Open Source Collection Specialist

Helios Defense Solutions • Washington, DC

17d

About The Position

HELIOS is seeking highly experienced Open Source Collection Specialists to join our team in supporting the 24/7/365 intelligence mission for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) in Washington, D.C. The Open-Source Collection Specialist is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting publicly available information (PAI) to provide timely, relevant, and actionable intelligence in support of operational and strategic objectives. The specialist leverages advanced open-source collection tools, methodologies, and tradecraft to identify and exploit information from global digital, traditional, and human-curated media sources. The role directly supports intelligence production, indications and warning, situational awareness, and decision support for senior leaders and mission partners.

Requirements

• Possess a current, active TOP SECRET Clearance
• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution with preferred concentrations in areas such as Project or Program Management, Intelligence, Public Administration, Public Policy, American Government/Governance, Law/Legal Studies, or Management/Leadership
• Eight (8) years of experience working on an intelligence services contract/task order involving Contractor personnel support.
• Knowledge of IC intelligence authorities, component missions, and the role of supporting the Intelligence Enterprise; overall intelligence research, analysis, and production process.
• Experience working with Microsoft Office suite and IC data systems.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Intelligence Community (IC) is desired
• Preferred experience directing intelligence operations.

Responsibilities

• Open-Source Collection and Monitoring: Conduct persistent, targeted collection of information from publicly available sources—including social media, news outlets, blogs, forums, academic publications, and publicly accessible data repositories—on topics relevant to assigned mission areas.
• PAI Exploitation: Employ advanced search techniques, multilingual research, and specialized tools to extract and correlate data from multiple platforms, identifying patterns, emerging trends, and indicators of interest.
• Data Validation and Source Assessment: Evaluate the reliability, credibility, and authenticity of open-source information and media, ensuring accuracy and minimizing misinformation or adversarial influence.
• Intelligence Reporting: Synthesize collected data into structured reports, summaries, and intelligence products that meet operational and analytic requirements. Disseminate findings to analysts, watch officers, and decision-makers in accordance with established reporting standards.
• Support to Indications and Warning (I&W): Identify and escalate open-source indicators of potential threats, hostile activity, or geopolitical developments impacting national security equities or mission operations.
• Collection Management: Develop and execute open-source collection plans in alignment with intelligence priorities and collection requirements. Track collection performance, coverage, and reporting metrics.
• Technical Proficiency: Utilize OSINT tools, APIs, and data aggregation platforms to automate and enhance collection workflows. Maintain awareness of emerging technologies, sources, and tradecraft relevant to open-source intelligence.
• Collaboration and Integration: Coordinate with all-source analysts, counterintelligence professionals, and operational teams to fuse open-source findings with classified or proprietary information for holistic situational awareness.
• Operational Security (OPSEC) Compliance: Ensure all collection activities adhere to OPSEC, privacy, and legal guidelines governing the use of publicly available information and the protection of U.S. persons’ data.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees