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Obviant is building a data platform and AI tools for defense acquisition, fusing information from thousands of sources to provide clarity on budgets, programs, organizations, and decision-making across the defense market. The company serves companies, government agencies, and investors navigating a complex, data-fragmented landscape.
As a Defense Acquisition Data Analyst, you will be the subject-matter expert ensuring Obviant's data is accurate and meaningful to acquisition professionals. You bridge the gap between domain experts who understand how defense programs actually work and the engineering/product teams building models and pipelines.
Key responsibilities:
- Serve as the authority on defense data systems (PPBE, contracting systems, program tracking), understanding what each contains, what gaps exist, reporting lags, and reliability limitations.
- Identify and explain data limitations: coverage gaps, inconsistent identifiers, restricted data, and conflicts between official sources.
- Connect data across sources to show how budget requests relate to programs, contracts, and managing organizations, flagging where links break down.
- Catch substantively incorrect results—technically valid numbers that don't reflect how acquisition, budgeting, or contracting actually work.
- Advise product and engineering teams on how to interpret and present each data source accurately.
- Evaluate AI-generated outputs by writing test questions and reviewing model answers to ensure acquisition-grade accuracy.
- Engage with customers to explain data provenance, caveats, and build trust in the platform.
- Capture and encode subject-matter expertise to continuously improve systems.
You will work in a mission-driven environment where public sector impact is paramount. The role requires deep end-to-end understanding of the defense acquisition system and hands-on comfort with large, messy datasets.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 6+ years in defense acquisition, budgeting, or contracting (program office, comptroller/financial management, contracting, PPBE, as government employee or contractor)
- Complete working knowledge of the defense acquisition system: requirements (JCIDS), funding (PPBE), management (DAS)
- Fluency in budget concepts: appropriations, colors of money, program elements, budget line items, justification exhibits (R-1, P-1, J-books), fund flow from request to obligation
- Understanding of contracting vehicles, contract types, awards, modifications, and reporting
- Deep familiarity with DoD/DoW data systems of record (acquisition, budget, contracts): what they contain, omit, reporting lags, conflicts
- Strong analytical skills; hands-on comfort with large datasets in Excel or similar tools
- Ability to explain complex concepts clearly to engineers, customers, executives
- Comfort with ambiguity and incomplete data; judgment about "good enough"
- Strong written communication and documentation skills
NICE TO HAVE:
- DAWIA/DAU certification (Program Management, Contracting, or Business–Financial Management)
- Experience at DoD/DoW, military service, DIU, defense consultancy, or FFRDC
- Familiarity with LLMs, retrieval systems, or evaluating AI-generated answers
- SQL or Python data querying experience
- Active security clearance
