Job Description

The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) has an immediate career opening for a Technical Editor. This opening is located at IDA’s Center for Communications Research in La Jolla, California (CCR-L). IDA offers a competitive salary, an excellent benefits package and a superior professional working environment. To the right individual, IDA offers the opportunity to have a major impact on key national programs while working on fascinating technical issues and projects.

We are part of a non-profit corporation, the Institute for Defense Analyses, and our research is done to benefit the National Security Agency. Our working environment feels like a mathematics department at a leading research university, albeit without any students, free of administrative burdens, and with a greater emphasis on collaborative research.

We are seeking a Technical Editor to provide substantive editorial support to the research staff and IDA Division management. Primary responsibilities include detailed editing and classification of documents produced by the CCR-La Jolla research staff and other members of the research community, especially research papers in mathematics, data science, statistics and computer science. Other responsibilities include writing assistance on presentation materials, reports, papers, documents, and other publications. This position coordinates and participates in production activities from initial draft to final published product. May also assist other Research Divisions in the editing and production of their publications.

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 $91,415 - $146,264. Individual salary within this range will be commensurate with the incumbent’s experience and unique skills or qualifications.

Responsibilities:

1. Uses manual and electronic means to edit and format text, illustrations, and tables in accordance with prescribed editorial and proofreading conventions. May provide extensive revisions or original writing as required. Recommends other improvements and advises research staff members on publication organization, format, and style.
2. Performs initial classification review of classified documents according to sponsor requirements.
3. Assists research staff with prepublication review of unclassified documents.
4. Provides guidelines on related publication matters such as copyright restrictions, restrictions on print quantities and distribution, procedures for public release of IDA publications, and procedures for disseminating released publications. Informs research staff members about the different types of IDA publications and recommends which type is appropriate for their work.
5. Coordinates and participate in production activities from initial draft stage to final publication.
6. Provides training and guidance to administrative and other editorial staff on publication and graphic requirements, formatting concerns, and software applications.
7. May participate in management-directed document reviews.
8. May prepare release forms, transmittal letters, and other administrative forms and memos required for printing and distribution of publications.
9. May orient and advise new staff members on applicable procedures for security markings and publication classification.
10. May maintain division databases of formal and informal task deliverables and track status of task order deliverables for compliance with schedule.
11. Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required preferably in mathematics or related field. Masters or Ph.D. preferred.
• Six or more years of experience editing or writing mathematical documents.
• Facility with computers, preferably Linux.
• Expertise in word processing and desktop publishing software including LaTeX, PDF files, web-based applications, and graphics software.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills and ability to interact effectively with all levels of personnel.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain TS/SCI clearance with polygraph. Active TS/SCI clearance with polygraph preferred.

Application Materials Required
Submit the following items to complete your application:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Writing Samples