Mission Lead - Cyber (Clearance Required)

Vannevar•Washington, DC

3h•$150,000 - $170,000•Onsite

About The Position

Vannevar is a defense technology company building AI to deter adversaries. This role is for a Mission Lead who will be a customer-facing owner of mission outcomes. The individual will lead engagements with government stakeholders to identify high-value mission problems, shape pilots and deployments, and turn demonstrated mission value into durable, funded programs. This role blends mission credibility with strong execution and technical intuition, requiring high autonomy in ambiguous environments. The Mission Lead will translate mission needs into clear technical narratives and coordinate across functional teams (Product, Engineering, Mission, Security, and Operations) to deliver and scale. This is a customer-facing role based in Washington D.C., requiring experience in the Cyber community. U.S. Persons status with at least a current Top Secret clearance is required. Work will involve time in secure or classified environments and periodic travel.

Requirements

5+ years of experience working within or alongside the U.S. cyber mission community in cyber operations, cyber defense, vulnerability analysis, mission planning, intelligence, or related operational cyber functions.
Direct experience supporting or working with U.S. Cyber Command and strong understanding of the cyber mission landscape.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functionally without consistent guidance.
Strong written and verbal communication; able to synthesize ambiguity into clear plans and execution.
Ability to scope and articulate a solution credibly: connect mission problems to software capabilities and measurable outcomes.
Sufficient technical fluency to partner effectively with Product and Engineering and translate complex concepts into mission-relevant narratives.
Strong operational skills: planning, prioritization, stakeholder management, and follow-through.
U.S. Persons status with at least a current Top Secret clearance.

Nice To Haves

Experience with CYBERCOM staff, a Cyber Service Component, NSA, Joint Staff, or other cyber-focused organizations.
Familiarity with AI-enabled mission workflows, cyber mission planning, intelligence analysis, or operational decision support platforms.

Responsibilities

Lead cyber mission engagements by building trusted relationships with operators, analysts, planners, technical teams, and senior leaders across the cyber mission community to understand operational priorities, mission objectives, and capability gaps.
Translate mission needs into actionable plans by turning operational challenges into clear problem statements, requirements, success metrics, and execution roadmaps aligned to mission outcomes.
Map technology to cyber workflows by identifying where AI-enabled capabilities can improve cyber mission planning, targeting, intelligence production, defensive operations, vulnerability analysis, or command decision-making.
Shape pilots and pathways to operational adoption by defining objectives, timelines, evaluation criteria, and transition plans that move capabilities from initial deployment to sustained operational use.
Communicate technical value in mission terms by building compelling narratives that connect technology to real cyber mission workflows, demonstrating measurable impact and differentiation.
Drive mission execution by leading customer engagements, working groups, operational reviews, executive updates, action-item tracking, and risk mitigation efforts across multiple stakeholders.
Coordinate cross-functional delivery by partnering closely with Product and Engineering teams to ensure mission requirements, operational realities, and user feedback directly inform product development.
Navigate the cyber enterprise by helping stakeholders work through requirements development, capability integration, acquisition processes, budgeting cycles, security considerations, and organizational coordination.
Enable operational success by supporting onboarding, training, workflow integration, and change management efforts to ensure users can effectively employ and sustain the capability.
Maintain mission awareness by developing and maintaining deep knowledge of customer organizations, operational priorities, stakeholders, mission sets, and evolving cyber challenges.
Support growth and expansion by identifying adjacent mission opportunities, emerging requirements, and pathways to broaden impact across the cyber mission enterprise.