Cost Analyst

The MITRE Corporation•New Bedford, MA

2d•$74,500 - $111,500•Onsite

About The Position

MITRE is a not-for-profit corporation chartered to work for the public interest, with no commercial conflicts to influence what we do. The R&D centers we operate for the government create lasting impact in fields as diverse as cybersecurity, healthcare, aviation, defense, and enterprise transformation. We're making a difference every day—working for a safer, healthier, and more secure nation and world. Our workplace reflects our values. We offer competitive benefits, exceptional professional development opportunities for career growth, and a culture of innovation that embraces adaptability, collaboration, technical excellence, and people in partnership. The Business Analytics and Acquisition Affordability Department within the Acquisition Division in MITRE Technology and Engineering solves our sponsor’s problems by leveraging our capabilities within: Cost Estimation and Analysis, Investment Economics & Decision Analysis, Strategic Business & Financial Analytics. This position supports the department’s capabilities in cost, economic, business analyses, and data science as needed. That work could include 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. Expect a dynamic team environment where tasks are rarely routine and often require novel approaches. Expect to work on multiple projects simultaneously, with limited structure and supervision. Candidates should expect a dynamic and collaborative environment where tasks are rarely routine and often require innovative and adaptive approaches. Successful team members are comfortable working across multiple projects simultaneously, operating with limited structure or supervision, and engaging directly with sponsors to solve complex, ambiguous problems.

Requirements

Bachelor of Arts/Science degree in Economics, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, Operations Research, Data Science/Analytics, or Quantitative Sciences (or related fields, or equivalent knowledge and skills with related experience).
Proficient at use of statistical methods including regressions, forecasting, and hypothesis testing
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Proficient with MS Office Suite, especially Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret level security clearance
U.S Citizenship is required

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with software engineering best practices and agile devops software development processes
Experience with econometric/economic modeling and analysis
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, etc.)
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)

Responsibilities

Developing models and performing qualitative and quantitative analyses to understand the cost/economic/financial impact of investments, risk mitigation strategies, options and other government actions
Collecting and analyzing 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.
Conducting surveys and utilizing various sampling techniques.
Researching various fields including politics, national security, healthcare, education, energy, etc.
Making use of historical data and analyzing 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
Performing data cleaning, visualization and analysis in standard statistical and graphics software languages such as R, Stata and Excel