Deployment Strategist

Scale AI•Washington, DC

13d•$200,000 - $240,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Scale is building AI for the world's most consequential decisions. In the Intelligence Community, that means deploying Agentic AI into the workflows that power overhead intelligence, geospatial analysis, and imagery exploitation — the systems that give the United States and its allies an irreplaceable strategic edge. As the Defense Deployment Strategist for NRO and NGA, you are Scale's point of presence at the intersection of AI and national intelligence. You will lead the end-to-end effort to land, deploy, and scale Agentic AI capabilities inside two of the most technically sophisticated and mission-critical agencies in the U.S. government. This is not a sales role. This is a full-spectrum capture, deployment, and growth role — and you are the one running it. NRO and NGA represent the frontier of AI adoption within the IC. NGA's GEOINT Pathfinder, Foundation GEOINT Services, and data modernization programs are actively seeking agentic AI capabilities that can automate imagery exploitation, fuse multi-source intelligence, and accelerate analyst workflows. NRO's Ground Enterprise and Systems Acquisition Directorate are investing in AI-enabled data pipelines and autonomous processing at scale. Your job is to ensure Scale is embedded in both. Winning here means navigating IC acquisition authorities — not just standard DoD contracting. You understand the difference between an NGA BAA, an IC OTA, and a Program of Record. You know that the path from prototype to production inside the IC requires executive sponsorship at the SES/Flag level, and you know how to earn it.

Requirements

10+ years in enterprise technology sales, business development, or program capture specifically within the IC — with NRO and/or NGA as primary accounts.
Successfully closed and implemented multi-year IC contracts exceeding $25M. You have a line item in an IC budget with your fingerprints on it.
Speak GEOINT. You understand overhead collection, imagery exploitation, Foundation GEOINT Services, ISR data pipelines, and the multi-INT fusion challenges that NRO and NGA mission partners face daily. You don't need a glossary.
Direct experience with NGA BAAs, IC OTAs, NRO acquisition vehicles, and the political dynamics of IC Program of Record integration. You understand how the DNI and IC CIO equities affect technology decisions.
Existing, active relationships at NRO and NGA — not just name recognition. SES-level sponsors, PEO staff, and mission-area technical leads who will take your call.
Active TS/SCI; Full Scope Polygraph strongly preferred
BS/BA required; technical degree, Master's, or MBA preferred.
Based in the National Capital Region (Springfield/Bethesda corridor preferred), with the ability to operate in classified environments. 20–30% travel.

Nice To Haves

IC Native: You have lived in this world. You know the difference between NGA's GEOINT Services directorate and its Analysis directorate. You know what the Ground Enterprise means to the NRO's customers. You don't learn this customer set — you bring it.
The Closer-Operator: You can brief a Senior National Intelligence Officer in the morning and spend the afternoon in a SCIF working a proposal. Executive presence and tactical execution are the same skill to you.
Valley of Death Veteran: You have personally transitioned a technology from cool demo to deployed IC capability. You know who to call, which budget line to pursue, and how to keep a program alive through a continuing resolution.
Technically Credible: You are not a software engineer, but you can credibly explain Agentic AI, RAG pipelines, and foundation model fine-tuning to a skeptical NGA technical evaluator — and connect it to their mission problem.
Mission-Driven: You believe that winning in AI is winning the intelligence advantage of the next century. You want that win to belong to the United States and its allies, and you are willing to do the unglamorous work to make it happen.

Responsibilities

Carry and exceed a multi-million dollar annual revenue quota across NRO and NGA. You own the entire lifecycle: shaping requirements before the RFP drops, influencing the acquisition strategy, navigating source selection, and closing. You are not waiting for inbound leads — you are building the funnel.
Develop and execute deep account strategies for NRO and NGA. You will maintain active, trusted relationships with SES-level sponsors, PEOs, mission area leads, and technical evaluators. You understand their modernization roadmaps — GEOINT Pathfinder, the Ground Enterprise, IC IT Enterprise — and you position Scale at the center of their most ambitious programs.
Leverage IC-specific acquisition vehicles: NGA's research BAAs, NRO's OTAs, and classified program vehicles. You can shape a white paper, respond to an RFI, and architect a deal structure that survives IC oversight. You have navigated the Valley of Death before and helped a program cross it.
Work directly with analysts, mission engineers, and imagery exploitation teams to co-design Agentic AI workflows. Whether the mission need is automating change detection, accelerating multi-INT fusion, or deploying foundation models against geospatial data pipelines — you can translate the operational requirement into a buildable technical specification for Scale's engineering team.
Manage and negotiate teaming agreements with Tier 1 primes — Leidos, Booz Allen, Northrop Grumman, Maxar, L3Harris — ensuring Scale is the agentic AI engine inside their winning proposals. You are the lead negotiator for sub-contracting arrangements and you protect Scale's programmatic position through contract award.
Lead the account through delivery, ensuring Engagement Managers, Technical PMs, and Engineers have the customer context and executive backing to succeed. You own renewal, expansion, and the next use case — turning a single GEOINT workflow into a department-wide enterprise standard.