<h2><strong>Technical Mission Director</strong></h2> <h2><em>Defense Unicorns | Senior Technical Delivery Leadership</em></h2> <h1><strong>Role Description</strong></h1> <p>Defense Unicorns is seeking a senior Technical Mission Director to embed with a government team leading a fast-moving, multi-vendor AI and software modernization effort. This role owns day-to-day execution across government stakeholders, engineering teams, and commercial technology partners, creating the structure and tempo needed to move from prototype to operational capability.</p> <p>The ideal candidate is an Agile delivery leader with strong technical fluency across modern software, cloud, DevSecOps, AI/ML, data, and platform engineering. They must be credible with engineers and senior government leaders, able to run Scrum in a high-tempo environment, and comfortable turning ambiguity into decisions, priorities, and action.</p> <h1><strong>Responsibilities</strong></h1> <ul> <li>Own day-to-day execution for a multidisciplinary government/industry team and establish the Agile operating rhythm, including Scrum ceremonies, backlog management, sprint planning, reviews, retrospectives, and release planning.</li> <li>Coordinate government stakeholders and multiple technology vendors, keeping priorities, dependencies, milestones, and technical risks visible and driving blockers to resolution.</li> <li>Lead daily cross-vendor synchronization without allowing meetings to become a substitute for execution; create clear owners, decisions, and next actions.</li> <li>Maintain an integrated delivery plan and communicate concise updates on mission outcomes, technical risk, resource needs, decisions, and schedule.</li> <li>Work closely with the Technical Solutions Architect and engineering leads across platform, DevSecOps, data, and AI/agentic disciplines to keep execution aligned with the evolving architecture.</li> <li>Maintain enough technical depth to recognize integration, security, data, deployment, or architecture issues early and engage the right experts quickly.</li> <li>Coordinate the transition from prototype environments into classified operational environments, including readiness, dependencies, and increasing onsite/SCIF collaboration.</li> <li>Act as a trusted technical thought partner to government customers: surface risks, frame options, challenge assumptions constructively, and help translate mission needs into executable technical priorities.</li> <li>Identify follow-on mission needs, expansion opportunities, and adjacent use cases; understand the customer's acquisition and buying motion and partner with DU growth leadership to shape actionable opportunities.</li> <li>Capture lessons learned and repeatable delivery patterns, continuously reducing coordination overhead and improving engineering velocity.</li> <li>Build durable customer relationships and represent Defense Unicorns as a technical thought leader rather than simply a delivery resource.</li> </ul> <h1><strong>Minimum Experience and Qualifications</strong></h1> <ul> <li>Active TS/SCI clearance.</li> <li>Local to the National Capital Region (NCR) and able to support regular onsite work at a government facility in Springfield, Virginia; available for increasing onsite/SCIF interaction as the effort matures.</li> <li>7+ years leading Agile software, technology, or mission programs, preferably in government or other mission-critical environments.</li> <li>Demonstrated hands-on experience with Scrum and Agile delivery, including backlog management, sprint planning, dependency management, retrospectives, and release planning.</li> <li>Experience leading cross-functional teams and coordinating multiple concurrent technical workstreams, government stakeholders, and technology vendors.</li> <li>Strong technical fluency in modern software delivery, DevSecOps, cloud, Kubernetes, CI/CD, AI/ML, and data platforms.</li> <li>Ability to understand technical architecture, dependencies, integration risks, and engineering tradeoffs well enough to drive informed program decisions.</li> <li>Exceptional communication, organization, facilitation, and problem-solving skills with the ability to operate effectively in high-tempo, ambiguous environments.</li> </ul> <h1><strong>Preferred Experience and Qualifications</strong></h1> <ul> <li>Experience leading programs involving generative AI, AI agents, data platforms, or enterprise AI ecosystems.</li> <li>Experience working across technologies such as OpenShift/OpenShift AI, GitLab, NVIDIA AI, enterprise data platforms, or comparable commercial technologies.</li> <li>Familiarity with NIST 800-53, RMF, ATO processes, continuous authorization, and security engineering.</li> <li>Experience supporting systems across multiple security classifications or transitioning capabilities into Secret or TS/SCI environments.</li> <li>Experience with complex multi-vendor integration efforts where no single provider owns the complete solution.</li> <li>Experience advising senior government customers on technology strategy, mission modernization, or platform adoption.</li> <li>Experience identifying and shaping follow-on opportunities, expansion paths, or new mission applications within an existing customer.</li> <li>CSM, PSM, SAFe, PMI-ACP, PMP, or comparable Agile/program certification.</li> </ul> <h1><strong>Travel / Onsite Expectations</strong></h1> <p>This position is NCR-local and requires reg