What are the responsibilities and job description for the Research Associate (ROCCA) Job Posting position at Orion Policy Institute?
About Us:
Orion Policy Institute (OPI) is an independent non-profit think tank based in Washington, D.C. Our mission is to promote good governance, advance human rights, and improve policy through high-quality research. OPI seeks to generate practical and sustainable solutions based on multidisciplinary, diverse, and in-depth scientific research and analysis. We address a broad range of issues, including national and global security, democracy, human rights, political and economic development, peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and various other issues at the local, national, and global levels.
About the Project:
Records of Critical Cyber Attacks (ROCCA) is a structured, open-source database that systematically records critical cyberattacks conducted by state and non-state actors. The project focuses on cyber operations designed to produce significant societal, political, economic, or strategic impact, including disruptive attacks against critical infrastructure, state-linked cyber operations, geopolitical cyber campaigns, and financially or politically motivated cyberattacks.
Position Description:
Orion Policy Institute is seeking a Research Associate – ROCCA Project to join our dynamic team of researchers and policy analysts, working at the intersection of cybersecurity, geopolitics, and data-driven policy research. The Research Associate will contribute to the development, verification, and analysis of structured cyberattack data and support research outputs examining strategic cyber threats and global cyber conflict trends.
Compensation: The Research Associate is paid a publication-based honorarium.
Key Responsibilities:
- Conduct open-source research on critical cyber attacks involving state and non-state actors.
- Assist with identifying, verifying, categorizing, and documenting incidents for inclusion in the ROCCA database.
- Support data collection, cleaning, validation, and enrichment efforts using publicly available sources.
- Contribute to analytical outputs, including policy briefs, research papers, reports, and data-driven assessments related to cyber threats and geopolitical risk.
- Assist in developing incident summaries, attribution assessments, and contextual analysis of cyber operations and campaigns.
- Support the preparation of visualizations, presentations, and public-facing research materials related to the ROCCA project.
- Contribute to drafting concept notes and funding proposals to support ongoing and future research initiatives.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred in cybersecurity, international relations, political science, data science, security studies, computer science, or a related field.
- Familiarity with open-source intelligence (OSINT), cyber incident tracking, or cybersecurity research methodologies is preferred.
- Experience with spreadsheets, structured datasets, or data organization is strongly preferred.
- Familiarity with cyber threat actors, ransomware campaigns, critical infrastructure threats, or state-linked cyber operations is a plus.
- Strong interest in cybersecurity, cyber conflict, geopolitical risk, emerging technologies, or digital security policy.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a remote work environment.
Application Process:
Interested candidates should submit the following materials to careers@orionpolicy.org.
- A cover letter outlining their interest and qualifications for the position.
- A current resume or CV.