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Vannevar Labs is a defense technology company building AI systems to deter adversaries and support decision-making in conflict scenarios. The company has grown from $3M to $80M in ARR in three years and achieved unicorn status.
You will serve as a forward-deployed Mission Lead, embedding directly with Department of War (DOW) customer groups across the United States, with a primary base in Minneapolis. This is a customer-facing, field-focused role that combines elements of technical support, product configuration, user advocacy, and mission impact.
Your core responsibilities include:
**Embed with users**: Sit on site with DOW customer groups to build deep intuition for their mission and operational context.
**Build trust**: Earn credibility by understanding user problems and helping solve them over time through direct engagement.
**Turn ambiguity into hypotheses**: Break complex mission problems into specific, testable workflows that can be validated with users.
**Configure product workflows**: Set up high-value workflows through creative, iterative configuration—work may be gritty and require hours of iteration daily.
**Test and troubleshoot**: Debug product issues on deployed DOW systems and work closely with engineering to resolve them.
**Generate mission wins**: Identify what works, onboard users, and translate wins into evidence of impact that supports deployment expansion.
**Operate independently**: You will have support from product, engineering, mission development, and leadership, but you will be responsible for deciding where to focus and how to maximize mission impact.
**Professional presence**: You represent Vannevar as a trusted technical partner in high-stakes government environments, not as a vendor.
This role requires frequent travel and work in secure or classified environments. You will be the face of Vannevar for many users and customers, working to cultivate relationships with new user groups and translate field wins into organizational impact.
**Requirements**:
- U.S. Persons status required
- Current Top Secret security clearance required
- Must be based in Minneapolis
- Ability to work in secure and classified environments
- Willingness to travel frequently
- Strong problem-solving and ambiguity tolerance
- Ability to work independently while collaborating across teams
- Customer empathy and ability to build trust with military and civilian operators
