Decision and Behavioral Sciences Specialist

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Department Summary:

The MITRE Corporation is a not-for-profit organization chartered to work in the public interest - we help government agencies and other organizations objectively address meaningful and exciting challenges of critical national importance, with no commercial conflicts to influence our work, our decisions, and our recommendations.

The Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) in the Modeling and Analytics Innovation Center is seeking a qualified Decision and Behavioral Sciences Specialist to work with government agencies as well as conduct internal research. Our social and behavioral scientists work in collaborative environments with interdisciplinary teams to develop transformative solutions using diverse expertise such as: survey development, sensemaking, judgment and decision making, wargaming/tabletop exercises, mis/dis/mal-information, interventions / behavioral change, and program evaluation. We work in a variety of fields such as: defense, law enforcement, finance, health, and other civilian services. We're making a difference every day—working for a safer, healthier, and more secure nation and world all while allowing our employees to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

Our experts typically perform the following activities in work related to AI design/implementation, wargaming, designing support tools for decision makers, and other related tasks.

• Conduct research activities, which may include:
  • Conceptualizing frameworks, research questions, and hypotheses
  • Developing methodologies and designing studies – such as creating research protocols, data collection plan, data analysis plan-- and data preparation
  • Collecting data, preparing data for analysis
  • Performing qualitative and quantitative / statistical analyses (as well as mixed-methods analysis)
  • Creating, validating, and deploying surveys that improve understanding of beliefs, attitudes, behaviors

• Collaborate and work across MITRE and with sponsors to address impactful questions that advance the public interest, such as:
  • Applying social and behavioral science theories, methods, and findings to a diverse set of national and global challenges
  • Helping government agencies understand, evaluate, and use datasets
  • Developing and validating measures and assessments that help government agencies understand and enhance the performance of their workforce
  • Providing consultation and training in data collection and analysis methods
  • Collaborate with universities and community organizations to carry out research studies or program evaluations, in supporting government-funded projects

• Disseminate findings, such as:
  • Reporting results and recommendations to sponsors in the form of briefings, oral presentations, technical reports, and implementation reports
  • Co-author peer-reviewed research publications
  • Present work in private and public events (e.g., conferences, webinars, round tables)

• Typically requires a minimum of 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 3 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD without experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience
• Secret clearance required
• Demonstrable expertise in at least one relevant work domain: defense, law enforcement, cyber security, energy, and/or intelligence, etc.
• Expertise in a variety of social and behavioral science fields (e.g., Naturalistic Decision Making, Sensemaking, behavioral program analysis, cognitive sciences)
• Minimum of 3 years of wargaming /tabletop exercise experience
• Minimum of 3 years quantitative data analysis with complex datasets (e.g., applying statistical techniques and models to answer research questions, test hypothesis, and support conclusions, experience with tools and software such as Excel, SPSS, Python, or R to perform data analysis, proficiency in data management, including data cleaning, preprocessing, and analysis).
• Minimum of 3 years of experience with mixed-methods analysis
• Existing connections with academia and industry in social and behavioral sciences as well as other related fields such as but not limited to Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Human-Centered Engineering, Quantitative Analysis, and Program Evaluation.
• Strong team player with problem-solving, systems thinking, planning, organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Strong written and verbal communications skills; demonstrated ability to communicate and build relationships with executive level civilian and military leaders
• This position requires a minimum of 50% hybrid on-site

Preferred Qualifications:

• DoD Top Secret/SCI clearance
• Other suitability, such as DHS Suitability, FAA (MBI), IRS (MBI), VA (NACI)
• Experience in two or more work domains

This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s): Secret

This requisition requires the hired candidate to have or obtain, within one year from the date of hire, the following clearance(s): Top Secret/SCI

Work Location Type: Hybrid

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