Adjunct Research Analyst - Cost Analyst

RPMGlobal; Alexandria (VA); On-site; USD 113,000 - 277,000; Part time

Job summary

Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) in Alexandria, VA, seeks an Adjunct Research Staff Member – Cost Analyst to develop cost estimates and risk analyses for defense programs across multiple portfolios. This part-time role requires strong data handling and collaboration with government sponsors.

The position emphasizes learning new systems quickly, supporting several programs, and mentoring junior cost analysts while ensuring transparent, reproducible results.

Qualifications

• PhD in Operations Research, Economics, Statistics, Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Materials Science, Finance, or a related quantitative field; OR a Master’s degree in one of those fields with 10+ years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated record of conducting or leading cost estimates, resource allocation studies, or comparable quantitative analyses for major government acquisition programs or complex systems
• Depth in more than one estimating method, including fluency with parametric cost estimation and defendable methodological choices
• Experience with cost‑risk and uncertainty analysis and decision support
• Leadership and execution of analysis projects with quality control of others’ work
• Ability to work independently in unstructured environments and to brief senior government audiences
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills; professional interaction with government and industry representatives
• Willingness to travel; U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain security clearance

Responsibilities

• Develops cost estimates and cost element structures for defense programs in coordination with technical project leaders
• Collects, normalizes, and validates cost, schedule, technical, and programmatic data from government and contractor sources
• Builds, documents, and maintains cost models using parametric, analogy, extrapolation-from-actuals, and engineering build-up methods
• Conducts cost-risk, uncertainty, and sensitivity analyses and examines affordability under various funding profiles
• Assesses reasonableness of government and contractor cost estimates and underlying assumptions
• Applies analytic toolkit across a varied portfolio and adapts methods to each program
• Documents methods, data lineage, and results for transparency and reproducibility
• Drafts sections of briefings and reports and presents results to project leaders and sponsors
• Contributes to improvements in analytical methods, models, data collections, and tooling
• Supports multiple tasks and meets sponsor deadlines
• Mentors and trains junior cost analysts

Skills

Cost estimation

Quantitative analysis

Data modeling

Risk analysis

Communication

Team leadership

Python

@RISK

ACEIT/CEAC

Education

PhD in a quantitative field

MS with 10+ years experience

Tools

ACEIT/CEAC

@RISK

Crystal Ball

Python

R

Job description

Overview

The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is a Federally-Funded Research and Development Center supporting the Department of War (DOW) and other federal agencies. IDA’s mission is to provide objective analyses of national security issues and related national challenges, particularly those requiring extraordinary scientific and technical expertise. IDA takes great pride in the high caliber and timeliness of its analyses, which are produced in an atmosphere that encourages collaboration, independent thinking, and objective results.

An opportunity now exists in the Cost Analysis and Research Division (CARD) for an Adjunct Research Staff Member – Cost Analyst. CARD produces independent cost estimates, affordability assessments, and schedule-risk analyses that inform resource allocation and acquisition decisions across the DOW and other federal agencies. The division’s portfolio spans Major Defense Acquisition Programs and other government programs across the air, space, land, maritime, command and control, communications and intelligence (C3I), nuclear enterprise, software and information technology, health care, and sustainment domains, as well as cross‑cutting policy and resourcing questions.

This is a broadly scoped part‑time role. The analyst is not assigned to a single platform or portfolio; in a given year an analyst may support several unrelated programs, and the ability to learn a new system and its cost drivers quickly matters more than prior familiarity with any one of them.

Work at IDA is conducted in a team environment and often involves a multi‑disciplinary approach. Researchers work closely with and are in frequent contact with government sponsors. Consequently, strong communication and interpersonal skills will be greatly valued.

Responsibilities

• Develops cost estimates and cost element structures for defense programs, working in close coordination with technical project leaders
• Collects, normalizes, and validates cost, schedule, technical, and programmatic data from government and contractor sources
• Builds, documents, and maintains cost models using parametric, analogy, extrapolation‑from‑actuals, and engineering build‑up methods as warranted
• Conducts cost‑risk, uncertainty, and sensitivity analyses, and examines affordability under alternative assumptions and funding profiles
• Assesses the reasonableness of government and contractor cost estimates, including underlying assumptions, methodologies, and data sources
• Applies the same analytic toolkit across a varied portfolio of programs, adapting methods to the maturity, data availability, and technical character of each
• Documents methods, data lineage, and results so that estimates are transparent, reproducible, and defensible to reviewers and sponsors
• Drafts sections of briefings and reports documenting conclusions, findings, and recommendations; presents results to project leaders and, with support, to task sponsors
• Contributes to improvements in the division’s analytical methods, models, data collections, and tooling
• Supports multiple concurrent tasks and meets sponsor deadlines
• Mentors and trains junior cost analysts

Minimum Job Qualifications

Education/Experience:

Ph.D. in Operations Research, Economics, Statistics, Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Materials Science, Finance, or a related quantitative field; OR a Master’s degree in one of those fields with 10+ years of relevant experience.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Demonstrated record of conducting or leading cost estimates, resource allocation studies, or comparable quantitative analyses for major government acquisition programs or complex systems
• Depth in more than one estimating method, including demonstrated fluency with parametric cost estimation, and the judgment to select among methods and defend that choice under review
• Experience with cost‑risk and uncertainty analysis and its use in supporting decisions
• Demonstrated leadership and execution of analysis projects, including responsibility for the quality and defensibility of others’ work
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision in an unstructured environment
• Excellent interpersonal as well as written and oral communication skills, including the ability to brief senior government audiences and defend findings to technically expert reviewers
• Proven innovative thinking and problem‑solving abilities
• Ability to interact professionally with government and industry representatives
• Travel may be required
• U.S. citizenship is required
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance is required

Preferred Qualifications

• Substantial experience with DOW or other U.S. Government acquisition programs, particularly Major Defense Acquisition Programs
• Working knowledge of DOW acquisition processes, milestone decision reviews, and the planning, programming, budgeting, and execution (PPBE) cycle
• Experience with government cost and technical data sources, such as Cost and Software Data Reports, Software Resources Data Reports, operating and support cost databases, and budget justification exhibits
• Proficiency in Python, R, or an equivalent language for cost analytics, data wrangling, and model automation
• Experience with cost estimating and risk analysis tools, such as ACEIT/CEAC, @RISK, Crystal Ball, or equivalent simulation software
• Experience with schedule analysis or joint cost and schedule risk analysis
• Experience developing cost estimating relationships or building and curating cost databases used beyond a single study
• Prior experience at an FFRDC, OSW CAPE, a service cost agency (AFCAA, NCCA, ACEIT/CEAC), a cost‑analysis consultancy, or a program‑office cost shop
• Professional certification (ICEAA CCEA, DAWIA Business – Cost Estimating Level III, or equivalent)
• Record of publication, peer review, or working‑group leadership in the cost analysis community
• Active TS/SCI clearance

Compensation

We support transparency, equity, and fairness in our compensation program and provide a reasonable estimate of the salary range based on data‑driven market analysis for each position. While it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range, a reasonable estimate of the salary range for this role is $113,353 - $277,494. Individual salary within this range will be commensurate with the incumbent’s experience, unique skills and qualifications, and other relevant factors.