Mission Engineer

About the role

You will serve as the primary bridge between warfighter realities and the technical solutions that emerge from our engineering teams. Your responsibility is to own the full lifecycle of mission-driven initiatives within the national security domain, ensuring that every solution is aligned with real operational demands. You will translate ambiguous customer pain points into concrete technical specifications that guide product development from conception to deployment. This role requires you to act with urgency and precision, owning outcomes that directly affect the safety and effectiveness of deployed warfighters. You will work across hardware, software, and services boundaries to integrate disparate systems into cohesive, mission-critical capabilities. Every decision you make will be evaluated on its impact to reliability, performance, and the success of high-stakes deployments. You will be expected to operate independently while coordinating closely with leadership, developers, and operators to maintain strategic alignment.

Key facts

What you'll do

Coordinate directly with operators and analysts to capture mission requirements and transform them into actionable technical objectives.

Shape operational use cases by identifying scenarios where AI and machine learning can provide decisive advantages in national security contexts.

Act as the primary liaison between client leadership, engineering teams, and external partners to ensure technical outputs meet strict mission standards.

Establish continuous feedback mechanisms with end users to validate assumptions and refine solutions throughout the development lifecycle.

Lead field testing and performance evaluations, adapting tools rapidly in response to operational feedback and evolving threat landscapes.

Leverage Spear AI's core product suite, open source technologies, and custom-built components to assemble robust solutions under tight timelines.

Own the operationalization of new capabilities, ensuring they integrate seamlessly into existing defense architectures and submarine-based systems.

Drive the documentation and dissemination of best practices so that solutions are reproducible and scalable across diverse mission environments.

Maintain strict awareness of performance metrics such as latency, accuracy, and reliability, optimizing systems for real-world conditions.

Champion a culture of quality by insisting on rigorous code standards, thorough testing, and meticulous attention to detail in every deliverable.

Requirements

You hold an active TS/SCI clearance and can operate in environments where classified information is handled on a regular basis.

You demonstrate a strong software engineering foundation, with hands-on experience building or maintaining systems that impact operational outcomes.

You possess a deep understanding of data structures, storage systems, and cloud infrastructure, allowing you to make informed architectural decisions.

You are fluent in front-end frameworks and other technical tools, enabling you to communicate effectively with specialist engineers and validate proposed solutions.

You have proven experience working in classified environments and can navigate the complex interplay between operational and technical stakeholders.

You communicate clearly and persuasively, capable of explaining sophisticated technical concepts to non-technical audiences without sacrificing accuracy.

You are willing to travel as needed to support field exercises, client engagements, and testing activities across operational theaters.

You exhibit a mindset focused on correctness, where downstream consumers trust the libraries and services you build to perform consistently.

Nice to have

You hold a degree in Computer Science or a closely related technical discipline that provides a strong theoretical foundation.

You have hands-on familiarity with AI and machine learning systems and understand how they are deployed in operational settings.

You bring military experience or prior work in the Intelligence Community or Department of Defense, giving you context for the mission space.

Practical notes

Willingness to travel as needed for field testing and client engagements.

Active TS/SCI clearance is mandatory for this role.

Work is fully remote, with collaboration occurring in real time on Slack and asynchronously via GitHub.

This position reports to Bolling AFB under a full-time engagement structure.