Mission Manager
Defense Unicorns · United States
- Hybrid
- Full-time
- $159,850 / year
- United States
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Job highlights
- Lead technical missions for Army customers.
- Translate mission needs into actionable plans.
- Coordinate engineering teams for successful delivery.
- Engage directly with Army stakeholders.
- Focus on secure software and platform capabilities.
About the role
Mission Manager
Defense Unicorns is seeking a Mission Manager to join our Army Domain team. This role is crucial for ensuring customer success, managing delivery execution, and driving the adoption of Defense Unicorns solutions within Army mission portfolios. You will act as a mission-focused technical leader, translating requirements into actionable plans and serving as a trusted technical advisor.
Responsibilities
- Develop a deep understanding of Defense Unicorns products (UDS, Fleet, Zarf) and platform technologies.
- Translate customer requirements, mission needs, and operational challenges into actionable work items and delivery plans.
- Coordinate execution across engineering teams to achieve successful customer outcomes.
- Support backlog management, sprint planning, prioritization, and delivery tracking.
- Engage directly with Army stakeholders to understand mission objectives, gather requirements, and report on progress.
- Communicate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
- Support product demonstrations, technical workshops, and customer engagements.
- Assist senior mission managers in identifying customer challenges and future needs.
- Monitor and help mitigate delivery risks, dependencies, and issues.
- Partner with technical leads and architects to ensure solutions meet customer needs and best practices.
- Contribute technical input to proposals and technical documentation.
- Support onboarding and mentoring of team members.
- Participate in hiring activities, including candidate interviews.
- Maintain high standards of engineering quality, customer satisfaction, and mission execution.
The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive and additional duties may be assigned. We seek adaptable individuals ready to take on new challenges.
Key technologies and products include:
- Unicorn Delivery Service (UDS)
- UDS Core & Premium
- Fleet
- Zarf
- Mission-focused Kubernetes platforms
- Kubernetes
- Cloud Environments (AWS/GCP and Azure)
- Infrastructure-as-code (Terraform/Pulumi)
- Continuous Delivery and automation tooling
- GitOps
- Containers
- CNCF projects
- Helm/Kustomize
- Value Stream Mapping
- Security delivery best practices
- Cloud-native applications
Key skills/competency
- Mission Management
- Technical Leadership
- Customer Success
- Software Delivery
- Requirements Translation
- Cross-functional Coordination
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Agile Methodologies
- Technical Communication
- DevSecOps
Skills & topics
- Mission Manager
- Defense Unicorns
- Army
- Kubernetes
- DevSecOps
- Software Delivery
- Technical Leadership
- Customer Success
- DoD
- Secret Clearance
- UDS
- Fleet
- Zarf
- Agile
- Cloud Native
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight operational military experience, technical solution delivery, or customer-facing engineering roles, emphasizing alignment with Defense Unicorns' mission and products.
- Showcase relevant experience: Emphasize experience with DoD organizations, software/platform delivery, Kubernetes, DevSecOps, and Agile methodologies.
- Prepare for technical questions: Be ready to discuss Defense Unicorns products (UDS, Fleet, Zarf) and modern software delivery concepts.
- Demonstrate customer focus: Highlight your ability to build relationships with government stakeholders and translate mission requirements.
- Be security-conscious: Ensure your understanding of security requirements and clearance levels (Secret required) is evident.
Technical preparation
Study UDS, Fleet, and Zarf product documentation.,Review Kubernetes and cloud-native concepts.,Understand DevSecOps and CI/CD pipelines.,Familiarize with Agile and backlog management.
Behavioral questions
Describe a complex mission requirement you translated.,How have you managed competing stakeholder priorities?,Share an experience coordinating cross-functional teams.,How do you ensure technical solutions meet mission needs?
Frequently asked questions
- What is the required security clearance for the Mission Manager role at Defense Unicorns?
- The Mission Manager position at Defense Unicorns requires an active U.S. Secret clearance. A Top Secret clearance is preferred but not mandatory for application.
- What specific Defense Unicorns products will I be working with as a Mission Manager?
- As a Mission Manager, you will develop a working knowledge of Defense Unicorns' core products, including Unicorn Delivery Service (UDS), UDS Core, UDS Premium, Fleet, and Zarf, as well as mission-focused Kubernetes platforms.
- What kind of experience is most valuable for a Mission Manager candidate at Defense Unicorns?
- Defense Unicorns values candidates with prior Army experience (Military, Government Civilian, or contractor), experience within DoD organizations, and a demonstrated ability to deliver software, cloud, or DevSecOps solutions. Customer-facing engineering or operational military backgrounds are highly beneficial.
- Does Defense Unicorns offer remote work for the Mission Manager position?
- Yes, the Mission Manager role is a remote position within the USA, allowing for flexible work arrangements for qualified candidates across the country.
- What are the key technical areas a Mission Manager should be familiar with at Defense Unicorns?
- Key technical areas include Kubernetes, cloud-native technologies, DevSecOps practices, infrastructure-as-code (like Terraform/Pulumi), continuous delivery, GitOps, containers, and modern software delivery concepts. Familiarity with Defense Unicorns' specific products is also essential.
- How does Defense Unicorns approach diversity and inclusion for Mission Manager roles?
- Defense Unicorns is committed to diversity and encourages individuals to apply even if they don't meet every qualification. They are an equal opportunity employer prioritizing inclusivity.