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Program Analyst (ISR,C2 AND UAS PORTFOLIO MGR)

Office of the Secretary of Defense

Pentagon, Arlington, VAFull-time$144–197K/yrPosted today

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At a glance

Compensation
$144–197K/yr
Location
Pentagon, Arlington, VA
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

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Job overview

The Program Analyst develops and coordinates portfolio positions for OUSW(A&S), aligning them with strategic and Congressional mandates. The role oversees ISR aircraft, C2 aircraft, and large UAS programs, identifies and mitigates programmatic risks, assesses mission capabilities, and supports program and budget reviews. It also advises senior officials on operational analysis, acquisition strategies, program documentation, and compliance with guidance.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Acquisition Documentation EvaluationBudget ExecutionPortfolio AnalysisMission Gap AnalysisCost and Schedule TradeoffsRecommendation Development

Qualifications

One Year Specialized Experience

Full job description

Summary

Responsible for developing and coordinating OUSW(A&S) portfolio positions, aligning them with strategic and Congressional mandates. Leads oversight to identify and mitigate programmatic risks, including cost, technical, and industrial base issues. Integrates across Military Services, OSW, and Joint Staff to provide assessments, support the PPBE process, and resolve emerging issues.

Duties

This is a Direct Hire Public Notice, under this recruitment, applications will be accepted for each location and/or installation identified in this Public Notice and selections are made for vacancies as they occur. There may or may not be actual/projected vacancies at the time you submit your application. This Public Notice is to gather applications which may or may not result in a referral or selection. This position is being filled using Direct Hire Authority (DHA) authorized under the Department of War Civilian Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project (AcqDemo) for position in the Business and Technical Management Professional Career Path (NH). Please read this Public Notice in its entirety prior to submitting your application for consideration. Incumbents typical work assignments may include the following: Leads the oversight of the assigned portfolio (Large ISR Aircraft, C2 Aircraft, and Large UAS) and identifies issues or potential issues, to include development of recommendations to address identified issues. Potential issues include unrealistic cost and schedule estimates; inadequate understanding and management of technical risk, unsound management practices, inappropriate acquisition strategies; immature technology and inadequate industrial base capabilities. Assesses mission threads within critical mission capability portfolios for overall performance in support of OUSW(A&S) participation in OSW Program and Budget Reviews and in support of Congressional reporting requirements, working collaboratively with military service staffs, the Joint Staff and Cost Assessments and Program Evaluation (CAPE), as well as other OSW organizations. Provides advice and staff support to the USW(A&S), ASW(A) and their teams with respect to operational analysis and mission gaps translated back to platform and weapon deficiencies, Science and Technology solution insertion points and concepts of employment, and Research and Development requirements for the future solution space and "to-be" systems architecture across appropriate mission areas. Develops and evaluates acquisition strategies, acquisition program baselines, analyses, risk reduction plans, international cooperation plans, and other applicable documentation for assigned major programs. Monitors the Services' compliance with and execution of Secretary of War, USW(A&S), or ASW(A) guidance and direction relating to assigned programs and activities. The incumbent shall guide the Services in understanding and complying with guidance and direction, exercising tact and understanding of organizational constraints. Where necessary, he/she shall formulate recommendations for further management action to assure compliance or for modifications in cases where the guidance of direction has become infeasible or undesirable. Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position, you must meet the requirements described below. You may qualify at the NH-IV pay band, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrates your ability to (1) Developing, reviewing, or evaluating acquisition or program documentation to support compliance with applicable statutory, regulatory, policy, and oversight requirements (such as acquisition strategies, program baselines, risk-management or risk-reduction plans, investment plans, or comparable program-management documents); (2) Supporting an enterprise resource-planning and budget-execution process (e.g. analyzing program funding impacts, monitoring organizational compliance with financial guidance, etc.); and (3) Analyzing interdependent programs, systems, capabilities, or portfolios to identify mission capability gaps; assess cost, schedule, capability, or resource tradeoffs; and develop recommendations that support senior-leader decisions on budget and strategic priorities Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. All qualifications and education requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume. Your resume may not exceed two (2) pages. For qualifications determinations, it is recommended that applicants include their months and hours worked per week for each employment listed on their resume. If a determination is not able to be made about the duration of your creditable experience for qualification requirements, you will be removed from consideration. Read more about what should I include in my federal resume at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: Federal agencies treat active duty service member as veterans, disabled veterans, and preference eligible, when they submit, as part of their application package, a "certification" of active service in lieu of a DD-214, indicating the service member is otherwise eligible and will be discharged or released within 120 days from the date of submission.. A "certification" letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service. This "certification" must include your rank, dates of active duty service, type of discharge and character of service (i.e. honorable), and date any terminal leave will begin. It must be signed by, or by direction of, the adjutant, personnel officer, or commander of your unit or higher headquarters. Active duty members that fail to provide a valid "certification" of service with their initial application will be found "not eligible". Members may be appointed before the effective date of their military retirement/separation if they are on terminal leave.

Education

Education cannot be substituted for experience. How You Will Be Evaluated

??????This position is being filled using Direct Hire Authority (DHA) authorized under the Department of War Civilian Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project (AcqDemo) for position in the Business and Technical Management Professional Career Path (NH). You will be evaluated for this position on how well you meet the qualifications. Traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply to this vacancy. Your application (resume and supporting documentation) will be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications required as listed on the announcement under qualification requirements. Veterans' Preference eligibility under 5 U.S.C. 2108 and 2108a applies and is treated as a positive factor when making a selection from external sources. When making final selections, any candidate with Veterans' Preference should be granted preference in selection over nonpreference eligible candidates with substantially equal qualifications as described in the Best Meets Mission Requirements definition below. If you are a veteran claiming Veterans' Preference, as defined by section 2108 of Title 5 U.S.C., you must submit documents verifying your eligibility with your application package. Candidates should demonstrate knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics relevant to successful performance in this position. The competencies identified for this position may be used to assess qualifications and determine which candidates best meet the mission requirements. Best Meets Mission Requirements definition: Applicant has the knowledge, skills, abilities, and/or competencies to substantially exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. This equates to the best qualified assessment criteria established for the vacancy and based on overall demonstrated experience, education, training, appraisals/evaluations, job-related awards, certifications, honors and relevant outside activities. Other Information

Probationary Periods: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing an online application, you may request an alternative application. Please send an email to the following address for information on how to obtain an alternative application: [email protected] Reemployed Annuitants: Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants. /www.esd.whs.mil/DD/DoD-Issuances/140025/ Current or Former Political Appointees: Agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Human Resources Office. Nepotism: Under the provisions of 5 USC 3110, an individual may not be appointed into a position if the position is under the supervisory chain of command of a relative. Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

How this job compares

Set against the 951 open Program Analyst jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 9, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$144–197K/yr
  • Virginia median$95–140K/yr107 salary ranges
  • US median$88–130K/yr656 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $171K, is 40% above the Virginia median midpoint ($122K) — in the top quarter of Program Analyst salary ranges in Virginia.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 207 open Program Analyst jobs in Virginia and 951 across the US. 2% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Virginia
Experience
This posting asks for at least 1 year of experience; Program Analyst postings that state a minimum ask for 4 years at the median (858 postings).
Education
336 of the 951 open Program Analyst jobs (35%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 9, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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