Job DescriptionDescription Position SummaryWe are seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Senior Project Analyst to support a Research & Development (R&D) contract focused on innovating student pilot training for the United States Air Force. This role combines hands-on operations and project management support with primary responsibility for Jira and Confluence administration across multiple innovation initiatives.
You will enable cross-functional teams (engineers, instructional designers, data scientists, and government stakeholders) to execute efficiently on cutting-edge projects involving advanced simulation, virtual/mixed reality, data-driven performance optimization, and modernized training pipelines under USAF initiatives such as Pilot Training Next (PTN) and the Future of Undergraduate Pilot Training (FUPT).
This position is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of process excellence, collaboration tools, and mission impact in a dynamic defense R&D environment.
Key ResponsibilitiesOperations Management & Project Support - Support Project Managers in planning, executing, monitoring, and closing R&D projects and experiments related to pilot training innovation.
- Develop and maintain integrated master schedules (IMS), work breakdown structures (WBS), risk/issue registers, action trackers, and stakeholder matrices.
- Prepare high-quality recurring status reports, metrics dashboards, executive briefings, and ad-hoc analyses for internal leadership and USAF customers.
- Facilitate project meetings (daily stand-ups, sprint ceremonies, technical interchange meetings, after-action reviews); capture decisions and drive action item closure.
- Assist with contract deliverables, CDRL preparation, configuration management, and compliance reporting requirements.
- Identify process bottlenecks and lead or support continuous improvement initiatives using Agile, Lean, or hybrid methodologies.
Jira & Confluence Administration - Serve as primary Jira Administrator: configure and maintain projects, issue types, custom fields, workflows, screens, permission schemes, and automation rules to support Agile, Kanban, and hybrid project models.
- Design and optimize boards, dashboards, filters, and reports tailored to R&D needs (prototype tracking, experiment evaluation, requirements traceability, cross-team visibility).
- Administer Confluence: create and manage spaces, develop page templates and macros, implement labeling/taxonomy, and optimize search and discoverability for project documentation and knowledge bases.
- Establish governance, documentation standards, and user training/onboarding to drive consistent, high-quality tool adoption across distributed teams.
- Perform regular instance maintenance, user access audits, content cleanup, and evaluation of apps/integrations (Microsoft 365, Power BI, Teams, etc.).
- Provide user support, troubleshooting, and coaching to maximize team productivity with Atlassian tools.
Qualifications Required Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Information Systems, Engineering, Aviation Science, or a related field.
- 3+ years of experience in project analysis, coordination, or PMO support roles (defense, aerospace, or government contracting experience strongly preferred).
- 2+ years hands-on Jira administration experience, including workflow design, permissions, automations, and board configuration.
- Demonstrated experience administering Confluence spaces, templates, and content governance.
- Strong working knowledge of Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) and supporting tools/practices.
- Advanced Microsoft Office 365 skills, particularly Excel (pivot tables, dashboards, formulas) and PowerPoint for executive reporting.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with proven ability to interface effectively with technical teams, military stakeholders, and senior leadership.
Preferred Qualifications- CompTIA Security+ certification (or equivalent).
- Prior experience supporting USAF, AETC, Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), or similar DoD R&D/innovation programs.
- Atlassian Certified Professional - Jira Administrator (or equivalent demonstrated expertise).
- Experience with DoD acquisition processes, CDRL management, or basic earned value concepts.
- Familiarity with aviation training systems, human performance optimization, simulation/VR technologies, or training data analytics.
- Project management certification (CAPM, PMP) or continuous improvement certification (Lean Six Sigma Green/Black Belt).
- Experience with complementary tools such as Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Power BI, or Jira Align.
Overview SAIC accepts applications on an ongoing basis and there is no deadline.
