strength draws on the different backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, and experiences of our employees. Diversity of thought drives our innovation and creativity, enriches our work, and serves as a cornerstone of our role as an industry leader.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Our unwavering commitment to these principles is our way of doing business. We proactively reach out to protected classes, including veterans, persons with disabilities, women, and minority organizations. Qualified applicants are considered in a nondiscriminatory manner regardless of race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, genetic information, gender identity or expression, or any other protected status under applicable law.

At Westat, we are uniquely united.

Our EEOP Utilization Report is available upon request from the EEO/AAP Coordinator, Human Resources.

Total Rewards and Benefits

Our Total Rewards program is our comprehensive company-branded package of benefits for you to participate in. Our outlook is to assist and support you with your overall well-being, from ​health and wellness to career progression, compensation, and retirement savings. We strive to provide positive and engaging work ex​​periences so you can excel and have a fulfilling career.​​  

Raji Riggs, Associate Director of Total Rewards, discusses Westat’s health and wellness programs, benefits such as the employee assistance program, employee stock ownership plan, and our 401(k).

Health and Insurance Coverage

Our staff is our most important asset. Providing you with the healthcare and insurance benefits you need is key. Through Be Well@Westat, we provide eligible employees a range of packages that help them meet their unique needs.

  • Health Care

    A healthy you is a productive you, so we provide a range of providers and options within those choices so that you can find a health plan that works best for you, including HMOs, traditional health plans, and high-deductible plans. Do you have a preferred provider? Are you looking for flexibility in options? Westat has a range of health care selections for you.

  • Dental Care

    Not all companies offer dental care plans, but we do. We recognize that dental health is tied to physical health and well-being, so we provide you with health care plans with dental care, as well as individual dental plans, so that you have the leverage to get the care you want.

  • Vision Care

    Our health care plans provide discounted vision services, but we also provide other vision care programs where you can expand your options to more providers, including private practices and other retailers. Some of our options expand to online retailers so you can focus on the exact frames or eye care options for that discerning look.

  • Health Savings and Spending Accounts

    Get pre-tax savings by opting in for health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts, depending on the health care plan you choose. These options are great ways to build up health care expense reserves as well as meet those expenses throughout the year or over time.

Other Insurance

  • Accident Insurance

    Accidents happen and by their very nature are unexpected and may cause significant expense if there is a serious injury. To help, we provide accident insurance plans that help cover out-of-pocket medical expenses as well as non-medical expenses that help cover travel costs to see doctors as you recover.

  • Critical Illness Insurance

    A catastrophic illness, like cancer or a stroke, can be a significant financial burden. It’s something you don’t plan for, but you can plan to handle…just in case. Westat offers a plan to help you with medical expenses for unexpected critical illnesses.

  • Disability Insurance

    We offer basic long-term disability at no cost; that’s right, at no cost to you. This insurance can provide you the peace of mind against the unforeseen, like a disability, illness, injury, or the birth of a child leaves you unable to work. Westat also offers employees the option to elect short-term disability insurance.

  • Life Insurance

    We’ve got you covered. Westat offers basic life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment coverage at no cost to you…again, at no cost to you. You can opt to add supplemental life insurance to fit your needs. In case of your spouse’s or domestic partner’s unexpected death, this benefit can be helpful to those left behind.

  • Legal and ID Theft Insurance

    With so much of our personal information available on the web, we’re vulnerable to scams and ID theft. Our staff can choose individual or family coverage to help work through these unforeseen and costly issues that could drain us emotionally and financially.

  • Pet Insurance

    Our pets are important members of our families, and we want to keep them safe and healthy, too. We offer insurance for cats and dogs through ASPCA© Pet Health Insurance to help offset the cost of keeping all family members, including these 4-legged ones, healthy.

Leave Programs for Salaried Staff

  • Vacation Leave

    Taking time off to recharge your batteries is important to your personal health as well as maintaining the quality of your work. You’ll accrue vacation hours every pay period based on your grade and years of service.

  • Sick Leave

    If you’re sick, we want you to take time off to get well. And sick leave provides income protection when you or your family member is ill, disabled, or receiving medical care.

  • Family and Medical Leave

    Life happens. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protects your job so that you can focus on important family needs like taking leave to care for a new baby, adopting a child, taking care of yourself or a family member with a serious health condition, qualifying exigencies related to the foreign deployment of a military member, or taking care of a servicemember with a serious injury or illness.

  • Parental Leave

    We recognize the importance of early bonding with children. Westat offers parental leave so you can be home at those crucial early days of your family’s new arrival and not worry about losing ground at work. This benefit applies to fostering and adopting children, too.

Retirement Plan

Building Your Financial Security

ESOP

We are proud employee owners of our company. We recognize that our individual efforts and commitment make a difference in the overall success of the company, fueling the continued high value of our work to clients and society. Each year since 1977, through our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), eligible employee participants are allocated stock. Every day you work at Westat, you’re recognized for your commitment with this unique deferred compensation program.

401(k)

Our defined contribution 401(k) provides you with tax-deferred, retirement-oriented benefits. Westat matches employee contributions up to 5%. With a 401(k), you can make pre-tax and/or Roth contributions and build that safety net, a cushion for your future.  

Career Development

Adele Polson shares her career growth at Westat from Research Associate to a Senior Study Director.

We are committed to providing an environment where you can fully develop throughout your career and pursue the work that interests you. The range of work is invigorating. Whether it’s contributing to research to ensure the safety of the blood supply, supporting clinical trials to eradicate chronic and infectious diseases, or supporting educators to improve student success, you can do it at Westat.

Career Progression and Growth

Our Career Progression Framework program helps you outline your professional growth goals with career advancement opportunities that align to your skills and interests. We provide you the flexibility to navigate your career, whether you are just starting out, in mid-career, or focused on executive roles. We are committed to ensuring opportunities for progression and growth.

Professional Development

Stay on the cutting edge of your work by joining Westat. We provide eligible employees the opportunity to attend professional conferences, join professional associations to enhance the scope of your network, and get in-house technical training. We’ll support you in tuition and textbook reimbursement for relevant education programs that keep your skills sharp.

Working at Westat

Remote and Hybrid Work Options

Our staff are often working remotely depending upon their roles and responsibilities—maintaining seamless productivity while meeting personal and family needs and providing the adaptability to counter any possible disruptions caused by a pandemic or other unforeseen events. We provide options for those who also want to come into the office on a varied schedule. We recognize your productivity is linked to your work-life balance, and these options recognize those needs.

Headquarters—Rockville, Maryland

Our headquarters campus is centrally located in the Washington, DC, metro region, close to our clients and easily accessible from the interstate, metro rail, and bus lines.

Café

Our sunny on-site café on our headquarters campus is a great place to take a coffee break, sit down and enjoy a tasty meal, have a meeting with colleagues or clients, or even grab a meal to take home. Our culinary staff whip up some great breakfast and lunch options, and our grab-and-go meals are a great option, too, including a made-to-order selection.

Fitness Center

Our fitness center on our headquarters campus has state-of-the-art strength and aerobic equipment, lockers and showers, towel service, and a dedicated group exercise room where a variety of exercise classes for any fitness level are provided. All this is offered at a low monthly membership fee so that you can get in a good workout without having to find a gym.

photo of fitness center room
Westat’s fitness center

Satellite Offices

Our clients and partners are located across the nation and around the globe. We’ve established offices near them to more nimbly meet their challenges and needs. Our satellite offices provide clients the flexibility to reach out to us for timely solutions to their research needs.

Travel Subsidy and Parking

We subsidize all staff who use public transit, offering them the opportunity to make pre-tax deductions to a transit account for the purpose of traveling to work. Parking for staff is free at all Westat offices. Charging stations for electric vehicles are available at our Rockville campus.

staff at picnic table

Proudly Employee Owned

Westat is 100% employee-owned. Our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) allows staff to earn stock and share in company profits. We believe that employee ownership has been a key factor in our growth—we share a commitment to excellence and support each other in our mission to provide the best solutions for our clients. Our engagement in our work can and does make a difference in our success.

Corporate Awards and Recognition

Military Spouse Employment Partnership

Military Spouse Employment Partnership logo

Westat is an official partner with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP), part of the ranks of employers that have hired 180,000+ military spouses across the country. MSEP connects military spouses with hundreds of partner employers who have committed to recruit, hire, promote, and retain military spouses.

Military spouses often face barriers to rewarding and long-term employment because of their frequent relocations. MSEP and its partners work to overcome these issues by providing employment connections for these qualified spouses. We are honored to partner with MSEP, which gives us direct access to a skilled, diverse, motivated, and adaptable workforce. 

Forbes Awards

Westat regularly ranks on the Forbes “Best of” lists, which spotlight employers based on size, as well as best employers for diversity, women, veterans, and more. Rankings are based on independent surveys and are across professional sectors. We are proud to be recognized consistently from employees on these issues.

Notices

Notices to Employees and Applicants

How can we help?

We welcome messages from job seekers, collaborators, and potential clients and partners.

Get in Contact

Want to work with us?

You’ll be in great company.

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