CNA is an independent, nonprofit research and analysis organization dedicated to the safety and security of the nation. For 80 years, our scientific rigor and real-world approach to data have been indispensable to leaders facing complex problems.

The Center for Naval Analyses informs the decisions of Navy, Marine Corps and DOD leaders as the Department of the Navy’s federally funded research and development center, or FFRDC. CNA’s unique Field Program embeds scientists in commands around the world. Our analytical expertise ranges from great power competition to fighter pilot tactics.

The Institute for Public Research helps federal, state and local leaders address their most difficult challenges, from eliminating racial bias in policing to recovering from hurricanes. Our analysts have expertise in justice, public health, emergency response and other critical fields. The FAA, FEMA, DHS and DOJ have worked with CNA for decades.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

CNA is committed to building and sustaining a diverse workforce and an inclusive environment.
Employees with different points of view, frames of reference and life experiences bring an energy and unique advantage that is essential to delivering on our mission. At CNA, we believe diversity and inclusion reflects the world in which we live.

It creates a dynamic work environment that fosters trust, innovation and excellence, while providing an atmosphere where every employee feels respected, motivated and empowered to perform at a peak level.

OUR STRATEGY AND GOALS
CNA has developed a concrete set of goals to guide our work and hold ourselves accountable:

Workforce Diversity: Build and develop a diverse, high-performing workforce by recruiting from a diverse, qualified group of potential applicants representative of all segments of the United States.

Workplace Inclusion: Create a dynamic and inclusive work environment that fosters trust, innovation and excellence, while providing an atmosphere where every employee feels respected, motivated and empowered to perform at a peak level.

Leadership: Equip leaders with the ability to build and sustain a diverse and inclusive workplace while creating a dynamic environment that fosters trust, innovation and excellence.

To measure our progress and achieve our goals, we have created strategies and specific actions, led and facilitated by employees at all levels and from all backgrounds.

WORKING AT CNA

We are looking for innovative and highly motivated individuals to carry out our mission. At CNA you will have the opportunity to use your skills on the greatest challenges facing our nation.

For over 75 years, CNA analysts have provided data-driven, evidence-based analyses to help decision-makers solve their toughest problems. Our flexible, collaborative and energizing work environment allows for creative teamwork in every step of the problem-solving process. We invite you to join CNA today.

WHY CNA?
CNA is a nonprofit organization that brings creative solutions to complex problems in national security, public health, homeland security, community safety, and air traffic management. We offer great career opportunities for people with experience in science, engineering, mathematics, economics, international relations, national security, public policy, history, criminal justice, and many other scientific and professional fields of study.

CNA offers career opportunities rarely found elsewhere. Through our Field Program, our analysts have deployed with Marines, swum with dolphins, sailed the Caribbean on a Coast Guard cutter, and catapulted off aircraft carriers—always with a focused, public service interest at the fore. We also offer first-rate mentorship: Our early-career employees work alongside the some of the foremost experts in their fields. Nearly all of our analysts hold advanced degrees; two-thirds have PhDs.

OUR APPROACH
CNA takes a systems approach to the research we conduct, looking at all parts of an equation—people, processes, missions, and environments—to see how they come together to make a system work. At CNA you will collaborate with your colleagues to bring understanding and insight to complex issues of policy, management, operations, and a vast range of specific technical challenges.

CNA staff's rich mix of backgrounds, interests, and perspectives provides intellectual stimulation and fosters creativity. Analysts often work as members of interdisciplinary teams. The threads that tie the various disciplines together are scientific rigor, an empirical approach, and quantitative techniques.

You'll work side by side with clients, discovering all you can about what they do, how they work, and where they want to go in the future. Based on your investigations, you'll analyze your data, translate your findings into clear recommendations, and often help implement your recommendations.

MATCHING YOUR SKILLS TO OUR NEEDS
Our staff is made up of individuals from across the spectrum of professional and scientific studies. We're always looking for talented people with backgrounds in: mathematics, chemistry, engineering, physics, economics, computer science, security policy, public policy, political science, education research, environmental science, international relations, operations research, statistics, psychology, public health, and many other related fields of study.

If you have a Ph.D. or a thesis master's degree in any of the above fields and are interested in what we do, we encourage you to apply for a position on our research staff. Outstanding graduates with research or analytical skills without a master's thesis or a dissertation can join CNA's associate research staff. A limited number of associate research positions are available to candidates who have not completed their master's thesis, or, in some cases, to those who have not begun graduate studies. CNA supports these staff members in their studies toward a master's degree, which they are expected to complete within three years.

We seek top-notch candidates for our research staff on a year-round basis.