OverviewDecisionPoint seeks an Emerging Technology Researcher to identify, analyze, and evaluate new technologies, platforms, and innovation trends relevant to a large federal and DoD-aligned mission environment. This role conducts structured market research, studies commercial and defense innovation pipelines, assesses vendor offerings, and supports early-stage pilots to determine mission applicability.
The Emerging Technology Researcher works closely with the Innovation COE, PMO, Operations & Engineering (O&E), cybersecurity teams, and application development teams to provide insight into emerging capabilities that can improve performance, user experience, automation, analytics, or operational resilience.
This position is fully remote.
Duties & Responsibilities
The Emerging Technology Researcher will:
- Scan industry, commercial, and DoD innovation trends to identify relevant emerging technologies.
- Conduct structured vendor evaluations, product capability assessments, and technology comparisons.
- Support rapid prototyping and early-stage pilots, documenting feasibility and mission suitability.
- Prepare written technology briefs, market surveys, capability summaries, and innovation analyses.
- Evaluate trends in AI/ML, automation, data analytics, cloud tooling, cybersecurity technologies, and digital experience platforms.
- Coordinate with PMO and technical stakeholders to align technology assessments with program needs.
- Develop technology scoring models for prioritization and selection decisions.
- Track emerging standards, best practices, and government modernization guidance.
- Participate in demos, workshops, and vendor engagements to collect evaluation data.
- Support integration planning for technologies identified as viable for mission adoption.
- Maintain a repository of research artifacts, evaluation templates, and innovation reference materials.
Qualifications
Clearance Requirement
Candidate must possess a Tier 2 Moderate Risk Public Trust (from any federal agency) or an active Secret clearance or higher.
Education (Required)
Bachelors degree in Information Technology, Business, Design, Engineering, or a related field.
Experience (Required)
- Minimum 5 years of experience in technology research, analysis, or innovation support.
- Experience conducting market research, technology evaluations, or vendor/platform analysis.
- Experience supporting pilots, prototypes, or early-stage technology testing.
- Experience working in federal, DoD, or enterprise IT environments.
Technical Knowledge (Required)
- Familiarity with innovation trends across AI/ML, automation, analytics, cloud platforms, and cybersecurity.
- Understanding of technology assessment frameworks and evaluation methods.
- Experience analyzing product capabilities, architectures, and integration requirements.
Technical Knowledge (Preferred)
- Experience supporting innovation or modernization efforts in large organizations.
- Familiarity with design-thinking, user-research, or experimentation methodologies.
Certifications
Preferred:
- Technology research, innovation management, or product evaluation certifications
Skills
- Strong analytical and research capabilities.
- Excellent written communication and succinct summarization of findings.
- Ability to translate market trends into actionable recommendations.
- Strong presentation and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Ability to evaluate complex technologies and communicate key differentiators clearly.
- Curiosity, creativity, and a passion for innovation.
