CCR-L Mission Liaison; Ad

Description

The IDA Center for Communications Research, located in La Jolla, invites applications to serve as a mission liaison. This role will be a member of our research staff at our California facility and will also spend time liaising directly with our sponsor at their facilities. The liaison will spend a minimum of 1 month with the sponsor each year and about 30% of effort on liaising.

Additionally, the liaison will serve as a data curator, facilitating data sharing and preparing necessary paperwork (SPFs).

As a member of the research staff, the incumbent will enjoy significant autonomy in choosing how to provide technical expertise in support of IDA’s long‑term mandate to help the intelligence community solve difficult technical problems in areas such as cryptanalysis, high‑performance computing, and network defense and exploitation. Research staff members pursue and achieve solutions to problems individually and in groups, using mathematics, developing algorithms and code, generating and analyzing data, etc.;

document their ideas and incremental progress, share them with the community, and contribute to the overall technical health of the organization through efforts like leading workshops and SCAMPs, recruiting and interviewing potential researchers, serving as a liaison to academic departments, arranging external speakers, and giving out‑briefs on conferences attended. Critical skills for a research staff member include effectively managing time across multiple research projects, collaborating well, leveraging computing resources appropriately, and communicating clearly and effectively both verbally and in writing.

The start date for this position is flexible, with an anticipated beginning in the 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2026. The appointment will be for 3 years.

We support transparency, equity, and fairness in our compensation program and provide a reasonable estimate of the salary range based on data‑driven market analysis for each position. While it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range, a reasonable estimate of the salary range for this role is $100,648 – $242,636. Individual salary within this range will be commensurate with the incumbent’s experience and unique skills or qualifications.

We are part of a non‑profit corporation, and our working environment feels like a mathematics department at a leading research university, albeit without teaching duties, free of administrative burdens, and with a greater emphasis on collaborative research. The scientific scope is broad and varied; while we prove a lot of theorems, we also make high‑performance implementations of mathematical algorithms and do practical machine learning and data analysis.

Our staff is enthusiastic about collaboration, multidisciplinary teams, and combining theory and practice.

We are located in San Diego, California, which boasts one of the best climates in the US and many attractions including outdoor recreation, arts and culture, family‑friendly activities, fine regional cuisine, and outstanding craft beverages.

• A bachelor’s degree in mathematics, statistics, computer science, or a related field is required.
• At least ten years of relevant work experience.
• Demonstrated ability to perform independent research.
• Proven ability to present findings orally and in writing.
• Able to work in an unstructured environment and/or on more than one project concurrently.
• Success at interacting with government representatives.
• US citizenship is required.
• Employment is contingent on obtaining an appropriate security clearance (which we will sponsor).
• Travel is required for this position.

Interested individuals should apply through Taleo. The application should include a CV and contact information of at least three references.

Applications must be received by March 31, 2026.

Further Info:

(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).

4320 Westerra Ct

San Diego, CA 92121

U.S. Citizenship is required

Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance is required

IDA is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a fair recruiting process and working environment free from discrimination. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

IDA is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an email to employment and let us know the nature of your request and contact information.

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