Foresight and Strategy Project Lead 

The Center for Space Policy and Strategy (CSPS) is dedicated to shaping the future of space by providing nonpartisan research and strategic analysis to decisionmakers, and to informing broader public discussions of space policy. The CSPS is part of The Aerospace Corporation, a nonprofit organization that advises the government on complex space enterprise and systems engineering problems. CSPS seeks a specialist to join the Strategic Foresight Team, which is focused on best-in-class application of strategic foresight to solving some of the nation’s hardest strategy and leadership problems across space and national security.

Work Model

This position is envisioned as a hybrid position in Crystal City, Virginia with a roughly 70/30 mix of in-office and remote work.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Provide full-time support to the Lead Futurist and Director in growing Aerospace’s Strategic Foresight Team (SFT)
• Serve as a lead for the SFT’s direct customer application, cultivating the evolution, growth and high impact application of strategic foresight with direct customer projects across areas such as innovation, S&T portfolio management, systems of systems architecting, threat analysis, disruptive acquisition approaches, and strategic planning
• Support the scaling of the foresight competency across the corporation through teaching, collaboration, and mentorship of the Aerospace staff on core foresighting principles
• Support the horizon scanning team to find new indicators of change, create and improve process formulation, content generation, and synthesize insight into reporting for executive leadership and customers
• Comfortable with frequent briefings and interactions with senior government officials and corporate leadership
• Understand customer problems and issues and turn them into tasks that you and other Aerospace technical staff can support
• Identify new capabilities and enhancements to current capabilities that will better support the customer base
• Facilitate workshops and events with internal staff and external thought leaders to advance insights for the enterprise
• Occasional travel may be required

What You Need To Be Successful

Foresight and Strategy Project Lead

Minimum Requirements:

• An undergraduate degree in science, mathematics, engineering, legal, policy, or related technical field
• 8 or more years of increasingly responsible professional engineering/scientific experience, including multi-disciplinary systems engineering and/or program management environments
• Experience in hands-on application of strategic foresight and/or systems thinking methods
• Strong analytical and research background in topical areas such as global and regional economics, geopolitics, emerging technology, law, etc.
• Experience in mid to senior level strategic planning activities
• Strong communications skills, comfortable briefing senior leadership and a demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships
• Team-oriented with a proven ability to work in a fast-paced environment, adapt quickly to change, and demonstrate initiative under pressure
• This position requires the ability to obtain a TS/SCI clearance, which is issued by the US government. US citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.
   

Sr. Strategic Foresight Team Project Lead

In addition to the above requirements, candidates must have:

• 12 or more years of increasingly responsible professional engineering/scientific experience, including multi-disciplinary systems engineering and/or program management environment
• Experience as a Senior Leader in the government or private sector in strategic and decisioning support

How You Can Stand Out

It would be impressive if you have one or more of the following:

• Current TS/SCI clearance
• An advanced degree in science, mathematics or engineering
• Formal strategic foresight education and/or training and/or certification
• Experience in applying strategic foresight to space and national security projects
• Familiarity with using digital tools, modeling/simulation or other AI-enabled platform capabilities to enhance foresighting practices
• Broad exposure across enterprise portfolios in space and/or national security
• Published work in recognized foresight journal/publication
• Creator of foresighting, critical thinking tools
• Professional facilitation experience

Leadership Competencies

Our leadership philosophy is simple: every employee, regardless of level and role, can demonstrate leadership. At Aerospace, our commitment is our people. To cultivate our talent and ensure that we have a strong pipeline of future leaders, we want individuals who:

• Operate Strategically
• Lead Change   
• Engage with Impact   
• Foster Innovation   
• Deliver Results  

Ways We Reward Our Employees

During your interview process, our team will provide details of our industry-leading benefits.

Benefits vary and are applicable based on Job Type.  A few highlights include:

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
• 401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
• Flexible spending accounts
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
• Relocation assistance
• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
• Education assistance programs
• An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect

We are all unique, from diverse backgrounds and all walks of life, yet one thing bonds all of us to each other—the belief that we can make a difference. This core belief empowers us to do our best work at The Aerospace Corporation.

Equal Opportunity Commitment

The Aerospace Corporation is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. We believe that a diverse workforce creates an environment in which unique ideas are developed and differing perspectives are valued, producing superior customer solutions. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. If you’re an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at 310.336.5432 or by email at ieo.mailbox@aero.org. You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal, as well as the Pay Transparency Policy Statement.