Defense Industrial Economist

Position Title: Senior Defense Industrial Economist 

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: $195,000 - $211,000 

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 Defense Industrial Economist to provide senior-level economic, market, supply-chain, and industrial-capacity analysis to the Director for Supply Chain Resilience, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for the Defense Industrial Base (DASN (DIB)). The economist supports Department of the Navy (DON) efforts to identify, assess, and mitigate economic and industrial risks affecting defense readiness, production capacity, sustainment, and supply-chain resilience. 

This position requires demonstrated experience in economics, industrial organization, supply-chain analysis, market intelligence, industrial policy, defense production, or comparable complex industrial environments. The economist shall be capable of independently developing transparent quantitative models; assessing supplier markets, production bottlenecks, and industrial risks; and translating complex economic findings into decision-ready products for senior Department of the Navy, Department of War, industry, and interagency stakeholders. 

Responsibilities: 

• Conduct economic, market, supply-chain, and industrial-capacity analysis in support of DON defense-industrial-base priorities. 

• Assess how demand, pricing, labor availability, trade conditions, capital availability, logistics constraints, production lead times, inventory conditions, and global market developments may affect domestic and allied production capacity. 

• Analyze supplier markets, supply-chain vulnerabilities, single points of failure, market concentration, capacity constraints, production bottlenecks, foreign dependencies, and industrial risks affecting defense readiness and sustainment. 

• Develop transparent economic models, scenario analyses, market assessments, industrial-capacity assessments, supplier-market analyses, investment analyses, and other quantitative decision-support products. 

• Prepare executive-level economic assessments, market-intelligence products, issue papers, technical memoranda, briefing materials, decision memoranda, and draft recommendations for Government consideration. 

• Develop draft requests for information, data-call materials, research plans, and analytical frameworks for Government review, approval, and issuance. 

• Assess the viability, resilience, and growth potential of domestic and allied industrial capacity in defense-relevant sectors, including shipbuilding, maritime industry, munitions, advanced manufacturing, energy, microelectronics, critical minerals, transportation and logistics, and other strategic supply chains. 

• Support analysis of private-capital, infrastructure, workforce, production-investment, and technology-transition factors affecting industrial-base capacity and supply-chain resilience. 

• Identify economic risks, analytical gaps, data limitations, assumptions, dependencies, and potential mitigation options for Government review. 

• Communicate complex quantitative findings, economic assumptions, modeling results, and industrial risks in clear, concise formats suitable for senior nontechnical decision-makers. 

• 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. 

• Support occasional industry engagements, executive briefings, site visits, technical reviews, and time-sensitive taskers associated with supply-chain and industrial-base initiatives. 

Requirements: 

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, operations research, finance, public policy, business, statistics, data science, industrial engineering, engineering management, or a related discipline. 

• 12+ years’ experience in economics, industrial organization, supply-chain analysis, industrial policy, market intelligence, defense production, logistics, manufacturing economics, economic security, management consulting, or related fields. 

• Demonstrated experience conducting quantitative analysis of supplier markets, production capacity, market concentration, supply-chain vulnerabilities, capital investment, pricing, labor, trade, logistics, inventory, or industrial risk in defense-relevant or comparable complex industrial sectors. 

• Demonstrated experience developing transparent economic models, scenario analyses, market assessments, industrial-capacity assessments, supply-chain network analyses, investment analyses, or related quantitative products. 

• Demonstrated experience preparing executive-level economic analyses, briefing materials, decision memoranda, or technical assessments for senior Government, military, industry, corporate, or program leadership. 

• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex source research, industry data, economic data, financial information, and stakeholder inputs into accurate, decision-ready products. 

• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex quantitative findings and analytical assumptions clearly to senior nontechnical audiences. 

• The position may require support outside normal business hours to meet time-sensitive executive, interagency, industrial-base, or supply-chain requirements. 

• Current active Top Secret clearance with 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.