Operations Research Analyst

Job Title: Senior Operations Research Analyst
Location: El Segundo; LAAFB
Job Type: Full-Time
Clearance: Active DoD Secret clearance required; TS/SCI preferred

Salary: $110,000+ annually*

*depending on experience, certifications, and qualifications

We are seeking a Senior Operations Research Analyst to provide Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) support to Space Systems Command, Space Sensing Directorate (SSC/SN). The selected candidate will conduct quantitative analyses that support acquisition decisions, program execution, mission effectiveness, resource allocation, risk management, and performance assessments for space-based missile warning, missile tracking, missile defense, battlespace awareness, and technical intelligence capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Apply operations research, statistical analysis, modeling, simulation, and decision-analysis techniques to complex aerospace and defense problems.
• Develop and evaluate Courses of Action, trade studies, alternatives analyses, and investment recommendations.
• Analyze cost, schedule, performance, risk, reliability, readiness, and mission-effectiveness data.
• Support mission-level and system-of-systems analyses across space, ground, communications, processing, and command-and-control segments.
• Develop models, simulations, dashboards, decision-support tools, and analytical products for government leadership.
• Conduct sensitivity analyses, scenario assessments, forecasting, optimization, and predictive analyses.
• Evaluate program risks, dependencies, critical paths, resource constraints, and impacts to operational capability.
• Support integrated master schedule analysis, milestone planning, program health assessments, and readiness reviews.
• Assess performance of missile warning, OPIR, sensor fusion, mission data processing, and sensor-to-shooter capabilities.
• Integrate data from technical, programmatic, operational, financial, and acquisition sources to identify trends and decision drivers.
• Define analytical methodologies, assumptions, measures of effectiveness, measures of performance, and evaluation criteria.
• Validate models and analytical results; document assumptions, limitations, findings, and recommendations.
• Prepare executive briefings, technical reports, decision papers, risk assessments, and data-driven recommendations.
• Participate in IPTs, technical interchange meetings, program reviews, engineering review boards, and customer working groups.
• Coordinate with government stakeholders, operational users, contractors, mission partners, and multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Translate complex analytical results into clear recommendations for senior technical and acquisition leadership.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Data Science, or a related technical field.
• At least 5 years of relevant operations research, data analysis, systems analysis, aerospace, defense, or acquisition experience.
• Experience with modeling and simulation, statistical analysis, optimization, forecasting, risk analysis, or decision analysis.
• Experience analyzing complex systems, programs, missions, schedules, resources, or performance data.
• Experience developing analytical reports, briefings, dashboards, and decision-support products for senior leaders.
• Knowledge of Department of Defense acquisition, systems engineering, or program-management processes.
• Strong analytical, technical writing, communication, and presentation skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate effectively with government and contractor stakeholders.
• Active DoD Secret clearance or the ability to obtain one.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Operations Research, Systems Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Data Science, Statistics, or a related discipline.
• Experience supporting Space Systems Command, Space Force, Air Force, missile warning, missile tracking, OPIR, SBIRS, FORGE, or related space programs.
• Experience conducting architecture analysis, system-of-systems analysis, mission-thread analysis, or sensor-to-shooter assessments.
• Experience with cost and schedule analysis, earned value, integrated master schedules, critical-path analysis, and program health assessments.
• Experience developing risk models, Monte Carlo simulations, reliability analyses, resource-allocation models, or operational effectiveness assessments.
• Familiarity with Model-Based Systems Engineering, Digital Engineering, Agile development, and decision-quality analytics.
• Experience presenting analytical findings and recommendations to senior government, military, or industry leadership.
• Active TS/SCI clearance.