Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. (SPA) delivers high-impact, technical solutions to complex national security issues. With over 50 years of business expertise and consistent growth, we are known for continuous innovation for our government customers, in both the US and abroad. Our exceptionally talented team is highly collaborative in spirit and practice, producing Results that Matter. Come work with the best! We offer opportunity, unique challenges, and clear-sighted commitment to the mission. SPA: Objective. Responsive. Trusted.  

The Joint, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Interagency Division provides expert support services to a range of customers spanning across the Department of Defense, Federal Civilian, and international markets. JOID provides a diverse portfolio of analytical and programmatic capabilities to help our customers make informed decisions on their most challenging issues.

SPAs NATO Allied Command Transformation Group within JOID provides capability development, portfolio management, program management, quality management, cost estimation analysis, standardization, reporting, software solutions and information management, and capability management support. We also provide an improved capability requirements capture process, including the generation, documentation and tracing of user requirements, with appropriate technical scrutiny, over the entire lifecycle of the requirements from capability definition through capability realization and capability usage. 

We have a near-term need for a Program Analyst: Data Integration & Decision Support-Enabling Capabilities Portfolio to provide onsite support out of Norfolk, VA.

The candidate will support the Enabling Capabilities Portfolio with an initial focus on Infrastructure Programs by providing hands-on expertise in data integration, data engineering, analytics, and decision support. Work closely with program managers, portfolio staff, analysts, data owners, and other stakeholders to identify priority decisions, information requirements, data gaps, and opportunities to improve program delivery through more effective use of data. Responsibilities include designing, developing, testing, and maintaining repeatable data integration processes; developing structured data models, common definitions, business rules, reference data, and quality controls; and creating digital data-collection applications and workflows that reduce reliance on spreadsheets, manual consolidation, and email-driven processes. Support the continued development and operational use of digital Management and Oversight Review (MOR) data-collection and decision-support solutions. Develop dashboards, metrics, visualizations, analytical products, and other decision-support tools that provide greater visibility into program status, performance, schedules, resources, risks, dependencies, and emerging issues. Apply descriptive and diagnostic analytics, as well as predictive and prescriptive techniques when appropriate, to identify trends, relationships, anomalies, risks, and opportunities. Responsibilities will also include integrating program and portfolio information with authoritative NATO and enterprise data sources using approved databases, APIs, data services, structured file exchanges,and other available interfaces. Identify and address data-quality, ownership, lineage, governance, and authoritative-source issues while applying sound development and engineering practices to ensure solutions are reliable, reproducible, transparent, and auditable. Document data sources, models, transformations, business rules, analytical logic, assumptions, dependencies, operating procedures, and solution configurations to support long-term sustainment and reuse. Conduct user testing, incorporate stakeholder feedback, establish appropriate performance baselines, and evaluate improvements in areas such as data quality, timeliness, workflow efficiency, manual processing effort, and decision-making effectiveness. Present analytical findings, risks, limitations, and decision implications to program and portfolio leadership and support the transition of successful prototypes, data products, and analytical solutions to enduring enterprise platforms or production-support teams.

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related field; or 5+ years of directly relevant professional experience in lieu of a degree; relevant experience must include work in at least two of the following areas: data integration/data engineering, analytical programming, or business intelligence/analytics/decision-support development.
• Demonstrated recent experience personally developing operational data or analytical solutions from identification of a user or decision requirement through data preparation/integration, solution development, user testing, and operational use; 1+ years of recent experience in hands-on technical delivery as a regular part of assigned duties, as well as at least one personally developed data or analytical solution used by an identified user group within the last 18 months.
• 3+ years of experience within the last 5 years, including hands-on experience within the last 2 years, performing data integration or data engineering using relational databases, ETL/ELT, APIs, data pipelines, data services, structured data exchange, or comparable methods; must demonstrate at least one example of integrating data from two or more separately administered systems, databases, services, or authoritative data sources.
• 2+ years of experience within the last 5 years, including hands-on use within the last 2 years, using SQL against relational data sources and at least one qualifying analytical programming language such as Python, R, Scala, Julia, SAS, MATLAB, or Stata; candidates must provide at least one recent example demonstrating personal use of both SQL and a qualifying analytical programming language; DAX, Power Query M, VBA, Excel formulas, and spreadsheet macros do not satisfy the analytical programming requirement.
• Demonstrated experience within the last 5 years personally designing or developing at least two structured digital data-collection, workflow, low-code/no-code, configured-application, or comparable solutions that reduced reliance on manual, email-driven, or spreadsheet-based processes; at least one solution must have been personally developed or materially enhanced within the last 3 years.
• 3+ years of experience within the last 5 years personally developing business intelligence products, analytical products, dashboards, metrics, visualizations, or comparable decision-support solutions; must demonstrate at least one personally developed product that was actively used by an identified program, portfolio, management, or operational user group to support business operations or decision-making.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience within the last 5 years, including at least one example within the last 3 years, applying data modelling, data-quality, or data-governance practices to an operational data or analytical solution; experience must include practical application in at least two of the following areas: development of data models or relationships; development of data definitions, metadata, or common data standards; implementation of validation rules or data-quality controls; or implementation of data lineage, stewardship, or authoritative-source controls.
• Demonstrated experience within the last 5 years documenting and transferring at least one data, analytical, or digital solution for continued operation or maintenance by another developer, colleague, support team, platform owner, or operational organization; must also demonstrate use within the last 3 years of Git or equivalent source control, platform-native versioned deployment/environment management, or a documented configuration baseline maintained under change control.
• 2+ years of experience within the last 5 years working directly with operational users, program personnel, managers, or decision makers to identify information or analytical requirements and communicate findings, assumptions, limitations, risks, or decision implications; candidates must demonstrate at least one example of personally eliciting a requirement and communicating the resulting analysis or decision-support information to the supported user or decision-maker group.
• Active NATO or National Secret clearance.
• Valid NATO Nation passport with no travel restrictions to NATO nations.
• Able to work fully onsite based on client needs.

The candidate will support the Enabling Capabilities Portfolio with an initial focus on Infrastructure Programs by providing hands-on expertise in data integration, data engineering, analytics, and decision support. Work closely with program managers, portfolio staff, analysts, data owners, and other stakeholders to identify priority decisions, information requirements, data gaps, and opportunities to improve program delivery through more effective use of data. Responsibilities include designing, developing, testing, and maintaining repeatable data integration processes; developing structured data models, common definitions, business rules, reference data, and quality controls; and creating digital data-collection applications and workflows that reduce reliance on spreadsheets, manual consolidation, and email-driven processes. Support the continued development and operational use of digital Management and Oversight Review (MOR) data-collection and decision-support solutions. Develop dashboards, metrics, visualizations, analytical products, and other decision-support tools that provide greater visibility into program status, performance, schedules, resources, risks, dependencies, and emerging issues. Apply descriptive and diagnostic analytics, as well as predictive and prescriptive techniques when appropriate, to identify trends, relationships, anomalies, risks, and opportunities. Responsibilities will also include integrating program and portfolio information with authoritative NATO and enterprise data sources using approved databases, APIs, data services, structured file exchanges,and other available interfaces. Identify and address data-quality, ownership, lineage, governance, and authoritative-source issues while applying sound development and engineering practices to ensure solutions are reliable, reproducible, transparent, and auditable. Document data sources, models, transformations, business rules, analytical logic, assumptions, dependencies, operating procedures, and solution configurations to support long-term sustainment and reuse. Conduct user testing, incorporate stakeholder feedback, establish appropriate performance baselines, and evaluate improvements in areas such as data quality, timeliness, workflow efficiency, manual processing effort, and decision-making effectiveness. Present analytical findings, risks, limitations, and decision implications to program and portfolio leadership and support the transition of successful prototypes, data products, and analytical solutions to enduring enterprise platforms or production-support teams.

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related field; or 5+ years of directly relevant professional experience in lieu of a degree; relevant experience must include work in at least two of the following areas: data integration/data engineering, analytical programming, or business intelligence/analytics/decision-support development.
• Demonstrated recent experience personally developing operational data or analytical solutions from identification of a user or decision requirement through data preparation/integration, solution development, user testing, and operational use; 1+ years of recent experience in hands-on technical delivery as a regular part of assigned duties, as well as at least one personally developed data or analytical solution used by an identified user group within the last 18 months.
• 3+ years of experience within the last 5 years, including hands-on experience within the last 2 years, performing data integration or data engineering using relational databases, ETL/ELT, APIs, data pipelines, data services, structured data exchange, or comparable methods; must demonstrate at least one example of integrating data from two or more separately administered systems, databases, services, or authoritative data sources.
• 2+ years of experience within the last 5 years, including hands-on use within the last 2 years, using SQL against relational data sources and at least one qualifying analytical programming language such as Python, R, Scala, Julia, SAS, MATLAB, or Stata; candidates must provide at least one recent example demonstrating personal use of both SQL and a qualifying analytical programming language; DAX, Power Query M, VBA, Excel formulas, and spreadsheet macros do not satisfy the analytical programming requirement.
• Demonstrated experience within the last 5 years personally designing or developing at least two structured digital data-collection, workflow, low-code/no-code, configured-application, or comparable solutions that reduced reliance on manual, email-driven, or spreadsheet-based processes; at least one solution must have been personally developed or materially enhanced within the last 3 years.
• 3+ years of experience within the last 5 years personally developing business intelligence products, analytical products, dashboards, metrics, visualizations, or comparable decision-support solutions; must demonstrate at least one personally developed product that was actively used by an identified program, portfolio, management, or operational user group to support business operations or decision-making.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience within the last 5 years, including at least one example within the last 3 years, applying data modelling, data-quality, or data-governance practices to an operational data or analytical solution; experience must include practical application in at least two of the following areas: development of data models or relationships; development of data definitions, metadata, or common data standards; implementation of validation rules or data-quality controls; or implementation of data lineage, stewardship, or authoritative-source controls.
• Demonstrated experience within the last 5 years documenting and transferring at least one data, analytical, or digital solution for continued operation or maintenance by another developer, colleague, support team, platform owner, or operational organization; must also demonstrate use within the last 3 years of Git or equivalent source control, platform-native versioned deployment/environment management, or a documented configuration baseline maintained under change control.
• 2+ years of experience within the last 5 years working directly with operational users, program personnel, managers, or decision makers to identify information or analytical requirements and communicate findings, assumptions, limitations, risks, or decision implications; candidates must demonstrate at least one example of personally eliciting a requirement and communicating the resulting analysis or decision-support information to the supported user or decision-maker group.
• Active NATO or National Secret clearance.
• Valid NATO Nation passport with no travel restrictions to NATO nations.
• Able to work fully onsite based on client needs.