Mission Lead - San Diego (Clearance Required)

Vannevar is a defense technology company building AI to deter our adversaries. In the 21st century, conflict moves at algorithmic speed and foresight equals firepower. Our agentic AI is purpose-built to compete with China - from cross-Strait conflict to gray zone coercion. Trained on the most mission-relevant datasets in defense, our technology models adversary behavior, simulates campaigns, and recommends the best course of action to decision makers. Our AI systems are some of the most trusted in the industry and actively used on the front lines of the Indo-Pacific to keep the peace and save lives.

Exceptional technology starts with exceptional people. Vannevar is a small agile team combining world-class engineers with veteran strategists who bring deep expertise in defense and tradecraft. We’re building a company defined by mission impact, user empathy, and disciplined growth. In just three years, we grew from $3M to $80M in ARR, achieved early profitability, and reached unicorn status - proving that disruption doesn’t require an ego, and staying power doesn’t mean standing still.

About the role

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 clearance in required. This is a customer-facing role required to be based in San Diego. Work will require time in secure or classified environments and periodic travel.

What you'll do

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with stakeholders across Navy program offices, PAEs, SYSCOMs, warfare centers, and operational commands.
• Identify and develop new mission opportunities by understanding capability gaps, operational requirements, and acquisition priorities across the Navy enterprise.
• Lead customer-facing engagements, including mission discovery, capability demonstrations, operational assessments, and strategic account planning.
• Serve as the primary customer-facing owner for Navy mission and program engagements, helping drive successful pilot execution, operational adoption, and long-term program transition.
• Translate operational challenges and technical requirements into actionable solutions leveraging Vannevar's software capabilities.
• Partner closely with government program managers, engineers, operators, and acquisition professionals to support capability development and transition strategies.
• Help customers navigate Navy acquisition, budgeting, requirements, experimentation, and transition-to-program pathways.
• Support operational demonstrations, exercises, prototypes, and field deployments in partnership with Navy stakeholders.
• Collaborate closely with internal product, engineering, and mission teams to ensure customer feedback informs product development and roadmap priorities.
• Represent Vannevar at Navy industry events, technical exchanges, exercises, conferences, and customer engagements.

What we're looking for

• 5+ years of experience supporting the Department of the Navy, defense acquisition, government technology, or national security programs.
• Experience working within or alongside Navy program offices, PEOs, SYSCOMs, warfare centers, or operational commands.
• Experience with defense acquisition, capability development, requirements generation, program management, systems engineering, or technical program execution.
• Familiarity with Navy budgeting, acquisition, experimentation, and transition pathways, including organizations such as PEOs, NAVWAR, NAVAIR, NAVSEA, NIWC, or related commands.
• Strong technical intuition and the ability to engage credibly with engineers, operators, acquisition professionals, and senior government leaders.
• Experience leading customer engagements involving complex technical systems, software platforms, or operational capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust, influence stakeholders, and drive outcomes across large government organizations.
• Ability to operate independently in ambiguous environments and translate strategic objectives into executable plans.
• Willingness to travel frequently in support of customer engagements and operational activities.

Nice to have

• A track record of transitioning new technologies from experimentation, prototyping, or operational evaluation into funded programs of record.
• Experience serving as a translator between operators, acquisition professionals, engineers, and senior leaders to drive complex programs forward.
• Technical fluency combined with strong mission instincts, including experience evaluating, deploying, or advocating for software-enabled capabilities in operational environments.

The salary range for this position is $150,000-$170,000 + equity + 401K match. Within the range, individual pay is determined by experience, relevant education, and/or training.

• 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

Vannevar is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply, even if you don't feel like you're a perfect fit. If you're passionate about contributing to our mission, we'd love to hear from you! IMPORTANT NOTICE
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.