Program Action Officer

Description

***Must have an active DOE Q (with SCI eligibility) clearance or DOD TS/SCI equivalent. Active, meaning the individual granted a clearance is briefed and currently occupies a position for which the clearance is required.***

Leidos is seeking a high-performing Program Action Officer in Washington, DC to support the NNSA Defense Programs NA-121.4 Office of Nuclear Enterprise Assurance (NEA). The NEA mission is to rigorously and proactively assess the resilience of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile against adversarial subversion, working in close coordination with stakeholders across the Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE). This role provides direct action officer support to the NEA Director and Deputy Director within a specialized technical office composed of physicists, engineers, and business professionals.

• This individual will directly contribute to activities that communicate the NEA mission vision, accomplishments, and challenges to key stakeholders, strengthening the office's reputation as a responsible and effective organization furthering the nuclear deterrence mission.
• Highly organized Program Analyst / Action Officer with strong critical thinking and communication skills, impeccable attention to detail, intellectual curiosity, and an applied understanding of the U.S. nuclear deterrence mission and stockpile management.

Key support areas will include: Staff Coordination and Integration; Task and Project Management; Analysis and Decision Support; and Briefing and Communications supporting the Office of Nuclear Enterprise Assurance, NEA Director and Deputy Director, Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

Preference is for an experienced individual with expertise working in government, DOE, NNSA, or military environments. The individual must have depth of experience in a classified environment, be self-motivated and innovative, work well in a highly dynamic setting, and interface effectively with a broad range of federal and military senior staff and leadership.

This is a full-time, on-site position at the DOE/NNSA-HQ Forrestal Building, Washington, DC.

Key Attributes and Roles/Responsibilities:

Key qualities include very strong project planning and management skills, superior writing and communication skills, excellent strategic and critical thinking, and sound judgment. The ideal candidate is a true self-starter who works independently with initiative and self-managed deadlines. This is an exceptionally fast-paced workplace where urgency, proactivity, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team are essential.

• Serve as action officer for the NEA Program, providing direct support to the NEA Director and Deputy Director, including preparing agendas, taking meeting minutes, and supporting Enhanced Compensatory Control Measure (ECCM) management.
• Coordinate with federal employees and contractors across the NSE complex — in-person and virtually — facilitating information flow between Labs, Plants, and Sites (LPS) and NNSA headquarters on budget, mission priorities, and programmatic alignment.
• Facilitate coordination across a diverse stakeholder network spanning production agencies, design agencies, field offices, defense experts, and interagency partners to advance NEA mission objectives.
• Direct and oversee receipt, tasking, tracking, and closure of all internal and external tasks; execute the action tracking process, assign suspense dates, negotiate deadlines, and maintain the action item database.
• Monitor progress on actions and generate metric reports; prepare periodic status reports and keep leadership aware of late, pending, and new actions.
• Support design and implementation of standardized templates, workflows, and administrative systems to streamline executive operations.
• Deliver analytical support to federal program managers and NEA leadership on stockpile resilience, adversarial subversion risk, and enterprise-wide deterrence priorities; conduct OSINT analysis and produce red/blue team assessments and strategic policy products.
• Develop and deliver briefings, presentations, and written products to senior officials on deterrence, stockpile resilience, adversarial subversion, and national security topics.
• Manage classified and unclassified documents in accordance with DP, NNSA, and DOE policies; properly handle Secret Restricted Data (SRD) and maintain rigorous information security.
• Participate in external meetings, conferences, and events on behalf of the NEA program office; support special projects as required.

Required Clearance, Education & Experience:

• Active DOE Q (with SCI eligibility) clearance or DOD TS/SCI equivalent.
• Bachelor's degree in a related field with 4+ years of relevant experience or a Master's degree in a related field with 2+ years of relevant experience. 
• Demonstrated ability to operate within sensitive national security environments, properly handle Secret Restricted Data (SRD), and maintain rigorous information security.
• Applied understanding of the U.S. nuclear deterrence mission, including practical knowledge of physics packages, tail numbers, delivery vehicles, and all three legs of the nuclear triad.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and deliver polished briefings and written products to senior government officials and intelligence community stakeholders on complex national security topics.
• Experience coordinating multi-agency efforts involving federal employees and contractors across geographically dispersed NSE sites.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; proven ability to multi-task, prioritize, and meet deadlines with impeccable attention to detail.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel); ability to travel as business needs require.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct experience supporting the NSE, including NNSA headquarters, field offices, or national laboratories; first-hand familiarity with sites such as Pantex, LANL, SNL, ORNL, Y-12, NNSS, PNNL, and/or LLNL.
• Proven ability to build trust with senior leadership, technical specialists, and interagency partners, including a track record of being sought out by senior officials across the defense and intelligence communities.
• OSINT analysis experience, including synthesis of domestic and foreign sources into policy products in collaboration with senior government and Intelligence Community officials.
• NNSA/DOD interagency experience.

Salary Range for this position is: $105K to $115K

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

Pay Range:

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.

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Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.