Research Position at IDA

 

My name is Steve Rabinowitz and I am a project leader in the Naval Warfare Group at the Institute for Defense Analyses. We have an immediate opening for a Research Staff Member and I want to bring the opportunity to the attention of any grad students or postdocs who may be finishing up this summer.  IDA is a non-profit Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) under contract with the Department of Defense to provide independent, objective, and rigorous analyses of national security issues.  Our division supports the Office of the Secretary of Defense, reporting to Congress on the testing of new defense systems.  We are heavily involved in analyzing system designs and intended uses, developing appropriate evaluation methodologies, providing detailed test designs, and performing independent analyses of the results.     

 

The RSM slot is a full-time, permanent position with a generous salary and benefits.  It is a great opportunity for someone who might wish to apply their analytical skills to this important area of national security.  We spend much of our time writing, briefing, and meeting with Navy and other defense personnel, often explaining technical issues to non-scientists, so the position requires strong communication and teaching skills.  Since we deal with classified information, current American citizenship and the ability to obtain security clearance are mandatory.  Moderate travel is involved, and the position offers a rare chance to ride aboard some of the Navy’s newest ships, submarines, and aircraft.  The IDA atmosphere is quite collegial and academic, with excellent facilities and support services.

 

Most of the specific training for this position will be obtained on the job; someone with a physical science or engineering PhD and a good analytical mind would be well qualified.  Experience in statistical data analysis is particularly helpful.  Of the approximately 150 analysts in our division, 75% have PhDs, with more than half of those earned in the physical sciences and about a third in engineering.  Most of our staff came to IDA directly out of grad school or postdocs, with degrees from leading research universities such as Brown, Caltech, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Illinois, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Michigan, MIT, Northwestern, Penn, Texas, UCSB, Wisconsin, and Yale.  

 

The main www.ida.org site provides some general background about the Institute.  I encourage interested candidates to contact Steven Rabinowitz directly for additional information.  

 

 

 

Dr. Steven A. Rabinowitz

Institute for Defense Analyses

Operational Evaluation Division

4850 Mark Center Drive

Alexandria, VA  22311-1882

srabinow@ida.org