Staff Principal Scientist/Senior Economic Security Analyst

AMERICAN SYSTEMS is an employee-owned federal government contractor supporting national priority programs through our strategic solutions in the areas of Information Technology, Test & Evaluation, Program Mission Support, Engineering & Analysis, and Training.

Economic security is an area of intense attention and growth as the primary domain for competition between the U.S. and China. The office of the Under Secretary of War for Research & Engineering (OUSW R&E) is tasked with both protecting the fruits of U.S. fundamental research and innovative businesses while facilitating the technologies and defense industrial base of the future.

AMERICAN SYSTEMS is currently looking to hire a Senior Economic Security Analyst to support OUSW(R&E). This position requires someone eligible for a Top-Secret clearance and SCI eligibility. This position is flexible and hybrid, conducted at the Mark Center in Alexandria, VA, the Pentagon, and via telework.

As a Senior Economic Security Analyst, you will:

• Join a collaborative team of 8 multi-disciplinary science & technology, legal, and security professionals who are on a mission to advance the economic security priorities of OUSW(R&E) and the United States
• Shape the policy and enforcement landscape of U.S. economic security with respect to the OUSW(R&E) Critical Technology Areas and other technology protection priorities.
• Analyze new proposals for new U.S. regulations, including changes to U.S. or multilateral export controls. Participate in related interagency working groups and negotiate on behalf of OUSW(R&E).
• Manage CFIUS cases and export license applications, coordinating with other technical experts across the DOW to present analysis and recommendations
• Be entrepreneurial and self-motivated in identifying, analyzing, and addressing policy gaps, process inefficiencies, analytical tools, and bureaucratic roadblocks, so U.S. technology policy strikes the right balance between protection and promotion. Spend your time on areas of greatest interest and greatest mission impact.
• Grow your analytical and communication skills
• Learn from and support some of the most accomplished scientists and engineers in the world. Build relationships to ensure that the right technical expertise is brought to bear on the right technology policy processes.

A day in the life of a Senior Economic Security Analyst:

• Write code to loop AI API over business intelligence data to look for national security risks.
• Analyze the foreign availability of export-controlled technologies to prioritize changes to export control policy.
• Use AI to comb through corporate filings for red flags.
• Suggest contractual language to mitigate foreign investment risks.
• Write an original legislative proposal to improve U.S. export controls.
• Work with Missile Defense Agency counterparts on a unified R&E response to a regulatory proposal from the State Department.
• Join a CFIUS monitoring site visit to provide technical input on compliance and security gaps.
• Call your colleague at the Commerce Department to get clarification on trade data.
• Read recent intelligence reports and summarize the key points in an email for the rest of your team.
• Present your research to interagency or private sector interest groups.
• Manage difficult conversations with stakeholders with complex motives.

Experience in at least 2 of the following 3 areas:

1. Export Control Expert

• Minimum of 4 years of work specific to export control administration, policy, or compliance.
• Experience performing risk analysis and transaction research related to exports
• Experience with a related U.S. government office (e.g. BIS, DDTC, DTSA)
• Familiarity with the Commerce Control List, U.S. Munitions List, and associated licensing principles. Experience classifying commodities by ECCN or USML code.

2. Science & Technology Expert

• Advanced experience performing and managing original research and development at an elite level. STEM Ph.D. equivalent preferred.
• Technical expertise related to at least one of the OUSW(R&E) Critical Technology Areas or OUSW(R&E) program areas.
• Broad technical literacy and communication skills - the ability to ‘code switch’ between talking to scientists and policy experts.

3. Data Scientist and AI Implementer

• Intermediate data science skills in coding languages like R. We mostly use R, but it’s not a strict requirement.
• Be able to automate the manipulation of complex textual data, designing and building variable AI prompts from datasets.
• Advanced experimental design skills, sound epistemology, and independent methods of validation of AI products and workflows. Be able to prove the validity of your methods to an AI-skeptical audience.
• Be able to leverage APIs, leverage SQL databases, use git, and customize data systems and user interfaces within a U.S. government environment.
• Experienced at using AI to accelerate your coding. You will use several LLM platforms with APIs, but we do not yet have the ability for AI to execute code in loops.
• Passion for building the future!

Overall Minimum Requirements

• Bachelors degree with 10 yrs of relevant experience.
• Ideal 10 years of relevant technical, policy, legal, or military experience (Including graduate-level research experience like a Ph.D. research program)
• Eligible for a Top-Secret Clearance with SCI eligibility (Current Top-Secret clearance preferred)
• U.S. Citizenship Required for the purposes of obtaining/holding a U.S. security clearance.
• Advanced, sophisticated, nuanced knowledge of issues related to emerging technology, industrial policy, and international affairs
• Outstanding written and verbal communication and negotiating skills, especially with technical experts
• Proficiency in MS Word, Powerpoint, and Excel (Advanced analytical skills preferred)