Government Affairs Associate

Why This Role Matters

Government affairs plays a strategic function at Istari, playing a critical role in advancing the company's federal strategy, securing federal funding, supporting business development, and building relationships across Congress, federal agencies, industry, and strategic partners. Reporting to the Director of Government and External Affairs and working directly with executive leadership, the Government Affairs Associate will help identify new opportunities, prepare leaders for high-impact engagements, and support initiatives that strengthen Istari's position at the intersection of public policy, emerging technology, and national security.

Core Responsibilities

• Support the execution of Istari's federal government affairs strategy by engaging with Congress, federal agencies, industry partners, and other key stakeholders.
• Monitor legislation, appropriations, executive branch initiatives, and policy developments relevant to the company's priorities, providing concise analysis and recommendations.
• Conduct research on Members of Congress, committees, federal agencies, and industry organizations to inform engagement strategies.
• Prepare briefing materials, hearing memos, talking points, executive correspondence, and other materials for senior leadership.
• Coordinate meetings, briefings, and outreach with congressional offices, federal agencies, customers, and strategic partners.
• Support business development efforts by identifying federal engagement opportunities and strengthening relationships with government stakeholders.
• Assist in planning and executing conferences, congressional events, executive briefings, customer demonstrations, roundtables, and other external engagements while representing Istari to policymakers, customers, and industry leaders.
• Working with the marketing team, develop and maintain government affairs materials, including one-pagers, presentations, leave-behinds, and policy summaries.
• Track stakeholder engagement and maintain accurate records within CRM platforms.
• Collaborate across business development, marketing, product, and engineering teams to ensure government engagement aligns with company priorities.
• Represent Istari professionally at meetings, conferences, industry events, and other external engagements.
• Support additional government affairs, public policy, and strategic initiatives as needed.

Required Qualifications

• 2 to 4 years of experience in government affairs, public policy, congressional offices, federal agencies, lobbying, or a related field.
• Bachelor's degree in Political Science, Public Policy, Government, International Affairs, Communications, or a related discipline (or equivalent experience).
• Demonstrated understanding of Congress, the Executive Branch, and the federal policymaking process.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex policy and technical information into clear, concise materials.
• Strong research, analytical, organizational, and project management skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Experience preparing briefing materials, policy summaries, meeting memoranda, talking points, or executive correspondence.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment while working both independently and collaboratively.
• Experience interacting professionally with congressional staff, federal officials, senior executives, and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Google Workspace; experience with CRM platforms such as HubSpot or Salesforce is preferred.
• Interest or experience in aerospace, defense, national security, artificial intelligence, digital engineering, or emerging technologies is preferred.
• Willingness to travel up to 25%.

Preferred Experience

• Experience working in a congressional office, federal agency, trade association, government affairs firm, or in-house public policy team.
• Familiarity with the federal appropriations and authorization processes.
• Experience supporting executive-level engagements, stakeholder meetings, or policy-focused events.

$65,000 - $90,000 a year

The anticipated compensation range for this position may vary based on experience, skills, qualifications, location, and business needs. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for bonuses, equity, and a comprehensive benefits package.

We've built a team of what we call Wizards -- people who bring depth in their domain and range across others, who are collaborative without being deferential, and who genuinely care about what we're building. We celebrate individual contributions, give feedback early and often, and argue about ideas so we can execute together.

There's no room here for hierarchy for its own sake, or for busywork that doesn't move the mission. We are outcomes-driven, and we hold each other to a high standard - with genuine respect for each person's expertise and wellbeing.

Focus is rewarded. Finish is remembered.

Facts are friendly. Even when they are not fun.

Fellowship is fundamental. Make others successful.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.