Vice President, Center for Communications and Computing

Overview

The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is a not-for-profit corporation that operates three Federally-Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) : the Center for Communications and Computing serving the National Security Agency (NSA);

the Systems and Analyses Center serving the Department of Defense; and the Science and Technology Policy Institute serving the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science Foundation, and other offices and councils within the executive branch of the federal government.

The Center for Communications and Computing performs fundamental (but largely classified) research in mathematics and computer science for the NSA, where both categories are interpreted very broadly.

The Center also aids in solving some immediate, difficult, and important problems for NSA. The Center for Communications Research is made up by three locations - the Center for Communications Research in Princeton, NJ, the Center for Communications Research in La Jolla, CA, and the Center for Computing Sciences in Bowie, MD.

All three centers have developed distinct areas of expertise, yet they work closely with each other and collaborate on many overlapping research projects.

Responsibilities

We are seeking Vice President, Center for Communications and Computing, to serve as a trusted and experienced coordinator between the Centers, our NSA sponsor, and IDA Headquarters (HQ).

The primary objectives for this role are as follows :

• Improve communication between HQ and the Centers;
• Facilitate Tri-Center cooperation and collaborative response to tasks assigned;
• Increase sharing of operational "best practices" from Center to Center and create opportunities for centralizing and streamlining appropriate operational functions in coordination with IDA Sr. Contracts Manager;
• Track and support the full range of CCC mission work.

Reporting to the President, Vice President, Center for Communications and Computing, is the senior official responsible for establishing and executing the overall research vision and strategy for Center for Communications and Computing in support of our NSA sponsor.

The Vice President, Center for Communications and Computing is responsible for coordination and oversight of all research and analyses, including quality management of IDA research products and talent management of IDA research staff.

The Vice President, Center for Communications and Computing has responsibility, accountability, and authority to establish IDA research policies, procedures, and practices, and is responsible for facilitating a work climate and culture at the three Centers that supports technical excellence and innovation.

Reporting to and acting on behalf of IDA’s President, the Vice President, Center for Communications and Computing, provides support and guidance to the three IDA Center Directors.

The Vice President, Center for Communications and Computing, is responsible for overseeing the development of the IDA research mission and shaping the research portfolio to meet evolving sponsor priorities, ensuring the Center addresses the sponsor’s highest priority national security needs.

The Vice President, Center for Communications and Computing, works cooperatively with multiple components within the NSA sponsor and key leaders at NSA.

The Vice President, Center for Communications and Computing, oversees the relationship with the NSA sponsor in areas related to the research portfolio, core competencies, evolving infrastructure strategies, and the contract renewal process.

The Vice President, Center for Communications and Computing, works collaboratively with the leadership of Corporate Operations and other members of the IDA senior leadership team to ensure IDA maintains an efficient and effective work environment, supportive of its people and responsive to its government sponsor.

The Vice President, Center for Communications and Computing, represents the Center’s unique priorities and challenges to HQ to inform key organizational decisions and policy decisions, identifying opportunities for improvement and formulating specific recommendations and solutions for decision.

Qualifications

We seek an accomplished computer scientist or computationally inclined mathematician who can lead a research endeavor of considerable depth and breadth.

The position requires :

• Strong familiarity with the intelligence and national security communities.
• Familiarity with IDA’s NSA sponsor and their analytic needs.
• Experience interacting with and preferably known to senior intelligence and national security leaders.
• Familiarity with research methods in cryptology, which includes both foreign signals intelligence and protecting the communications of the U.S. government.
• Demonstrated capacity for oversight and quality control of research and analysis activities, and the resulting products.
• Strong government service background and / or deep experience at FFRDCs or other non-profit organizations conducting analyses for the intelligence and national security communities.
• Ability to exercise effective oversight of members of the IDA leadership team, i.e. Center Directors.
• Advanced degree in computer science, mathematics, engineering, or related field. PhD preferred.
• Strong (demonstrated) written and oral communications and collaboration skills.
• Appropriate level of management experience for a $70M scientific organization.
• Recognized as having the highest level of integrity.
• Committed to the IDA diversity, equity, and inclusion principles.
• A team player who can work collaboratively with superiors at HQ and senior leadership team colleagues.
• The primary location for this position is IDA HQ in Alexandria, VA with some flexibility for telework.
• Ability to travel extensively to HQ NSA and the three Center locations.

IDA offers a competitive salary, an excellent benefits package and a superior professional working environment. To the right individual, IDA offers the opportunity to lead a research enterprise that is intellectually leading edge and at the same time of great importance to the country.

The selected individual must maintain a security clearance and meet the ancillary requirements for access to compartmented information.

Successful completion of a criminal background check is required.