Defense Cost Estimator & Research Analyst

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

Job summary

Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) in the United States seeks a Research Staff Member – Cost Estimator to develop cost estimates, cost element structures, and risk analyses for defense programs across multiple domains. The role requires strong quantitative skills, experience with cost estimation methods, and the ability to learn unfamiliar systems quickly.

U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain a security clearance are required; travel may be necessary.

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 3+ years of relevant experience.
• Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: Experience developing or directly supporting cost estimates, budget analyses, or comparable quantitative analyses, in a government, FFRDC, industry, or research setting.
• Strong quantitative and data-handling skills, including spreadsheet-based modeling and familiarity with Python, R, or an equivalent language for data preparation and analysis.
• Ability to learn unfamiliar technical subject matter quickly and work across programs in different domains.
• Attention to documentation and analytic reproducibility.
• Clear written and oral communication, including the ability to explain quantitative results to non-specialists.
• Travel may be required.
• U.S. citizenship is required.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance is required.

Responsibilities

• Develops cost estimates and cost element structures for defense programs, working 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.
• Assess the reasonableness of government and contractor cost estimates, including underlying assumptions, methodologies, and data sources.
• 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 sponsors.
• Contributes to improvements in the division’s analytical methods, models, data collections, and tooling.
• Supports multiple concurrent tasks and meets sponsor deadlines.

Skills

Cost estimating methods

Python

R

Data handling

Communication

Learn across programs

Team collaboration

Education

PhD in Operations Research / Economics / Statistics / Engineering / Applied Mathematics / Physics

Master’s degree with 3+ years of relevant experience

Tools

ACEIT/CEAC

@RISK

Crystal Ball

Job description

Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) in the United States seeks a Research Staff Member – Cost Estimator to develop cost estimates, cost element structures, and risk analyses for defense programs across multiple domains. The role requires strong quantitative skills, experience with cost estimation methods, and the ability to learn unfamiliar systems quickly.

U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain a security clearance are required; travel may be necessary.