Combat Systems Analyst – UAS Operations

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory•Laurel, MD

14h•Onsite

About The Position

Are you passionate about applying real-world military operational experience to the development of future combat capabilities? Do you enjoy working with engineers, developers, analysts, and warfighters to translate operational challenges into technical requirements and solutions? If so, we're looking for someone like you to join our Human-Machine Engineering team at APL! We are seeking a Combat Systems Analyst with UAS operational expertise to help shape, evaluate, and improve current and future defense capabilities. Our multidisciplinary team consists of systems engineers, software developers, human systems engineers, analysts, and other technical experts working together to address complex operational challenges. Within this capacity, you will bring an operator's perspective into the engineering process by helping teams understand how systems are employed in realistic operational environments. You will work with warfighters, engineers, government sponsors, and industry partners to translate mission needs into operational concepts, requirements, scenarios, experiments, and system recommendations. You will also support the evaluation of emerging technologies and human-machine teaming concepts through exercises, demonstrations, experimentation, operational analysis, and test activities.

Requirements

Hold a Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Engineering, Operations Research, Computer Science, Mathematics, National Security, Military Studies, or another relevant discipline, or have equivalent relevant professional experience.
Have significant experience with U.S. military operations, including operational planning, mission execution, training, test, evaluation, experimentation, or capability development.
Have experience with UAS or military aviation systems and understand how these capabilities are employed within operational environments.
Have experience translating operational needs, challenges, or user feedback into requirements, system concepts, operational concepts, or recommendations.
Have experience working with multidisciplinary technical teams and can effectively communicate operational concepts to engineers, developers, and analysts.
Possess strong analytical, problem-solving, oral communication, and written communication skills.
Are comfortable engaging with military operators, government sponsors, engineers, developers, and other technical stakeholders.
Hold an active Secret security clearance and can ultimately obtain Top Secret level clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

Have significant operational experience with Group 1–5 UAS.
Have experience operating, instructing, evaluating, or developing UAS capabilities, including sensors, weapons, autonomy, command and control, and mission planning.
Have experience supporting combat operations and operational planning, including development of CONOPS, mission threads, operational scenarios, TTPs, or training standards.
Have experience conducting operational assessments, testing, validation, exercises, demonstrations, or experimentation involving military systems and emerging technologies.
Have experience translating operational needs into technical requirements and capabilities, including working with defense industry partners on software, hardware, acquisition, or system integration efforts.
Have experience supporting military capability development, including R&D, human-machine teaming, training and evaluation, and communicating findings and recommendations to senior military or government stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Serve as an operational subject matter expert supporting the development and evaluation of advanced defense capabilities with an emphasis on UAS, aviation, command and control, and human-machine teaming.
Analyze military missions, operational concepts, workflows, and system interactions to identify capability gaps and opportunities for improvement.
Translate operational needs, warfighter feedback, and mission challenges into system requirements, operational concepts, use cases, mission threads, and technical recommendations.
Work directly with systems engineers, software developers, human systems engineers, analysts, government sponsors, and military operators throughout the system development and evaluation process.
Develop realistic operational scenarios and mission threads to support system design, experimentation, test, and evaluation.
Support the development and evaluation of concepts of operation (CONOPS), tactics, techniques, procedures, and employment concepts for emerging capabilities.
Participate in exercises, demonstrations, test events, experiments, and operational assessments involving UAS and other military systems.
Evaluate emerging technologies and system concepts to determine their operational utility and ability to address mission needs.
Analyze results from exercises, experiments, demonstrations, and test activities and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
Help design human-machine teaming concepts that effectively integrate operators, autonomous systems, decision-support technologies, sensors, and other mission systems.
Engage with operational personnel and other stakeholders to capture feedback and ensure the warfighter perspective remains represented throughout development.
Communicate operational findings and recommendations through technical documentation, reports, briefings, and presentations to technical teams, leadership, and government sponsors.