Mission Lead, Protection Operations
Company: Early-Stage Defense AI
Location: Arlington, VA (in person)
Compensation: $160,000 to $190,000 base, plus equity
Travel: Up to 20%
Type: Full-time
About the Client
We're on a mission to ensure warfighters are prepared for every challenge they face. We are committed to assembling a world-class team of exceptional problem solvers, combining expert engineering talent with deep experience in National Security.
We build AI for the most important problem in defense: making sure the force is ready to fight. Our software is deployed and in use with DoD partners today. The office is in the Arlington area.
About the Role
We are standing up a protection-focused effort and need the person who leads it on the mission side. This is a domain seat. You are being hired because you have worked on base defense and force protection problems at the operational or strategic level, you know how protection decisions actually get made at a component or combatant command, and you can walk into a G3/J3 protection cell and be immediately credible.
You do not need to be a technologist. What matters is deep expertise in supporting decision-making around force protection: the sensor-to-shooter picture, counter-unmanned systems, antiterrorism planning, and the policy, plans, and SOPs that tie them together. Our engineers build the software. You make sure it solves the problem the commander actually has.
Responsibilities
- Lead the mission side of a new protection effort, from first customer meeting through scoping, design input, training, and ongoing support.
- Translate force protection, base defense, and counter-unmanned systems problems into clear requirements our engineers can build against.
- Work directly with protection cells, installation leaders, and operational staffs to understand how they plan, decide, and act.
- Bring your knowledge of protection policy, plans, and SOPs into the product so it fits the way commands already work.
- Travel to customer sites and events (up to 20%), then bring what you learned back to the team.
- Help shape what the company builds next in the protection space.
Requirements
Must-Haves
- An Army protection background, mid-career: MAJ or LTC, or GS-13/14 equivalent.
- A Field Artillery, Air Defense Artillery, or engineering background.
- Hands-on work on base defense and protection problems at the operational or strategic level.
