Technical Advisor SME - Clearance Required

Technical Advisor SME in the Tampa Area

LMI is seeking a Technical Advisor SME in the Tampa area who is a senior-level Subject Matter Expert (SME) in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy to shape the strategic direction of unmanned systems across the Special Operations enterprise.

This role sits at the intersection of strategic planning and deep technical fluency -- translating operational requirements into actionable AI/autonomy strategies, evaluating emerging technologies, and aiding decision makers as a voice on intelligent unmanned systems to industry, academia, interagency, and allied partners.

The ideal candidate bridges the gap between operators, engineers, and senior decision-makers -- equally credible briefing a general officer on capability roadmaps and challenging an engineering team on model architectures, sensor fusion approaches, or autonomy frameworks.

LMI is a new breed of digital solutions provider dedicated to accelerating government impact with innovation and speed. Investing in technology and prototypes ahead of need, LMI brings commercial-grade platforms and mission-ready AI to federal agencies at commercial speed.

Leveraging our mission-ready technology and solutions, proven expertise in federal deployment, and strategic relationships, we enhance outcomes for the government, efficiently and effectively. With a focus on agility and collaboration, LMI serves the defense, space, healthcare, and energy sectorshelping agencies navigate complexity and outpace change. Headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, LMI is committed to delivering impactful results that strengthen missions and drive lasting value.

This position is in-person in Tampa and requires an active Top-Secret clearance.

Responsibilities

As a Technical Advisor SME you are expected to:

• Develop and refine USSOCOM's strategic approach to AI and autonomy for unmanned systems (air, ground, maritime, and undersea), ensuring alignment with the National Defense Strategy, Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), and SOF-specific operational concepts.
• Advise senior leadership (O-6 and above) on capability gaps, technology readiness, and investment priorities related to AI-enabled unmanned platforms and autonomous mission sets.
• Evaluate and challenge proposals from defense industry, academic research institutions, and government labs on AI/ML architectures, autonomy stacks, computer vision, reinforcement learning, edge computing, and human-machine teaming approaches.
• Lead technical assessments of unmanned system prototypes and programs of record, including autonomy software, navigation/guidance algorithms, multi-agent coordination, and mission-level decision-making systems.
• Shape requirements documents, Concepts of Operations (CONOPS), and capability development documents (CDDs) to ensure AI/autonomy considerations are embedded from inception.
• Represent USSOCOM in interagency working groups, Joint AI Center (JAIC) / CDAO engagements, NATO autonomy forums, and industry conferences.
• Identify opportunities for rapid prototyping, experimentation, and transition of AI/autonomy technologies from lab to operational fielding, leveraging authorities such as Section 804 and SOFWERX partnerships.
• Monitor the global AI/autonomy landscape -- including adversary capabilities, allied developments, and commercial breakthroughs -- and translate implications into actionable intelligence for SOCOM leadership.

Qualifications

• Active Top-Secret Clearance required
• Minimum of 10-years of military experience with special operations time
• Bachelor's degree
• Ability to communicate at the SES/GO level
• Demonstrated experience across technology delivery in areas similar to: software development, DevSecOps, Cloud Computing, AI, data management, data science, and networking
• Experience in special operations, ideally in both a joint and US Army SOF unit
• Ability to function with little or no guidance in a fast faced technical operations environment

Desired Qualifications

• Master's degree in a technical field
• Prior service in a Special Operations unit

Target salary range: $138,130 - $238,118

Disclaimer: The salary range displayed represents the typical salary range for this position and is not a guarantee of compensation. Individual salaries are determined by various factors including, but not limited to location, internal equity, business considerations, client contract requirements, and candidate qualifications, such as education, experience, skills, and security clearances.

Applicants must meet eligibility requirements for a U.S. Government security clearance. Only US Citizens are eligible for a security clearance. For this position, LMI will only consider applicants with security clearances or applicants who are eligible for security clearances, due to the nature of the work.