Senior Mission Manager (Clearance Required)

About the role

Vannevar is a defense technology company building AI to deter adversaries. Our agentic AI models adversary behavior, simulates campaigns, and recommends the best course of action to decision makers.

What you’ll do

• Lead engagements with program offices to identify mission problems that Vannevar Labs’ technology can solve.
• Translate program needs into technical narratives, clearly explaining how our software and agent-based capabilities map to requirements, constraints, and outcomes.
• Scope and shape program-based pilots, defining objectives, success criteria, timelines, and pathways to scale.
• Pitch the technology with credibility, leveraging your mission and domain background to build trust with program managers and technical authorities.
• Navigate programmatic realities, including requirements development, budgeting cycles, contracting pathways, and stakeholder coordination.
• Partner closely with product managers and engineers to ensure mission context is accurately reflected in technical scope, tradeoffs, and delivery plans.
• Convert successful pilots into sustained programs, helping program offices justify follow-on funding and broader adoption.
• Represent Vannevar Labs within the program ecosystem as a mission-credible, technically fluent partner.

What we’re looking for

• 15–20+ years of experience in government or defense missions, typically as a retired O5/O6 or senior enlisted or civilian equivalent
• Deep expertise in a specific mission or technical domain (e.g., cyber, information warfare, ISR, networks, operational intelligence, warfare systems/command and control)
• Strong ability to scope, pitch, and sell technical solutions to senior government stakeholders
• Proven experience navigating programmatic realities, including budgets, requirements, authorities, timelines, and stakeholder dynamics
• Sufficient technical fluency to understand modern software systems and agent-based approaches, partner effectively with product and engineering teams, and translate complex concepts into clear, mission-relevant narratives
• Demonstrated scrappiness and bias toward action — comfortable operating in ambiguity and pushing programs forward without perfect structure
• High enthusiasm for building something new and shaping how cutting-edge technology is adopted inside government
• Bonus of having acquisition, resource sponsor, or program manager experience

What we value

• Mission-first mindset with a focus on real operational outcomes
• Technical credibility paired with humility — able to learn quickly and ask the right questions
• Clarity and precision in communication, especially with senior leaders
• Ownership mentality — taking responsibility for moving programs from idea to execution
• Low ego, high trust, and comfort collaborating across product, engineering, and mission teams

What we offer

• Competitive Salary
• Comprehensive Benefits