Emerging Technology Researcher

Overview

DecisionPoint seeks an Emerging Technology Researcher to identify, analyze, and evaluate new technologies, platforms, and innovation trends relevant to a large federal and DoD-aligned mission environment. This role conducts structured market research, studies commercial and defense innovation pipelines, assesses vendor offerings, and supports early-stage pilots to determine mission applicability. 

The Emerging Technology Researcher works closely with the Innovation COE, PMO, Operations & Engineering (O&E), cybersecurity teams, and application development teams to provide insight into emerging capabilities that can improve performance, user experience, automation, analytics, or operational resilience. 

This position is fully remote. 

Duties & Responsibilities

The Emerging Technology Researcher will: 

• Scan industry, commercial, and DoD innovation trends to identify relevant emerging technologies. 

• Conduct structured vendor evaluations, product capability assessments, and technology comparisons. 

• Support rapid prototyping and early-stage pilots, documenting feasibility and mission suitability. 

• Prepare written technology briefs, market surveys, capability summaries, and innovation analyses. 

• Evaluate trends in AI/ML, automation, data analytics, cloud tooling, cybersecurity technologies, and digital experience platforms. 

• Coordinate with PMO and technical stakeholders to align technology assessments with program needs. 

• Develop technology scoring models for prioritization and selection decisions. 

• Track emerging standards, best practices, and government modernization guidance. 

• Participate in demos, workshops, and vendor engagements to collect evaluation data. 

• Support integration planning for technologies identified as viable for mission adoption. 

• Maintain a repository of research artifacts, evaluation templates, and innovation reference materials. 

Qualifications

Clearance Requirement 

Candidate must possess a Tier 2 Moderate Risk Public Trust (from any federal agency) or an active Secret clearance or higher. 

 

Education (Required) 

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Business, Design, Engineering, or a related field. 

 

Experience (Required) 

• Minimum 5 years of experience in technology research, analysis, or innovation support. 

• Experience conducting market research, technology evaluations, or vendor/platform analysis. 

• Experience supporting pilots, prototypes, or early-stage technology testing. 

• Experience working in federal, DoD, or enterprise IT environments. 

 

Technical Knowledge (Required) 

• Familiarity with innovation trends across AI/ML, automation, analytics, cloud platforms, and cybersecurity. 

• Understanding of technology assessment frameworks and evaluation methods. 

• Experience analyzing product capabilities, architectures, and integration requirements. 

Technical Knowledge (Preferred) 

• Experience supporting innovation or modernization efforts in large organizations. 

• Familiarity with design-thinking, user-research, or experimentation methodologies. 

 

Certifications 

Preferred: 

• ITIL v4 Foundation 

• Technology research, innovation management, or product evaluation certifications 

 

Skills 

• Strong analytical and research capabilities. 

• Excellent written communication and succinct summarization of findings. 

• Ability to translate market trends into actionable recommendations. 

• Strong presentation and stakeholder engagement skills. 

• Ability to evaluate complex technologies and communicate key differentiators clearly. 

• Curiosity, creativity, and a passion for innovation. 

Our Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

• EEO and Affirmative Action Policy: DecisionPoint Corporation is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. It is the policy of DecisionPoint Corporation to provide equal employment opportunity in accordance with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action laws, directives and regulations to all employees and qualified applicants without regard to race, ethnicity, color, relig