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Pharmacist, Principal

Blue Shield of California

Long Beach, CA · Posted September 11, 2026

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AI use among pharmacists is little observed so far. Measured exposure for pharmacists: 9% (little observed).

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Blue Shield of California has filed 8 layoff notices in the last twelve months, covering 60 workers, most recently August 2026. These are public filings with state labor departments, and an open role can sit alongside them. See the filings

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About the job

Your Role

The Cost of Health Care (COHC) & Specialty Drug Management Pharmacy team is responsible for managing the Specialty Drug strategies across the pharmacy and medical benefit and leading and implementing cost of health care initiatives. The Pharmacist, Principal will report to the Director, Pharmacy COHC & Specialty Drug Management. In this role you will be responsible for oversight of the specialty pharmacy networks, limited distribution drug access, specialty-at-retail initiatives, direct drug distribution partnerships, and specialty pharmacy programs to improve affordability, access, quality, and member experience.

Our leadership model is about developing great leaders at all levels and creating opportunities for our people to grow – personally, professionally, and financially. We are looking for leaders that are energized by creative and critical thinking, building and sustaining high-performing teams, getting results the right way, and fostering continuous learning.

Your Work In this role, you will:

Lead end-to-end specialty drug program strategy across pharmacy and medical benefit

Manage specialty pharmacy, LDD, specialty-at-retail, and direct contracted distribution networks

Monitor network performance, utilization, reimbursement, access, service levels, and financial outcomes

Develop and oversee specialty pharmacy programs such as short fill, biosimilar, site-of-care, and affordability initiatives

Partner with internal teams, vendors, manufacturers, and pharmacy networks to execute strategic initiatives

Use analytics to evaluate specialty drug trends, measure program effectiveness, and present recommendations to leadership

Your Knowledge and Experience

Requires a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree from an accredited school of pharmacy in the U.S.

Requires a current, active, and unrestricted California Registered Pharmacist (RPh) license

Requires 4 years of experience in clinical pharmacy

Experience in specialty pharmacy, managed care pharmacy, pharmacy benefit design, specialty networks, LDD programs, and biosimilar strategies

Prior experience in evaluation of pharmacy program value and performance drivers

Prior management experience in health plans or pharmacy benefit management companies, with deep knowledge of pharmacy benefit, formulary and network products, program strategies and competitive landscape

Prior experience in vendor partnership, contract operations, negotiations, and performance management is preferred

Possesses strong business acumen with proven experience in pharmacy strategy development and planning

Strong knowledge of specialty drug reimbursement, contracting, distribution models, analytics, and vendor management

Excellent communication skills with prior experience in presentations to internal and external executive level business stakeholders

Demonstrated leadership, strategic planning, financial analysis, and cross-functional collaboration skills

Detail-oriented with the ability to work in a fast-paced environment

Exhibit "can do" attitude and solution-oriented approach to resolve challenges

Hybrid

This role requires employees to be in-office based on our hybrid workplace model, balancing purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility. For most teams, this means coming into the office two days each week.

Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location will work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.