Intern - Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group (Winter/Spring 2023)
Washington, Maryland
Tracking Code: 1278-233
Category: Internships
Position Type: Full-Time/Regular
Job summary
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a non-profit, bipartisan public policy organization established in 1962 to provide strategic insights and practical policy solutions to decision makers concerned with global security and prosperity. Over the years, it has grown to be one of the largest organizations of its kind, with a staff of some 200 employees, including more than 120 analysts working to address the changing dynamics of international security across the globe.
The Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group (DIIG) is hiring a research intern for a 35-hour per week, paid position. DIIG provides analysis on the critical issues at the cross-section of the Department of Defense and its industrial base. With a focus on defense acquisition trends, technological innovation, ongoing reform efforts, and security cooperation, DIIG monitors important developments in the global defense industry. Through years of analytical research, DIIG has strengthened its capabilities to draw from large databases and millions of transaction records in order to present information in a clear, meaningful way. DIIG also collaborates with the broader International Security Program by looking at the role that defense acquisition plays in other issue areas such as strategy, budgets, and force structure.
DIIG’s research efforts focus on a variety of topics, including:
- Defense acquisition trends
- Trends in the defense industrial base
- Acquisition of services
- Foreign military sales and defense trade
- Hardware-based, software-intensive adaptable systems
- Emerging technologies, innovation, and national security
- Intersection of defense budgets and acquisition
- Schedule and cost overruns for major defense acquisitions
Essential duties and responsibilities
Essential functions include, but are not limited to the following
Interns at DIIG bolster the team with a variety of core research and analytical skills. Essential functions may include, but are not limited to the following:
- Assisting with research and analysis
- Writing comprehensive reviews of background literature for projects
- Copy-editing papers
- Assisting with data collection and management
- Note-taking and writing summaries of events and meetings
- • Assisting with event planning and staffing
Required skills and experience
- In pursuit of a bachelor’s degree (preferably at the junior or senior level) or of a master’s degree
- Must have at least a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) from an accredited U.S. institution or equivalent from a non-U.S. institution
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Experience with quantitative analysis or robust training in qualitative methods
- Ability to carry out tasks without ongoing oversight
- Demonstrated ability to conduct research and present information clearly and efficiently
- Advanced writing and analytical skills
Highly desirable skills
- Familiarity or demonstrated interest in defense research, acquisition, and sustainment
- Interest in national security, emerging technologies, and innovation
- Background in science, engineering, economics, econometrics, organization science or statistics
- Experience coding (preferably with R, Python, and/or Stata)
- Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, STATA, and SQL Server
- Experience with GIS Mapping
