Director, Air Defense

Director, Protection Operations (Air Defense)

Company: Early-Stage Defense AI

Location: Arlington, VA (in person)

Compensation: $160,000 to $190,000 base, plus equity

Travel: Up to 20%

Type: Full-time

About the Client

We're on a mission to ensure warfighters are prepared for every challenge they face. We are committed to assembling a world-class team of exceptional problem solvers, combining expert engineering talent with deep experience in National Security.

We build AI for the most important problem in defense: making sure the force is ready to fight. Our software is deployed and in use with DoD partners today. The office is in the Arlington area.

About the Role

We are standing up a protection-focused effort and need the person who leads it on the mission side. This is a domain seat. You are being hired because you have worked on base defense and force protection problems at the operational or strategic level, you know how protection decisions actually get made at a component or combatant command, and you can walk into a G3/J3 protection cell and be immediately credible.

You do not need to be a technologist. What matters is deep expertise in supporting decision-making around force protection: the sensor-to-shooter picture, counter-unmanned systems, antiterrorism planning, and the policy, plans, and SOPs that tie them together. Our engineers build the software. You make sure it solves the problem the commander actually has.

Responsibilities

• Lead the mission side of a new protection effort, from first customer meeting through scoping, design input, training, and ongoing support.
• Translate force protection, base defense, and counter-unmanned systems problems into clear requirements our engineers can build against.
• Work directly with protection cells, installation leaders, and operational staffs to understand how they plan, decide, and act.
• Bring your knowledge of protection policy, plans, and SOPs into the product so it fits the way commands already work.
• Travel to customer sites and events (up to 20%), then bring what you learned back to the team.
• Help shape what the company builds next in the protection space.

Requirements

Must-Haves

• An Army protection background, mid-career: MAJ or LTC, or GS-13/14 equivalent.
• A Field Artillery, Air Defense Artillery, or engineering background.
• Hands-on work on base defense and protection problems at the operational or strategic level.
• Expert knowledge of sensor-to-shooter networks, homeland defense or protection planning, counter-unmanned systems (cUxS), and antiterrorism planning.
• Experience in a G3/J3 protection cell at an Army Service Component Command or combatant command, or in a force protection role with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
• Startup fit: high ownership, comfort with ambiguity, and the drive to move fast without being told what to prioritize.
• Ability to work in person in Arlington, VA.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience writing or owning force protection policy, plans, or SOPs at a combatant command or component command (for example, USAREUR-AF).
• Homeland defense or installation protection experience (for example, USNORTHCOM or ARNORTH).
• Recent counter-small UAS work at the joint or interagency level.

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity to share in our success
• The chance to join a founding team and directly shape the future of the company
• The opportunity to work with cutting-edge AI technology in a defense context
• Full health and dental benefits, 401(k), commuting benefits, lunch when in office