Senior Operations Specialist

Senior Special Operations Operations Specialist (TS/SCI)

Location: MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL
Clearance Required: Active TS/SCI
Program: Department of Defense / Special Operations Support
Company: Leidos Defense Group

The Leidos Defense Group is seeking an experienced Senior Special Operations Specialist to support a high-priority mission at MacDill AFB, Florida. This position requires a Highly Qualified Expert (HQE) with extensive operational experience in a coded Special Operations military occupational specialty and demonstrated leadership in special operations, project management, and field tradecraft environments.

The successful candidate will serve as a trusted advisor to government leadership, providing expert operational analysis, program support, and recommendations on sensitive and complex initiatives designed to achieve strategic military objectives beyond conventional, special operations, or interagency capabilities.

Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior operational expert conducting analysis of highly sensitive mission requirements to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of proposed capabilities supporting complex military objectives.
• Advise government project and program leadership on operational execution, risk mitigation, and strategic decision-making.
• Collaborate with government, military, and non-government stakeholders to support project planning, coordination, and execution.
• Prepare executive-level correspondence, briefing materials, information papers, presentations, charts, and graphical products for senior leadership.
• Track project milestones, schedules, status updates, trends, and performance metrics.
• Analyze project progress and provide recommendations regarding resource allocation, timeline adjustments, and operational effectiveness.
• Deliver subject matter expertise on special operations capabilities, methodologies, and field tradecraft in support of mission objectives.

Required Qualifications

• Active Top Secret/SCI security clearance.
• Minimum 15 years of operational experience in a coded Special Operations military occupational specialty.
• Certified Category I Collector.
• Extensive experience leading and operating within Special Operations environments.
• Minimum 10 years of intelligence analysis experience supporting DoD or equivalent U.S. Government agencies, including at least 5 years at the operational level.
• Demonstrated expertise in:
  • Social Network Analysis (SNA)
  • GEOINT Analysis
  • Geopolitical Analysis
  • HUMINT Analysis
  • SIGINT Analysis
• In-depth knowledge of Special Operations doctrine, tactics, and operational planning gained through military training and real-world mission experience.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated experience producing intelligence products and delivering executive-level briefings with minimal oversight.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and current intelligence, analytical, and operational systems.
• Bachelor's degree and 10+ years of related experience. Additional relevant operational experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.

Preferred Qualifications

• BA/BS degree and/or 15+ years of prior relevant experience
• Graduate of one or more of the following advanced courses:
  • Advanced Special Operations Techniques (ASOT) Level III
  • Field Tradecraft Course (FTC)
  • Operations Tradecraft Course (OTC)
  • Defense Advanced Tradecraft Course (DATC)
  • Advanced Special Operations Course (ASOC)
  • Advanced Military Special Operations Course (AMSOC)
  • Special Operations Course (SOC)
• Demonstrated leadership experience in special operations, project management, and field tradecraft disciplines.
• Highly Qualified Expert (HQE) experience supporting sensitive operational or intelligence programs.

• Ability to operate independently in dynamic, high-visibility environments.
• Experience supporting senior military leaders, Combatant Commands, or Special Operations organizations.
• Proven ability to integrate operational, intelligence, and strategic-level information into actionable recommendations.

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:

November 10, 2026

Pay Range:

Pay Range $92,300.00 - $166,850.00

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.