Vannevar builds AI systems for the Department of War's most consequential missions. We have 125 deployments across every branch and combatant command spanning our core platform and five distinct products. An an example of how we work, when major combat operations started with Iran, we fielded a new product supporting 24/7 operations and 9,000+ users in three months.
How we build is our advantage: we deploy forward with the people who own the mission. Our engineers, product team, and CTO deploy forward to the point of friction, including visiting units in Ukraine. We focus on embedding directly with operational units supporting great power competition with China, combat operations with Iran, and counter-narcotics missions.
Mission Leads are customer-facing owners of mission outcomes. You 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. You will operate with high autonomy in ambiguous environments, translate mission needs into clear technical narratives, and coordinate across functional teams (Product, Engineering, Mission, Security, and Operations) to deliver and scale.
U.S. Persons status with at least a current Top Secret US DoD or IC clearance is required. This is a customer-facing role required to be based in Oahu. Work will likely require time in secure or classified environments and periodic travel.
What you’ll do
- 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.
What we’re looking for
- 6+ years owning outcomes in complex customer environments (defense, intelligence, public sector, or similarly regulated domains)
- 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
What we value
- 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)
What we offer
The salary range for this position is $150,000 - $170,000 + equity. Within the range, individual pay is determined by experience, relevant education, and/or training.
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Remote friendly with WeWork access
- Unlimited PTO, shared downtime during the federal holiday calendar, and company-wide off time at the end of each year
- 401(k) match
- Lifestyle & wellbeing stipends
- Salary top-up during military reserve duty
- Fully paid parental leave
- Child and pet care reimbursement during travel
We are committed to protecting the privacy of all applicants. Official emails from the company will come from an @vannevarlabs.com domain. Under no circumstances will a legitimate representative from our company contact you to request passwords, financial information, or other sensitive personal data. Please be vigilant of potential scams.
Skills Required
- U.S. Persons status
- Current Top Secret U.S. Department of Defense or Intelligence Community clearance
- Based in Oahu
- 6+ years owning outcomes in complex customer environments, such as defense, intelligence, public sector, or similarly regulated domains
- Ability to lead cross-functionally with limited guidance
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to translate ambiguous mission problems into clear plans and execution
- Ability to scope and articulate solutions connecting mission problems to software capabilities and measurable outcomes
- Technical fluency sufficient to partner with Product and Engineering
- Strong planning, prioritization, stakeholder management, and follow-through skills
- Experience deploying or fielding capabilities in secure or regulated environments
- Experience navigating requirements, budgets, authorities, timelines, and contracting pathways
- Deep expertise in a mission or technical domain such as cyber, information warfare, ISR, networks, operations, or command and control
- Experience running executive-level customer updates, QBRs, or steering committees
What the Team is Saying
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Vannevar Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare is considered comprehensive, with top-tier medical, dental, and vision coverage highlighted alongside mental-health support and wellness stipends. These elements are consistently presented as core pillars of the package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off is framed as generous, featuring unlimited PTO, shared downtime aligned to federal holidays, and a company-wide year-end break. The approach signals an expectation that employees actually disconnect and use their time.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental leave is described as fully paid for 12 weeks for all parents, with an additional 4 weeks for new mothers and flexibility to take leave in blocks over a year. Family-planning assistance, monthly caregiving stipends, and travel-related child/pet care reimbursement extend support beyond leave.
Vannevar Insights
What We Do
Vannevar combines Silicon Valley innovation with former special operators to build AI for real-world national security outcomes. Since our founding in 2019, Vannevar has deployed its technology across 125 missions, safeguarding our service members and improving our country's deterrence. We believe our military service members and intelligence officers deserve access to the best technology American innovation can offer, and we are mobilizing frontier technology for this mission. Our founders have 30 years of combined experience across AI labs, national security strategy, intelligence agencies and special operations. We're supported by a number of leading VCs, including Felicis, DFJ Growth, Point72, Costanoa, and General Catalyst. Vannevar is one of the most capital efficient defense tech companies, reaching early profitability and becoming a defense tech unicorn in 2024.
Why Work With Us
We pride ourselves on being a team of passionate, low-ego professionals who share a commitment to engineering excellence and a genuine concern for the people and AI agents we deliver. Vannevar is a company that truly cares about its people and one of our core principles is "put your wellbeing first".
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Vannevar Offices
Remote Workspace
Employees work remotely.
We are distributed across the map, but united by the mission. We go where the mission takes us and deliver where others can’t. Honolulu, Seattle, San Francisco, Washington D.C., New York. You decide what's next.
