Business and Economics Principal

Position Title: Senior Business and Economics Principal (Infrastructure and Energy) 

Location: Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia 

Category: Funded 

Schedule (FT/PT): Full Time 

Travel Required: May require occasional domestic travel 

Shift: Day 

Remote Type: In-Office 

Clearance required: Current Top Secret. Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) eligibility 

Salary: $170,000 - $210,000 

Who is ACT1 Federal? ACT1 Federal LLC is a 100% employee-owned company. We’ve served the Department of War (DoW) for nearly thirty years. Our core missions include weapon systems engineering, logistics, space domain expertise, global defense and security, business and financial management for security assistance and major defense articles, as well as military training and arctic security. Join us!  

Description: ACT1 Federal is seeking an experienced Senior Business and Economics Principal to provide senior-level project-finance, infrastructure, energy, market, and investment analysis to the Director for Infrastructure and Energy, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for the Defense Industrial Base (DASN (DIB)). The principal supports Department of the Navy (DON) efforts to assess how infrastructure and energy investments may strengthen shipyards, ports, manufacturing facilities, energy systems, logistics networks, and other critical infrastructure supporting defense production and industrial resilience. 

This position requires a business and finance subject matter expert with demonstrated experience in infrastructure finance, energy markets, project finance, industrial economics, management consulting, corporate strategy, or comparable fields. The principal shall be capable of independently developing transparent and auditable project-finance models; assessing complex capital projects, financing structures, and investment risks; and translating technical and financial findings into decision-ready products for senior Department of the Navy, Department of War, industry, investor, utility, and interagency stakeholders. 

Responsibilities: 

• Conduct project-finance, infrastructure, energy, market, and investment analysis in support of DASN (DIB) infrastructure and energy priorities. 

• Assess how capital investment, financing structures, energy availability, infrastructure condition, logistics capacity, supply-chain dependencies, and market conditions may affect defense production, industrial capacity, resilience, readiness, and sustainment. 

• Develop business cases, cost-benefit analyses, market assessments, project-finance analyses, executive decision materials, stakeholder-engagement products, and draft recommendations for Government consideration. 

• Build, maintain, document, and update transparent and auditable project-finance models supporting Government review of potential infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, logistics, shipyard, port, and facility-recapitalization investments. 

• Develop and analyze construction-period and operating-period cash-flow models, capital expenditure requirements, operating expenses, financing structures, debt sizing, debt sculpting, debt-service coverage ratios, loan-life coverage ratios, repayment profiles, tariff structures, offtake arrangements, project returns, and sensitivity and downside scenarios. 

• Analyze nonrecourse and limited-recourse financing structures; debt capacity; capital structures; project revenue; financing assumptions; counterparty considerations; and market, construction, operational, regulatory, supply-chain, and investment risks. 

• Research and analyze infrastructure developers, energy companies, utilities, lenders, investors, manufacturers, logistics providers, port operators, shipyards, contractors, and other market participants relevant to Government-directed industrial-base initiatives. 

• Assess infrastructure and energy opportunities related to shipyard modernization, ports, manufacturing facilities, energy generation, grid modernization, fuel logistics, facility recapitalization, public-private partnerships, supply-chain resilience, and industrial-capacity expansion. 

• Prepare financial assessments, analytical findings, potential mitigation options, and draft recommendations for Government review and consideration. 

• Support Government-led project-development and stakeholder-engagement activities by preparing analyses, briefing materials, stakeholder profiles, market research, meeting materials, coordination products, and follow-up documentation. 

• Identify financial, market, project-development, construction, operational, supply-chain, counterparty, and investment risks; document analytical assumptions, data limitations, dependencies, and potential mitigation options for Government review. 

• Coordinate analytical products and supporting information with DASN (DIB) directorates, ASN (RD&A) offices, DON acquisition organizations, naval systems commands, Department of War stakeholders, interagency organizations, and other Government-approved points of contact, as directed by the Government. 

Requirements: 

• A bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, engineering, business, public policy, energy, infrastructure, operations, or a related discipline. 

• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in infrastructure finance, energy markets, project finance, industrial economics, management consulting, corporate strategy, capital-project development, infrastructure investment, or related fields. 

• Demonstrated direct experience supporting or executing infrastructure financings, energy transactions, project financings, public-private partnerships, capital-project investments, facility-recapitalization efforts, or comparable strategic infrastructure transactions. 

• Demonstrated experience developing, reviewing, or auditing project-finance models used to evaluate construction-period and operating-period cash flows, capital expenditure requirements, operating expenses, financing structures, debt capacity, debt-service coverage, loan-life coverage, repayment profiles, tariff or offtake structures, project returns, and downside scenarios. 

• Advanced project-finance modeling proficiency, including nonrecourse and limited-recourse financing structures, debt sizing and sculpting, debt-service coverage analysis, loan-life coverage analysis, sensitivity analysis, and scenario analysis. 

• Demonstrated ability to independently build, audit, document, and defend complex project-finance models from a blank workbook. 

• Demonstrated experience assessing project-development, construction, financing, operational, market, regulatory, supply-chain, counterparty, and investment risks. 

• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex financial concepts, project assumptions, model outputs, financing risks, and investment considerations clearly to senior nonfinancial stakeholders. 

• The position may require support outside normal business hours to meet time-sensitive executive, transaction-support, industrial-base, or private-capital-engagement requirements. 

• Current Top Secret. Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) eligibility required. 

Benefits: 

• Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance 

• ACT1 Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) 

• Company Paid Life and AD&D Insurance 

• Company Paid Short-Term Disability  

• Voluntary Long-Term Disability 

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) 

• Health Savings Account (HSA) 

• 401K with employer match 

• Paid Time Off  

• Paid Holidays 

• Parental Leave 

• Military Leave  

• Education, Training & Professional Development  

• Voluntary Accidental Injury/Critical Illness/Hospital Care  

• Voluntary Pet Insurance, Legal Resources, and Identity Protection 

Our people-first culture prioritizes the benefits of flexibility and collaboration, whether that happens in person or remotely. 

• If this position is listed as remote or hybrid, you’ll periodically work from a ACT1 Federal or client site facility.  

• If this position is listed as onsite, you’ll work with colleagues and clients in person, as needed for the specific role. 

 All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local or international law.