Senior Military Operations Analyst (Strike Warfare SME)

Senior Military Operations Analyst

ACE Consulting Group is seeking an experienced Senior Military Operations Analyst to support advanced aviation and weapons system development within the NAVAIR community at NAS Patuxent River. This position integrates the disciplines of Mission Engineering, Operations Analysis, and Strike Warfare Subject Matter Expertise to inform acquisition, requirements development, and operational effectiveness of current and future naval aviation capabilities.

The selected candidate will operate at the intersection of operational context, technical system performance, and analytic rigor to assess mission effectiveness, guide capability development, and support decision-making for senior Navy and DoD leadership.

Mission Engineering Integration

• Lead mission-level decomposition and analysis of naval aviation strike missions, integrating platforms, weapons, sensors, networks, and operators into coherent mission threads to support acquisition decisions.
• Develop and assess mission architectures using or supporting model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and mission engineering frameworks.
• Translate operational needs into measurable mission outcomes and system performance requirements.

Operations Analysis

• Oversee or collaborate with supporting analytic study teams to ensure techniques and methodologies will support acquisition trade-space decisions being made for weapon system development at the program and engineering level.
• Conduct effectiveness and suitability assessments, including the development of Measures of Effectiveness (MOE) and Measures of Performance (MOP).

Strike Warfare Subject Matter Expertise

• Provide operational insight into strike warfare, including:
  • Air-to-ground and maritime strike missions
  • Weapons employment (kinetic and non-kinetic)
  • Targeting processes and kill chains
  • Contested and denied environment operations
• Support concept of operations (CONOPS) development and evaluation, and Design Reference Mission (DRM) development.
• Assess tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), their impact on mission success, and their viability as related to weapon system design and development.

Acquisition & Requirements Support

• Support requirements generation, validation, and refinement (e.g., JCIDS processes).
• Inform capability development documents (CDD/CPD) and analysis of alternatives (AoA).
• Provide analytic support to program offices (PMA-level) within NAVAIR.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Interface with government sponsors, military operators, engineers, and analysts.
• Present analytic findings and recommendations to senior leaders clearly and concisely.
• Facilitate working groups, technical interchange meetings, and mission-focused workshops.

Requirements

• Education:
  • Master's degree in Operations Research, Analytics, Systems Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Engineering, Physics, or related field.
• Experience:
  • 10+ years of relevant experience in military operations analysis, mission engineering, or defense systems analysis.
  • Demonstrated experience applying operations research methods consistent with Naval Postgraduate School training.
  • Operational or direct support experience in strike warfare (e.g., naval aviation, joint fires, targeting).
• Technical Skills:
  • Understanding of the appropriate use of modeling and simulation tools (e.g., MATLAB, Python, R, AFSIM, STK, ExtendSim, or similar).
  • Experience with MBSE tools (e.g., Cameo, MagicDraw, SysML).
  • Strong quantitative and analytical problem-solving skills.
• Clearance:
  • Active TS/SCI clearance required.

Desired Qualifications

• Graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School (Operations Research, Systems Analysis, or related program).
• Prior military service as a Naval Aviator, Naval Flight Officer, Weapons Systems Officer, or equivalent joint fires/strike role.
• Experience supporting NAVAIR program offices or working at NAS Patuxent River.
• Familiarity with digital engineering environments and DoD architecture frameworks (DoDAF).
• Experience with wargaming, campaign analysis, or joint/coalition operations.
• Published analytic work or contributions to major defense studies.

ACE Group is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business that provides expertise in the operational application of current and future airborne weapons systems, with an emphasis on their lethality and survivability in the Battlespace. Our employees draw from a wealth of personal, professional and company experience to provide our Nation's decision makers with the knowledge required to optimally equip our Armed Services with affordable, lethal and survivable weapons systems. We serve as our customers' most trusted agents in their goal of producing enterprise-wide survivability investments and executable programs. We fill key roles within customer offices, offering critical knowledge regarding design, development, procurement, and test evaluation of new and upgraded weapons and platforms. ACE Group's philosophy is simple: Our success must be grounded on service and honest relationships. We focus on meeting the needs of our customers and employees, and trust that with those satisfied employees and satisfied customers, the business will take care of itself.

ACE Consulting Group, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer including Disability/Veterans. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.