Mission Director - Aerial Combat

Applied Intuition
Washington
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeUSD 200,000 - 300,000 annuallyFunction: Executive & General ManagementExperience: 15-25 yearsSkills: ["Strategic thinking","Stakeholder management","Decision making","Relationship building"]

Serve as the senior relationship and strategic shaping lead for the aerial combat portfolio, with a focus on the Drone Stack campaign. Identify and influence opportunities 12–18 months ahead by leveraging credibility with Air Force, Army, Combatant Commands, and SOCOM stakeholders. Own strategic discovery across warfighting capability roadmaps and PPBE/POM dynamics, translating operational gaps into technology requirements and helping convert shaping into a winning pipeline.

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Applied Intuition
Applied Intuition
1 day ago

Mission Director - Aerial Combat

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Job Summary

Serve as the senior relationship and strategic shaping lead for the aerial combat portfolio, with a focus on the Drone Stack campaign. Identify and influence opportunities 12–18 months ahead by leveraging credibility with Air Force, Army, Combatant Commands, and SOCOM stakeholders. Own strategic discovery across warfighting capability roadmaps and PPBE/POM dynamics, translating operational gaps into technology requirements and helping convert shaping into a winning pipeline.
Location: Washington
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Executive & General Management
Seniority: Director level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Cultivate senior trust-based relationships with PEOs, program managers, requirements officers, and CTO offices across US Air Force, SOCOM, and US Army aerial combat organizations.
  • •Shape strategic opportunities 12–18 months in advance by influencing requirements, acquisition strategies, and program structures before public domain entry.
  • •Lead strategic customer discovery to understand long-term capability roadmaps, budget trajectories across PPBE cycles, and political dynamics within the aerial combat community.
  • •Position the organization as the autonomy software provider of choice by translating operational warfighter problems into technology requirements that drive program shaping.
  • •Maintain backchannel information sources and establish senior escalation paths when strategic deals encounter political or programmatic obstacles; partner to convert shaping into a winning pipeline.

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 200,000 - 300,000 annually
Equity and Bonus:Equity
Perks:Health InsuranceDentalVisionLife InsuranceDisability Insurance401kLearning BudgetWellness StipendPaid Leave

Key Requirements

  • •15–25 years of experience in or around DoD aerial combat operations and acquisition, including military O-5/O-6 with operational aviation background or senior acquisition/requirements leadership.
  • •Executive-level expertise in the PPBE cycle, the POM process, and navigating Congressional authorization/appropriation dynamics.
  • •Specific, warm relationships within US Air Force PEO ISR SOF, NAVAIR, SOCOM (particularly Defense Autonomous Warfare Group), or US Army PM UAS.
  • •Deep understanding of aerial combat capability gaps and force structure challenges, comfortable operating in the “white space” stage of programs.
  • •Active Secret or Top Secret security clearance.
Experience:15-25 yearsDoDAerial combatAerial warfareAutonomy
Skills:Strategic thinkingStakeholder managementDecision makingRelationship building

Eligibility

Security Clearance:SecretTop Secret

Company Brief

Applied Intuition
Builds software tools for autonomous vehicle development, including simulation, validation, and data infrastructure for automakers and robotics teams. Also supports defense applications with autonomy-focused testing and deployment platforms.
Industry: Developer Tools
Company Size: Enterprise (1,001+ employees)
Growth: Scaleup
Headquarters: Mountain View, United States
Founded: 2017
WebsiteLinkedIn