Mission Lead

About the role

This Mission Lead position at Noda Ai places you at the center of orchestrating autonomous systems for defense, intelligence, and commercial clients. You will own the execution and delivery of pre-sales projects, pilot programs, and complex field demonstrations that showcase our integrated technology stack. In this role, you translate innovative concepts into tangible, customer-facing solutions while managing the intricate coordination between sales, engineering, and product teams. You will serve as the primary bridge between customer requirements and our internal development capabilities, ensuring that pilot outcomes directly inform product evolution. The position demands a high level of technical acumen to understand complex autonomous systems and convert that understanding into actionable project plans. You will gather critical insights from field engagements and synthesize them to shape future product roadmaps and strategic initiatives. This is a hands-on leadership role where your impact will be measured by the successful delivery of high-visibility demonstrations that prove the value of our autonomous orchestration platform. Joining Noda Ai as a Mission Lead means working on mission-critical technology alongside a team that values innovation, rapid iteration, and collaborative problem-solving.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Drive the end-to-end management of pre-sales projects, pilot programs, and field demonstrations from initial scoping through final delivery and customer sign-off.
• Translate ambiguous customer needs into detailed, actionable project plans in collaboration with sales, product, and engineering stakeholders.
• Define and manage project scopes, timelines, and deliverables to ensure on-time delivery and alignment with customer expectations.
• Act as the central coordination point, facilitating communication and workflow across cross-functional teams including sales, engineers, and designers.
• Provide technical oversight and project management for novel integrations, ensuring that autonomous system demonstrations meet technical and operational specifications.
• Serve as the main liaison between customer-facing teams and internal development efforts during pilot and demonstration phases to unblock progress and manage dependencies.
• Gather qualitative and quantitative feedback from field demonstrations and pilot programs, working closely with Product Management to integrate insights into future development cycles.
• Support business development initiatives by supplying technical expertise and rigorous project management to customer engagements and proof-of-concept efforts.
• Proactively identify and mitigate project risks, developing contingency plans to maintain schedule and deliverable quality in dynamic environments.
• Collaborate with Product Management to align R&D and pilot execution with strategic product roadmaps and long-term business objectives.
• Maintain detailed documentation of project processes, decisions, and outcomes to enable knowledge transfer and continuous improvement.
• Leverage your technical background to assess integration feasibility and dependencies for advanced autonomous system deployments.
• Represent Noda Ai in customer-facing settings, articulating the value and capabilities of our platform in a clear and compelling manner.
• Ensure all project activities adhere to strict export control and compliance requirements, maintaining the integrity of our defense and intelligence-related work.

Requirements

• Hold a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related technical field.
• Bring a minimum of 3 years of project management experience, with a preference for roles in technology or defense environments.
• Demonstrate strong organizational abilities and communication skills necessary for juggling multiple concurrent projects with competing priorities.
• Possess experience working directly with technical teams to deconstruct customer requirements and formulate actionable project plans.
• Show a proven track record of delivering complex projects on schedule and within defined scope and budget constraints.
• Be a U.S. citizen with the demonstrated ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance as required by the role.
• Exhibit comfort operating in fast-paced, dynamic environments where priorities can shift rapidly based on customer needs.
• Apply a customer-focused mindset, consistently linking technical capabilities to concrete business value for defense and commercial clients.

Nice to have

• Previous military, government, or direct defense industry experience.
• Hands-on experience with autonomous systems, robotics, or similar advanced technologies.
• A background in pre-sales, solutions engineering, or other customer-facing technical roles.
• Pursuit of or possession of an advanced degree such as an MBA, MS, or equivalent.
• Holding an active security clearance prior to application.
• Direct experience engaging with Department of Defense or intelligence community stakeholders.

Practical notes

This role is full_time and operates within a hybrid on-site framework, allowing up to 30% travel to support pilot programs and field demonstrations. Travel requirements may increase based on the needs of specific customer engagements and project timelines. As a U.S. citizen-based role with access to sensitive defense technologies, you must be eligible for a security clearance and comply with all export control regulations, including ITAR and EAR. This position is classified as a Mission Lead and is integral to the execution of high-visibility customer programs that directly influence product strategy and company growth.