Deterrence Analyst (SME)

Theuniversityunion; Bellevue (NE); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Spiral Solutions & Technologies, Inc. (SS&T) seeks a Deterrence Analyst (SME) to support USSTRATCOM/J57 under SWARDS. You will advise on deterrence planning, analytic agenda, and education efforts, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives for multiple adversaries. This is contingent-on-award.

The role requires TS clearance (SCI, NC2, SAP eligibility) and the ability to lead analyses across mission areas, contributing to strategy, plans, and policy development in a highly secure environment.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 7 years of academic experience in, or a demonstrated working knowledge of at least 5 years in, U.S. defense policy, strategy, or plans.
• Bachelor's degree in Political Science, International Relations, Economics, STEM, or a related national security degree.
• A minimum of 5 years in deterrence theory, models, and deterrence strategy.
• A minimum of 5 years in historical U.S. deterrence strategies and their characteristics.
• A minimum of 5 years in game theory.
• Active Top Secret (TS) security clearance with eligibility for SCI, NC2, and SAP access, required at time of task order award or prior to commencement of work/replacement approval.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain deterrence analysis products based on new intelligence and adversary developments.
• Expand interactions with the intelligence community and external experts to improve deterrence analysis.
• Advance deterrence thinking and apply it to strategy development for two-nuclear-peer adversaries.
• Conduct mission analyses for deliberate and campaign deterrence planning across periods.
• Develop courses of action to achieve deterrence strategies and measure deterrent impact.
• Support assessments of deterrence campaigns and risk of deterrence failure.
• Maintain research capabilities and update analytic methods and literature reviews.
• Prepare briefings, reports, and planning documents to support Analytic Agenda.

Skills

Deterrence analysis

Policy analysis

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Research methods

Education

Bachelor's degree in national security field

Job description

• Employee Type Salary
• Required Degree 4 Year Degree

Contact information

Description

Spiral Solutions & Technologies, Inc. (SS&T) is seeking a Deterrence Analyst (SME) to support United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM)/J57 under the Strategic Wargaming and Research of Deterrence Support (SWARDS) requirement. This position provides advisory and assistance services (A&AS) to sustain and enhance USSTRATCOM's deterrence planning, analytic agenda, and strategic deterrence education efforts. This is a contingent-on-award role.

The position supports deterrence mission analysis, contributes to the development and refinement of USSTRATCOM's Analytic Agenda, and assists in maintaining the Command's strategic deterrence education and research initiatives. The analyst applies deterrence expertise to inform strategy, plans, policy, operations, and acquisitions in support of J57's deliberate and campaign deterrence planning across multiple adversaries simultaneously.

Security Clearance Requirements

This position requires access to classified systems and material supporting national-security programs. All contractor personnel must be U.S. citizens and maintain a Top Secret (TS) security clearance, with eligibility for Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), Nuclear Command and Control (NC2), and Special Access Programs (SAP) accesses. Eligibility for required accesses must be held at time of task order award or prior to commencement of work/replacement approval. Personnel must comply with the task order DD Form 254, Department of Defense Security Classification Specification, applicable USSTRATCOM security instructions, cybersecurity and physical-security requirements, and all applicable requirements for handling classified and restricted-distribution information.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

• Support development, maintenance, and updating of deterrence analysis products based on new intelligence regarding adversary perceptions, decision‑making, and developments that may influence those perceptions.
• Support refinement and expansion of interactions with the intelligence community, outside experts, and other agencies to enhance deterrence analysis.
• Advance deterrence thinking and its application to deterrence strategy development to meet the changing security environment, including analysis of deterring two nuclear peer adversaries simultaneously.
• Conduct mission analysis supporting deliberate and campaign deterrence planning across all deterrence periods, including assessments of adversary perceptions and strategies to impose prohibitive costs on adversaries challenging American interests.
• Support development of courses of action to achieve deterrence strategies and expand approaches for measuring and evaluating the deterrent impact of U.S. actions during and after implementation.
• Support impact assessment of deterrence campaigns and risk‑of‑strategic‑deterrence‑failure assessments.
• Maintain research capability to develop and refine analysis methods, strategic deterrence concepts, and identify, collect, and evaluate analytical lessons learned.
• Conduct analyses in accordance with established planning procedures, as determined by USSTRATCOM and other U.S. Government needs.
• Assist in developing, refining, and documenting USSTRATCOM's Analytic Agenda, including conducting literature reviews, performing research, and engaging with practitioners, academics, and other stakeholders.
• Maintain a current understanding of USSTRATCOM mission sets, OPLANs, CONPLANs, strategic initiatives, and Commander's guidance to identify and inform research priorities and ensure alignment with command requirements.
• Assist in the development and preparation of briefings, reports, summaries, planning documents, and supporting materials that facilitate the Analytic Agenda's stakeholder engagement and decision‑making.
• Conduct analysis of the academic community to determine which researchers or organizations are best suited to answer Analytic Agenda research questions, and maintain subject‑matter expertise to guide such research.
• Develop and conduct research to answer Analytic Agenda questions, including support for war games, tabletop exercises, and other methods used to test the validity of concepts.
• Assist the government lead in maintaining strategic deterrence education and research initiatives, including development of an education framework for Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) institutions and support for mission immersion visits and senior leader academic engagements.
• Prepare trip reports, technical reports, and presentation materials documenting analysis, meetings, and travel results in accordance with contract deliverable requirements.

Required Qualifications

• A minimum of 7 years of academic experience in, or a demonstrated working knowledge of at least 5 years working in the field of, U.S. defense policy, strategy, or plans.
• Bachelor's degree in Political Science, International Relations, Economics, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), or a related national security degree.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in, or a demonstrated working knowledge of at least 4–5 years working in the field of, deterrence theory, deterrence models, and deterrence strategy.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in, or a demonstrated working knowledge of at least 4–5 years working in the field with, historical U.S. deterrence strategies, models, their defining characteristics, and successes.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in, or a demonstrated working knowledge of, game theory.
• SME-level knowledge of strategic military strategy, planning, operations, and the nuclear enterprise.
• SME-level knowledge of the current strategic threat environment.
• Active Top Secret (TS) security clearance with eligibility for SCI, NC2, and SAP access, required at time of task order award or prior to commencement of work/replacement approval.

Preferred Qualifications

• Foreign language proficiency in Mandarin or Russian.
• Prior direct experience supporting USSTRATCOM, another Combatant Command, Joint Staff, or an equivalent national security organization on strategic deterrence issues.
• Experience contributing to or collaborating with wargaming and experimentation efforts supporting deterrence impact assessment.
• Experience with allied burden‑sharing analysis or assessment of allied contributions to collective deterrence.
• Familiarity with emerging AI‑enabled analytic tools and their application to deterrence analysis and decision‑support products.
• Experience developing strategic deterrence education materials or supporting engagements with JPME‑accredited institutions and service academies.

Spiral Solutions and Technologies, Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local law

Additional Information

• Clearance TS with SCI, NC2/ESI & SAP eligibility