Senior Data Analyst (Defense Programs)

About Sandboxx

Sandboxx is the leading platform connecting military recruits with their families through letters, digital communications, and a growing online community. Every week, tens of thousands of families stay connected with loved ones in training, and our tools now extend to education, readiness, and resilience programs that support the entire military journey.

As Sandboxx deepens its partnerships across the military ecosystem, we’re increasingly being asked to demonstrate the measurable impact of communication and family support on outcomes like retention, performance, and overall mission success. This role is designed to help us answer those questions through data and analysis that meet the highest standards of rigor and credibility.

About the Role

We’re seeking a senior military analyst or retired ORSA (O-4/O-5) to build Sandboxx’s readiness analytics capability. This contract role will translate Sandboxx user data into military-relevant insights and predictive models that connect communication, family engagement, and trainee outcomes.

Your mission: build defensible, data-driven models that demonstrate Sandboxx’s contribution to recruit retention, pipeline throughput, cost avoidance, and readiness that help shape a long-term analytic foundation for future DoD partnerships.

Why We’re Hiring For This Role Now

Sandboxx has proven its ability to connect service members and families in meaningful ways, but our next stage of growth requires us to prove the broader impact of that connection.

We need to move beyond describing platform activity and start quantifying outcomes that matter to our partners, such as improved retention, reduced attrition, and greater overall effectiveness.

This role will help us build the analytical foundation to translate our data into actionable insights, validate our value to key stakeholders, and position Sandboxx as a trusted partner in shaping future engagement and support strategies.

Contract Details

• 1099 contractor engagement (90–180 days)
• Competitive daily or project-based rate
• Remote-first with optional in-person briefings
• Possible extension or long-term advisory engagement

What You’ll Do

• Architect and execute co‑marketing campaigns internally and with partners
• Lead the design and execution of Sandboxx’s first end-to-end impact analytics framework.
• Transform user engagement data into measurable insights that connect communication, family support, and military outcomes.
• Build predictive and prescriptive models that identify the factors most correlated with improved performance and reduced attrition.
• Develop dashboards and visualization tools that translate complex data into accessible, actionable stories for both leadership and partners.
• Quantify Sandboxx’s economic and operational impact through defensible cost avoidance and efficiency models.
• Deliver executive-ready briefs, summaries, and presentations that position Sandboxx as a trusted, data-informed partner.
• Establish long-term data practices, documentation, and training that allow internal teams to sustain analytics growth after contract completion.

What We’re Looking For

• Experienced data or research professional with a strong background in applied analytics, statistics, or operations research.
• Ability to translate complex data into clear insights that inform decision-making.
• Proficiency in statistical modeling, data visualization, and predictive analytics using tools such as Python, R, or similar.
• Experience working with structured and unstructured datasets to uncover relationships and quantify impact.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to brief senior leadership and external stakeholders.
• Proven ability to work independently, prioritize effectively, and deliver high-quality analysis within a defined timeframe.
• Understanding of privacy, data security, and sensitivity considerations in handling user or personnel data.

What Success Looks Like

30 Days: Assessment and Baseline Modeling

• Audit all Sandboxx data pipelines, dashboards, and reporting structures, documenting at least three critical data or measurement gaps.
• Conduct stakeholder interviews across Product, Marketing, and Partnerships to define top five impact questions Sandboxx must answer to prove value.
• Produce a Baseline Impact Brief correlating Sandboxx engagement metrics (letters sent, active users, message frequency) with early indicators of retention and support.
• Deliver an Assessment Report identifying existing data limitations, with prioritized recommendations for improving data quality and model readiness.
• Present an initial Analytics Roadmap to leadership outlining the models, datasets, and dashboards required to measure impact at the Service level.

Success by Day 30: Stakeholders have an agreed-upon data framework, initial findings, and a defined 90-day analytics plan.

60 Days: Predictive Modeling and Impact Analysis

• Build and validate at least two predictive or regression models linking Sandboxx engagement to key outcomes (attrition risk, retention, shipping behavior).
• Develop a prototype dashboard that visualizes Sandboxx impact using common DoD metrics such as participation rate, throughput, and engagement-to-outcome ratios.
• Quantify Sandboxx’s estimated cost avoidance from reduced attrition or improved throughput using available training cost baselines.
• Deliver one executive-ready presentation summarizing predictive findings, impact estimates, and confidence intervals for leadership and partners.
• Provide written data requirements and process documentation to enable repeatability and scalability of models.

Success by Day 60: Predictive models and visualizations demonstrate measurable outcomes and are ready for use in partner discussions or pilot briefings.

90 Days: Institutionalization and Strategic Recommendations

• Refine predictive models into prescriptive insights, identifying the top three engagement behaviors statistically linked to positive outcomes.
• Deliver a Sandboxx Impact Analytics Playbook that documents model logic, data sources, update cadence, and reporting templates.
• Create a long-term data strategy memo outlining future staffing, tooling, and integration recommendations to sustain analytics growth.
• Develop and present a Final Executive Brief quantifying Sandboxx’s impact, readiness value, and cost avoidance potential, suitable for inclusion in future proposals or renewals.
• Train at least two internal team members on how to maintain dashboards and update models post-contract.

Success by Day 90: Sandboxx leadership and partners have a defensible analytic narrative, reusable models, and a self-sustaining framework for ongoing measurement.

What You’re Like

• You approach data as a storytelling tool, connecting numbers to real human impact.
• You’re equally comfortable writing a Python script, designing a dashboard, or presenting findings to senior leaders.
• You balance analytical precision with practical judgment, knowing when to go deep and when to simplify.
• You’re proactive and self-directed, capable of scoping work, setting milestones, and delivering results with limited oversight.
• You communicate clearly and thoughtfully, translating technical findings into language that resonates with non-technical audiences.
• You’re driven by purpose and take pride in using data to make programs more effective and people more connected.
• You thrive in fast-moving environments, embrace ambiguity, and enjoy building structure from the ground up.
• You value collaboration and see your role as a bridge between product, marketing, and leadership teams.

Ideally, you

• Have 8–10 years of experience in data science, analytics, or applied research.
• Have built predictive models or frameworks that measure human or organizational outcomes.
• Know how to turn complex data into clear, decision-ready insights for senior leaders.
• Have familiarity with defense, government, or mission-driven analytics.
• Are fluent in tools like Python, R, SQL, or Tableau.
• Have a track record of creating scalable, documented analytics systems others can use.

Bonus Points For

• Prior experience in defense, government, or mission-driven organizations.
• Familiarity with training, performance, or workforce data.
• Experience developing data frameworks that bridge consumer analytics and organizational outcomes.
• Understanding of contracting structures or partnership analytics in the federal space.

Compensation, Benefits & Perks

• Equity incentive plan
• 401k with matching and sharing
• Top-tier health insurance and family benefits
• Flexible paid vacation
• Paid parental leave

We look for people with a good sense of humor and zest for life, especially during interviews.