Cost Analyst, Senior

The MITRE Corporation • New Bedford, MA

4d • $113,600 - $170,400 • Onsite

About The Position

MITRE is seeking an experienced cost analyst to join their team. The MITRE Corporation’s Business Analytics and Acquisition Affordability Department is looking for a cost analyst to support multiple projects focused on solving critical economic and financial challenges for their sponsors. This department aims to meet future sponsor needs by emphasizing technical excellence, creativity, and interest in the intersection of emerging technologies, cost, business, and economic impacts. The role involves working in a multi-disciplinary team with self-motivated professionals. Key activities include engaging with sponsors to define and prioritize tasks, collecting and analyzing large datasets, conducting market research, investigating policies and regulations, understanding the budgetary and political landscape, and performing additional research. This is a project-oriented position that may require project management, collaboration, communication with diverse audiences, and direct sponsor engagement. The Business Analytics and Acquisition Affordability Department, within the Acquisition Division of MITRE Technology and Engineering, leverages capabilities in Cost Estimation and Analysis, Investment Economics & Decision Analysis, and Strategic Business & Financial Analytics to solve sponsor problems. This position will support the department’s cost, economic, business analyses, and data science efforts, potentially including life-cycle cost estimating, tradeoff and affordability analyses, decision analysis, portfolio investment analysis, economic analysis and modeling, research, business case analysis, modeling and simulation, advanced statistical techniques, and constrained optimization. The role is in a dynamic team environment with tasks that are rarely routine and often require novel approaches. Candidates should expect to work on multiple projects simultaneously with limited structure and supervision, operating with adaptability and collaboration.

Requirements

• A minimum of 5 years of experience, including previous leadership experience in cost estimating, cost risk analysis, and/or budgeting and the CPIC process in defense, intelligence and/or civil agencies
• Proficiency in development of risk-adjusted LCCEs and investment economic and decision analyses
• Proficient with MS Office Suite, and other tools for analysis
• Technical depth with demonstrated skills and experience in presenting analytical results both verbally and in writing
• BA/BS or Master’s in Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, Finance, Business, Operations Research, Systems Engineering, Data Science, or related field
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret level security clearance
• U.S. Citizen to be considered for a security clearance

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with software engineering best practices and agile devops software development processes
• Experience with econometric/economic modeling and analysis
• Experience with developing Independent Government Cost Estimates (IGCEs) for service and product acquisitions
• Strong working knowledge of federal budgeting and spending mechanics, processes, and data.
• Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) and OMB Circular A-11
• Acquisition reform and PPBE reform initiatives
• Federal Acquisition Regulations
• Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC)
• Federal spending data, including: USASpending.gov, SAM.gov, or FPDS-NG
• Investment modeling and analysis, cost benefit analysis, experience in handling large datasets for data driven analysis, policy and investment analysis, and economic analysis in support of regulatory policy, pre- and post-implementation analysis, forecasting, and applied research
• Source selection cost evaluation experience
• Expertise in using parametric cost estimating tools (PRICE, SEER SEM, SEERAi,etc.) and other cost-related automated tools (e.g., ACEIT)
• ICEAA Certification or Defense Acquisition Workforce Initiative Act (DAWIA) certification desired
• Knowledge and understanding of federal government budget and spending rules, processes, and procedures
• Demonstrated interest in public service and advancing mission-focused outcomes.
• Strong foundation in Python and SQL and familiarity with modern data processing tools or frameworks (e.g., Pandas, Spark, Databricks, Airflow).
• Proficiency in optimization-related coding, e.g. in Python

Responsibilities

• Lead teams of junior analysts to successfully meet project objectives
• Identify, scope, and execute structured analysis for government sponsors while managing timelines, deliverables and outcomes
• Develop models and perform qualitative and quantitative analyses to understand the cost/economic/financial impact of investments, risk mitigation strategies, options and other government actions
• Collect and analyze financial, cost, and economic data
• Develop and/or evaluate program technical and programmatic baselines
• Develop innovative development, production and operating and support (O&S) cost estimating techniques for a broad range of cost elements
• Develop independent or program life cycle cost estimates (LCCEs) and accompanying cost and schedule risk, uncertainty, and sensitivity analysis
• Develop cost estimates in support of source selection, including Independent Government Cost Estimates (IGCEs)
• Perform cost-related studies and analysis, e.g,, on rate reasonableness
• Develop investment economic and decision analyses, including business case analyses, cost/benefit analyses, analysis-of-alternatives, and portfolio analysis
• Develop strategic business and financial analyses, including but not limited to economic studies, cost recovery strategies, budget development & planning, and affordability analysis
• Assess the credibility of government and industry cost estimates using benchmark guidance, such as the GAO 12 steps and the Cost Estimating Body of Knowledge (CEBoK)
• Assess the credibility of government and industry cost savings initiatives data.
• Conduct surveys and utilize various sampling techniques.
• Research various fields including politics, national security, healthcare, education, energy, etc.
• Make use of historical data and analyze market trends.
• Assist in identifying sources of information and gathering a wide range of quantitative and qualitative data to support decisions that have implications for MITRE and its government sponsors
• Apply analysis skills, including exploratory data analysis, time series analysis, and linear regression
• Draw conclusions from analyses and clearly and concisely articulate key findings in both written and verbal form
• Assist in developing data visualization products that improve the presentation of complex data sets
• Translate unstructured data and nontraditional sources of information into business insights
• Perform data cleaning, visualization and analysis in standard statistical and graphics software languages such as R, Stata and Excel

Benefits

• competitive benefits
• exceptional professional development opportunities for career growth
• culture of innovation that embraces adaptability, collaboration, technical excellence, and people in partnership

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior