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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Intelligence Collector

💰 $ - $

IntelligenceDefenseSecurity

🎯 Role Definition

An Intelligence Collector is responsible for planning, executing, and validating intelligence collection operations across multiple disciplines (HUMINT, OSINT, GEOINT, SIGINT, IMINT, MASINT). This role collects and documents raw information from human sources, sensors, open-source channels, and allied partners; synthesizes collection requirements; coordinates with analysts and collection managers; produces timely, actionable reports; and supports decision-makers across tactical, operational, and strategic levels. The Intelligence Collector operates under strict security protocols, often with a requirement for active security clearance, and brings tradecraft, source handling, and analytical clarity to dynamic, time-sensitive environments.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Military intelligence specialist, signals/imagery/intel MOS (HUMINT/SIGINT/INTEL analyst)
  • Law enforcement intelligence or investigations specialist
  • Junior OSINT/HUMINT analyst or collection technician

Advancement To:

  • Senior Intelligence Collector or Collection Manager
  • All-Source Intelligence Analyst or Targeting Analyst
  • Intelligence Operations Supervisor or Watch Officer
  • Special Projects / Mission Planning Lead (ISR or Collection Program Lead)

Lateral Moves:

  • Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Analyst
  • Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) Technician
  • Cyber Threat Intelligence or Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Plan, coordinate, and execute collection operations to satisfy validated requirements: prepare tasking packages, prioritize assets, and synchronize HUMINT, OSINT, GEOINT, and SIGINT collection to support time-sensitive intelligence requirements and command objectives.
  • Develop and maintain source recruitment and handling plans: identify potential human sources, assess credibility and vulnerability, design source development strategies, and document source interactions in accordance with legal and policy guidelines.
  • Conduct overt and clandestine collection activities in austere or sensitive environments: execute field interviews, liaison engagements, area reconnaissance, and surveillance operations while maintaining operational security and source protection.
  • Perform structured and unstructured open-source collection: mine social media, publicly available datasets, news media, forums, and dark web platforms to extract, validate, and archive intelligence-relevant information and indicators.
  • Task, cue, and deconflict sensor and platform collection: draft and submit sensor tasking requests (e.g., ISR platforms, UAVs, GEOINT assets), monitor collection feeds, and re-task assets in response to emerging priorities and dynamic battlespace events.
  • Produce timely raw and annotated intelligence reports (spot reports, SITREPs, collection notes): draft concise, actionable reporting for downstream analysts and commanders that includes provenance, reliability, and collection tradecraft details.
  • Conduct target development and link analysis for leads: collect and correlate identity, association, and movement information; build and update target folders and collection decks to support interdiction and targeting operations.
  • Validate and archive collected information: apply corroboration, source evaluation, and chain-of-custody procedures to ensure integrity and admissibility of intelligence products and evidence.
  • Support real-time operations and watchfloor coverage: staff intelligence watch centers, maintain situational awareness, and escalate critical intelligence to leadership and mission partners.
  • Process and exploit technical collection: interface with SIGINT and GEOINT specialists to receive, interpret, and pass on technical cues, metadata, imagery, or signals to support cross-discipline analysis.
  • Conduct debriefings and elicitation with friendly forces and civilian informants: design debrief plans, apply ethical elicitation techniques, and extract operationally-relevant information while respecting legal constraints and reporting timelines.
  • Maintain comprehensive collection plans and requirement trackers: update collection matrices, adjust collection priorities based on commander’s intent, and ensure fulfillment of collection requirements with measurable outcomes.
  • Coordinate multi-agency and coalition collection efforts: establish liaison with partner intelligence organizations, share tasking and reporting, and ensure compliance with classification, dissemination, and equities rules.
  • Implement information operations and counterintelligence awareness during collection: recognize and mitigate indicators of compromise, deception, and manipulation by adversary intelligence or influence actors.
  • Support forensic and technical exploitation of devices and materials obtained through collection activities: inventory, preserve, and document items for analytical exploitation or legal proceedings.
  • Deliver oral and written briefings to commanders, stakeholders, and interagency partners: present collection findings, recommend follow-on actions, and justify collection posture adjustments with clear, evidence-based rationale.
  • Maintain readiness of collection equipment and databases: ensure sensors, recording gear, translation tools, and collection management software are mission-capable and data is properly tagged and indexed.
  • Conduct language-enabled collection and translation support when applicable: perform on-the-ground translation, local dialect verification, and cultural interpretation to maximize intelligence value from human and open sources.
  • Train and mentor junior collectors and cross-functional teammates: lead tradecraft workshops, sponsor on-the-job training, and review collection packages to raise overall team capability and compliance with SOPs.
  • Support legal, policy, and oversight requirements: prepare documentation for audit, compliance, and retention schedules; implement privacy and civil liberties protections; and coordinate with legal advisors when required.
  • Execute contingency and emergency collection plans: rapidly re-prioritize tasks, mobilize collection assets, and support crisis response with high-tempo collection and reporting.
  • Conduct after-action reviews and lessons-learned capture for continuous improvement of collection techniques, tools, and policies.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proven experience with HUMINT tradecraft, source handling, elicitation techniques, and source validation.
  • OSINT tooling proficiency: advanced use of social media collection tools, web scraping, search operators, data archives, and dark web research methods.
  • Familiarity with GEOINT tools and platforms (e.g., ArcGIS, Google Earth, commercial imagery portals) for geolocation and imagery exploitation.
  • Basic SIGINT awareness and ability to interpret metadata, geolocation hints, and technical indicators; ability to coordinate with SIGINT teams.
  • Experience with collection management systems and databases (e.g., TAC, CIDNE, Palantir, i2, DCGS or commercial equivalents).
  • Strong reporting tools and formats knowledge: writing spot reports, intelligence summaries, collection decks, and structured reporting formats (e.g., INTREP, SITREP).
  • Proficiency with digital forensics basics and chain-of-custody documentation for seized devices and media.
  • Competence in target development, link analysis, and association mapping using analytical tools.
  • Working knowledge of classification management, COMSEC protocols, and secure communications platforms.
  • Familiarity with relevant legal and policy frameworks (e.g., privacy laws, rules of engagement, collection policies, interagency disclosure rules).
  • Experience conducting face-to-face and remote interviews/debriefs and using structured interview templates.
  • Competence in geolocation, metadata extraction, and verification techniques for multimedia evidence.
  • Capability to operate and maintain field collection sensors, recording devices, and supporting hardware.
  • Language skills (preferred): fluency or working proficiency in relevant regional languages, dialects, and cultural literacy.

Soft Skills

  • Strong written and oral communication: concise, persuasive reporting and confident briefings to senior leaders and interagency stakeholders.
  • Critical thinking and analytical reasoning: ability to evaluate source reliability, detect deception, and synthesize disparate data into actionable insights.
  • Attention to detail and thorough documentation discipline for auditability and legal defensibility.
  • Adaptability and resilience: perform in high-stress, time-sensitive, and volatile environments with shifting priorities.
  • Interpersonal skills and cross-cultural sensitivity for source handling, liaison, and coalition operations.
  • Teamwork and collaboration: integrate collection activities with analysts, operators, and technical specialists across disciplines.
  • Ethical judgment and discretion: maintain professional standards, confidentiality, and adherence to rules of engagement and legal frameworks.
  • Problem-solving orientation and initiative: anticipate collection gaps and propose pragmatic solutions to meet intelligence requirements.
  • Time management and prioritization: handle multiple concurrent taskings and produce high-quality reporting under deadline pressure.
  • Mentorship and training ability to upskill junior personnel and promulgate best practices.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or GED required; equivalent military training or intelligence technical certifications accepted.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Intelligence Studies, International Relations, Political Science, Criminal Justice, Computer Science, Geography, Linguistics, or related field.
  • Advanced degrees or professional certificates in intelligence, open-source collection, or geospatial analysis are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Intelligence Studies / National Security
  • International Relations / Political Science
  • Computer Science / Data Science
  • Geography / Geospatial Sciences
  • Criminal Justice / Law Enforcement
  • Languages / Regional Studies
  • Cybersecurity / Information Assurance

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–5 years of operational or technical collection experience; may include military MOS experience, law enforcement, or contractor roles supporting field collection and ISR operations.

Preferred: 3–7+ years of progressive intelligence collection experience with demonstrated success in HUMINT/OSINT/GEOINT initiatives, hands-on sensor tasking, source development, and report production. Active TS/SCI clearance with polygraph or ability to obtain/maintain required security clearance preferred. Previous deployment, overseas, or watch floor experience highly desirable.

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