Mission Lead - SOF - Clearance Required

Vannevar • Washington, DC

10h • Hybrid

About The Position

Vannevar is a defense technology company that builds AI to deter adversaries, focusing on algorithmic speed and foresight in conflict. Their agentic AI is designed to compete with China, modeling adversary behavior, simulating campaigns, and recommending courses of action. Their AI systems are used on the front lines of the Indo-Pacific. The company is a small, agile team of engineers and strategists, with significant growth and profitability. Mission Leads are customer-facing owners of mission outcomes, responsible for leading engagements with government stakeholders to identify high-value mission problems, shape pilots and deployments, and convert demonstrated mission value into funded programs. This role requires a blend of mission credibility, strong execution, and technical intuition, operating autonomously in ambiguous environments. The Mission Lead translates mission needs into clear technical narratives and coordinates across functional teams (Product, Engineering, Mission, Security, and Operations) to deliver and scale solutions. This is a customer-facing role based on the East Coast (preferably Washington D.C.), requiring experience in the SOF or PSYOPs/IO community, time in secure/classified environments, and frequent travel. U.S. Persons status with at least a current Top Secret US DoD or IC clearance is required.

Requirements

• 6+ years owning outcomes in complex customer environments (preferably in the SOF or PSYOPs/IO community)
• 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

Nice To Haves

• Experience with deployments or fielding in secure/regulated environments (e.g., ATO/IL environments, classified workflows, compliance constraints)
• Experience navigating within programs (requirements, budgets, authorities, timelines, contracting pathways)
• Deep expertise in a specific mission or technical domain (e.g., cyber, information warfare, ISR, networks, operations, warfare systems/command and control)
• Experience running executive-level customer updates (QBRs, steering committees)

Responsibilities

• Lead mission engagements. Build trusted relationships with operational, technical, and leadership stakeholders to understand mission needs, constraints, and success criteria.
• Translate mission problems into plans. Turn mission needs into clear problem statements, requirements, milestones, and measurable outcomes.
• Shape pilots and pathways to scale. Define objectives, timelines, and adoption plans that convert early wins into sustained programs.
• Communicate the “why” and the “how.” Create crisp technical narratives that map our agent-based capabilities to mission requirements and operational constraints.
• Run the operating cadence. Lead weekly customer syncs, internal standups, executive updates/QBRs, action-item tracking, and risk reviews, as applicable.
• Coordinate cross-functional delivery. Partner closely with Product and Engineering to ensure mission context is reflected in scope, tradeoffs, and delivery plans.
• Navigate program realities. Help stakeholders work through requirements development, budgeting cycles, contracting pathways, and coordination across organizations.
• Enable adoption. Coordinate onboarding, training, and customer success so the customer can use and sustain the capability.
• Maintain durable account knowledge. Keep high-signal documentation in Notion: stakeholders, org charts, use cases, timelines, deliverables, decisions, and lessons learned.
• Support expansion. Identify adjacent use cases and partner with Account teams where applicable.

Benefits

• 401K match
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 100% remote first culture. You can work from anywhere in the US and all full time employees have WeWork access
• Unlimited PTO including competitive vacation and holiday schedules
• Lifestyle stipends - Monthly mental health, wellness & fitness stipend, in-home office setup stipend and family planning assistance
• Salary top-up during military reserve duty
• Fully paid parental leave
• Child and pet care reimbursement during travel

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees