OSINT Analyst

Blue Sky Innovators is seeking an OSINT Analyst to join our team in the Washington, DC area. The OSINT Analyst performs open-source intelligence research and analysis to identify threats and provide situational awareness for sensitive protective operations. Working onsite at a government facility, the analyst researches, evaluates, and reports on publicly and commercially available information concerning individuals, groups, and activities that may pose a threat to protected persons, facilities, and events, and prepares timely, accurate analytic products for authorized operational and intelligence personnel. The role directly supports protective and investigative missions and may require travel to domestic or international operational sites.

Key Responsibilities

Open-Source Research and Threat Analysis

- Conduct open-source research across the surface, deep, and dark web, social media, forums, and messaging platforms to identify and assess threats to protected persons, facilities, and events.

- Research, review, and evaluate a high volume of open-source information; determine relevance, priority, and validity as it pertains to the protective mission, and identify conflicts or gaps in the data.

- Support analysis across assigned threat areas, including hostile or unusual interest, transnational and domestic terrorism, counterintelligence, cyber, and open-source threats.

- Monitor online activity and emerging trends relevant to the assigned subject area or geographic region and alert authorized personnel to developing threats.

- Conduct research on persons and groups of protective interest in support of protective intelligence investigations, consistent with applicable policy and privacy and civil-liberties requirements.

Protective Travel and Event Support

- Provide and coordinate open-source support for senior official and other protected-person travel, as well as designated high-security events.

- Support intelligence coordinators at domestic or foreign command post sites before and during protectee visits, including real-time open-source monitoring, incident and situation reporting, and short-notice briefings.

- Assist with debriefings of investigative and protective personnel returning from domestic and foreign travel, and incorporate findings into analytic products and future trip assessments.

Analytic Products and Briefings

- Draft finished open-source intelligence products, information bulletins, and situation reports on individuals, groups, and activities affecting protected interests, for authorized review and dissemination.

- Draft open-source assessments supporting threat and risk assessments for protected persons, sites, and events.

- Prepare and deliver oral and written briefings to senior management and, as directed, authorized partner organizations.

- Support review of potentially threatening correspondence and online communications and provide analytic input for authorized follow-up decisions.

- Ensure products are timely, complete, accurate, and compliant with applicable protective intelligence policy and dissemination controls.

Tradecraft, Tools, and Training Support

- Apply sound OSINT tradecraft, including managed attribution and operational security, using government-provided tools and accounts.

- Help evaluate new OSINT tools, data sources, and techniques, and provide user input on system requirements and acceptance testing.

- Help develop training materials on open-source technology and methodology, and support onboarding of newly assigned analysts and operational personnel as directed.

- Maintain accurate records of research activity, sources, and products in accordance with applicable records, information-handling, and security requirements.

Required Qualifications

- Must be a U.S. citizen.

- Active TS/SCI clearance, or the ability to obtain and maintain TS/SCI with sponsorship as needed; willingness to submit to additional security screening if required.

- Bachelor’s degree in intelligence studies, international relations, political science, criminal justice, or a related field, plus a minimum of five (5) years of intelligence analysis experience, at least three (3) of which in open-source/OSINT research; additional qualifying experience may substitute for the degree.

- Demonstrated experience with OSINT collection and analysis across social media, forums, the deep and dark web, and commercial and public-records data sources.

- Working knowledge of OSINT tradecraft, managed attribution, and operational security practices.

- Strong inductive and deductive reasoning; ability to evaluate fragmentary, inconsistent, or unverified information and develop sound analytic judgments.

- Excellent written and oral communication skills, including concise finished intelligence writing and briefing to senior officials.

- Ability to work rotating shifts, nights, weekends, and holidays; to perform under high stress and short suspense; and to travel domestically and internationally (vaccinations may be required).

Preferred Qualifications

- Active TS/SCI with polygraph.

- Prior protective intelligence, threat assessment, or behavioral threat analysis experience within federal law enforcement, national security, diplomatic security, or the Intelligence Community.

- Experience supporting major special events or senior-official and dignitary travel.

- Familiarity with domestic violent extremism, transnational terrorism, counterintelligence, or cyber threat actors.

- Foreign language proficiency relevant to protective travel or threat areas.

- OSINT certifications or formal training from recognized government, academic, or industry programs.

- Experience with commercial OSINT, social media monitoring, link-analysis, or geolocation tools.

Knowledge and Skills

- Knowledge of protective operations and the role of protective intelligence in risk assessment and resource allocation.

- Knowledge of intelligence analytic standards and structured analytic techniques.

- Knowledge of international relations, current events, political trends, and cultural factors affecting threats to protectees.

- Skill in using intelligence and OSINT software and databases to collect, organize, and synthesize information into concise written and verbal products.

- Knowledge of the legal, privacy, and civil-liberties considerations governing open-source research by or for federal law enforcement.

Salary range for the position is $125,000 - $200,000 per year. Specific compensation will be determined by several factors including experience, education, skills, and knowledge. We also offer medical/dental/vision benefits and 401k contribution.

Blue Sky Innovators, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you are a qualified job seeker with a disability or a disabled veteran, you have the right to request an accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access http://www.blueskyinnovators.com as a result of your disability. To request an accommodation, please email us at [email protected] and provide your name and contact information. Please note: this is only for job seekers with disabilities requesting an accommodation.