Socio-Cultural Analyst

The Capital Area Division (CAD) of Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) has an outstanding opportunity for an exceptional all Socio-Cultural Analyst with experience analyzing socio-cultural elements within specific regions and/or organizations, which includes understanding and forecasting how socio-cultural variables are related to interest in―or intent to pursue―nuclear, biological, chemical, and/or radiological programs. The right candidate will serve as a socio-cultural advisor and contributor within a multi-functional team of analysts and planners. This position generates recommendations in the form of technical briefings, reports, and other analytic documents. The socio-cultural analyst will be proficient at producing and fusing socio-cultural analyses with other intelligence and information to substantively enhance/augment characterizations, assessments, and forecasts on WMD, CBRN, weapons-related S&T, and counterproliferation topics. This candidate also devises, evaluates, and recommends new methodologies and analytical tools related to the use of socio-cultural data, including but not limited to cultural, social, religious, linguistic, ethnic, occupational, and ideological beliefs of regions, leaders, and/or groups.

Required Qualifications:

• BS or BA degree in sociology, cultural anthropology, psychology, geography, economics, and/or political science.
• 5 years of experience with intelligence analysis, including employing multi-INT databases to develop analytic assessments and briefings.
• Proficiency utilizing intelligence-related tools and databases (M3, TAC, TIDE, Analyst Notebook, Palantir, MIDB/NPW, etc).
• Proficiency utilizing academic, demographic, economic, and regulatory tools and databases.
• Ability to work effectively within or lead a team of peers, as well as excellent interpersonal and communications skills.
• Ability to perform socio-cultural analysis and present results in the form of data sets, visualizations, and maps for inclusion in all source analytic and planning products.
• Understanding of structured analytic techniques (Analysis of Competing Hypotheses, Devil's Advocacy, High-Impact / Low-Impact Analysis, Red Team Analysis and Alternative Futures Analysis)
• Proficiency compiling and analyzing socio-cultural data in order to create detailed atmospheric deliverables.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing the socio-cultural factors that make specific populations vulnerable to adversary messaging, includes both state and non-state adversaries.
• Experience identifying and devising unique socio-cultural data sets, methodologies, and approaches to augment all source analyses, which includes validating accuracy, utility, and fungibility of data/sources.
• Familiarity with nuclear, chemical, biological, and missile technologies and advances.
• Experience briefing socio-cultural reports and products to military planners, operational entities, and research and development audiences.
• Word, Excel and PowerPoint proficiency.
• Active TS/SCI clearance.

Desired Qualifications:

• Graduate degree in social science discipline and 7 years of intelligence experience.
• Proficiency integrating socio-cultural analyses into intelligence support plans, requirements, and products that directly enable CWMD operational planning and WMD pathway defeat.
• Experience collaborating with the Intelligence Community, Defense Department, national labs, and academia to address WMD- and proliferation-related threat issues.
• Familiarity working with Defense Threat Reduction Agency and an understanding of the Agencies’ missions and activities.

COMPANY INFORMATION:

Applied Research Associates, Inc. is an employee-owned international research and engineering company recognized for providing technically superior solutions to complex and challenging problems in the physical sciences. The company, founded in Albuquerque, NM, in 1979, currently employs over 1200 professionals. ARA offices throughout the United States and Canada provide a broad range of technical expertise in defense technologies, civil technologies, computer software and simulation, systems analysis, environmental technologies, and testing and measurement. The corporation also provides sophisticated technical products for environmental site characterization, pavement analysis, and robotics.

At ARA, employees are our greatest assets. The corporation realizes that employee ownership spawns greater creativity and initiative along with higher performance and customer satisfaction levels. ARA gives its employees the tools, training, and opportunities to take more active roles as owners. The culture is challenging; innovation and experimentation are the norm. Employees are eligible for contributions which not only add to the company’s success, but also their own through the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The motto, “Engineering and Science for Fun and Profit” sums up the ARA experience. For additional information and an opportunity to join this unique workplace, please visit our website at www.ara.com.

Please apply at www.careers.ara.com for the Socio-Cultural Analyst position.

Experience

• 5 - 8 years: Relevant work experience

Education

• Bachelors or better

Licenses & Certifications

• Top Secret/SCI

Behaviors

• Thought Provoking: Capable of making others think deeply on a subject
• Team Player: Works well as a member of a group
• Innovative: Consistently introduces new ideas and demonstrates original thinking
• Functional Expert: Considered a thought leader on a subject
• Enthusiastic: Shows intense and eager enjoyment and interest
• Detail Oriented: Capable of carrying out a given task with all details necessary to get the task done well
• Dedicated: Devoted to a task or purpose with loyalty or integrity

Motivations

• Growth Opportunities: Inspired to perform well by the chance to take on more responsibility
• Goal Completion: Inspired to perform well by the completion of tasks
• Entrepreneurial Spirit: Inspired to perform well by an ability to drive new ventures within the business

• Self-Starter: Inspired to perform without outside help

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)