Operations Research Analyst, Mission Engineering

Operations Research Analyst, Mission Engineering

Location:

Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, California Compensation: $175,000–$225,000 base + equity and benefits Clearance:
Ability to obtain a TS/SCI clearance required

Our client is a rapidly growing defense technology company developing advanced systems designed to give military and government customers a decisive advantage across complex operational environments. The company is backed by leading venture investors and is scaling a portfolio of next-generation technologies across multiple defense domains.

This is an opportunity to join a high-impact engineering organization at an early stage of building its Mission Engineering function.

We are seeking an Operations Research Analyst to apply modeling, simulation, statistics, and operational analysis to complex defense and national security problems.

This is a mission-level analysis role, focused on understanding how multiple platforms, sensors, communications systems, weapons, and other assets interact within realistic operational scenarios. Your work will help answer high-value questions around system effectiveness, mission planning, capability tradeoffs, and investment decisions.

You will work closely with engineering, product, business development, and customer-facing teams to turn ambiguous operational questions into rigorous analytical studies and defensible recommendations.

This is a foundational role on a newly developing Mission Engineering team, providing significant ownership and the opportunity to help establish analytical methodologies, simulation infrastructure, and best practices as the function scales.

• Plan and execute operations research, modeling and simulation, and mission analysis studies aligned with program and customer objectives.
• Develop and execute mission- and engagement-level simulations using tools such as AFSIM, ESAMS, Brawler, Ansys STK, or equivalent platforms.
• Model and analyze interactions between sensors, communications systems, aircraft, unmanned systems, weapons, spacecraft, and ground or maritime platforms.
• Conduct system-of-systems and kill-chain analysis across operationally relevant scenarios.
• Design and apply statistical methodologies to simulation outputs to quantify Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs), Measures of Performance (MOPs), system effectiveness, uncertainty, and confidence.
• Design and analyze large-scale Monte Carlo simulations, Design of Experiments (DOE), and sensitivity analyses.
• Develop Python-based tools and analytical pipelines for data processing, statistical analysis, simulation post-processing, and visualization.
• Use Python and MATLAB along with scientific computing and data analysis libraries such as Num Py, Pandas, Sci Py, Scikit-learn, Matplotlib, and similar tools.
• Develop clear data visualizations, CONOPS, OV-1 diagrams, technical reports, and briefing materials that communicate complex analytical findings.
• Document analytical methodology, assumptions, limitations, validation approaches, and conclusions so results are rigorous and defensible.
• Present findings to technical teams, senior leadership, and government or customer stakeholders.
• Partner with engineering, product, growth, and customer teams to translate operational questions into structured analytical approaches.
• Contribute to technical proposals, RFI/RFP responses, white papers, customer engagements, and new business pursuits.
• Help establish and improve modeling, simulation, verification, validation, and analytical best practices across the Mission Engineering organization.

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Systems Engineering, Data Science, or a related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of experience supporting defense, intelligence, national security, or advanced technology programs for industry or government.
• Experience leading or owning mission-level operations analysis, modeling and simulation, or system effectiveness studies.
• Hands-on experience with AFSIM, ESAMS, Brawler, Ansys STK, or equivalent mission- or…