Technical Integration Lead

You make a promising technology a fielded capability, not a slide that never left the pitch deck.

MISSION

This role carries emerging technology across E3DI's portfolio through the right DoD acquisition pathways, maturing it from concept into a capability the warfighter can field.

OUTCOMES YOU OWN IN YEAR ONE

These are the same measures your annual bonus is calculated against, not a separate wish list.

• Technical recommendation quality and timeliness: Assessments, integration recommendations, and roadmaps are delivered on schedule and reflect operationally sound, technically vetted guidance, with zero recommendations retracted or materially revised due to inadequate assessment.
• Mission requirements alignment: Recommendations demonstrably address validated DoD mission requirements and warfighter needs, evaluated against existing military architectures before advisory delivery, with no material misalignment flagged by government stakeholders or E3DI leadership.
• C5ISR and mission capability technical support: Provide technically sound guidance across supported C5ISR, communications, and mission capability efforts, with no material integration or interoperability issues attributable to inadequate technical direction from this role.
• Innovation and transition pathway awareness: Current awareness of DoD innovation organizations and acquisition pathways, Broad Agency Announcements (BAA), Commercial Solutions Openings (CSO), Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR), Other Transaction Authority (OTA), and Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E), with at least three actionable funding, prototyping, or transition opportunities brought forward each year.
• Cross-functional coordination and capability maturation support: Coordinate effectively with E3DI team members on technical alignment for demonstrations and exercises, with no missed technical commitments, and deliver capability maturation guidance to portfolio companies on the agreed timeline.

WHAT THE WEEK ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE

You advise across E3DI's portfolio in the same week you track a BAA or OTA opportunity that could fund one of those companies' next steps. You might assess a partner's prototype against a real DoD mission requirement, coordinate with the team so your technical recommendation fits the program's schedule and budget, and support the team on what a demonstration needs to prove. You are also the one who knows which door to knock on for a given technology, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), AFWERX, SOFWERX, or a Service lab, and what it actually takes to turn a concept that works in a lab into something producible, scalable, and deployable. Work is remote-eligible with travel layered in, up to 30 percent, mostly domestic with occasional international engagements.

HOW WE WORK

E3DI sits at the seams between prime contractors, government stakeholders, technology providers, and mission operators, and this role sits at the busiest seam of all, the point where a technology either finds its path to funding and the warfighter or quietly stalls. That only works if our recommendations are technically rigorous enough to survive scrutiny, honest about what a technology cannot yet do, and grounded in where the money and the mission requirements actually are, not just where the technology is impressive.

WHO THIS FITS

If you can tell the difference between a technology that is interesting and one that is ready to compete for real DoD funding, and you are comfortable saying so even when it disappoints a partner, you will fit here.

REQUIREMENTS

• Clearance: Active TS/SCI required.
• Experience: 15 or more years supporting DoD, Joint Staff, Combatant Commands, Military Services, defense industry, or defense innovation organizations, including technical leadership across complex C5ISR systems.
• Executive engagement: A track record of senior-level engagement with government organizations, industry partners, and executive stakeholders, backed by real technical credibility, not relationship management alone.
• Acquisition and transition fluency: Working knowledge of DoD innovation organizations and acquisition pathways, BAA, CSO, SBIR/STTR, OTA, and RDT&E, and how a technology actually moves through them.
• Multi-domain depth: Working knowledge spanning RF, communications, cyber, electronic warfare, command and control, C5ISR, and autonomy, not narrow single-system expertise.
• Travel: Able to travel up to 30 percent, predominantly domestic with occasional international engagements.

A bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or a related field is preferred; relevant experience can substitute.

WHO THIS IS NOT FOR

This is not a role for someone who wants to stay in one technical lane, or who is more comfortable with the technology itself than with the DoD funding and acquisition system that decides whether it ever gets used. It is also not a first defense job. It assumes you already carry the credibility to advise executives and government customers without someone validating your judgment first.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Base Starting Salary: $150,000, depending on experience and location.

Bonus: Eligible for E3DI's annual performance bonus plan, tied directly to the outcomes above.

Benefits: Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) with company match; paid time off, federal holidays, and professional development support.

Clearance: Active TS/SCI required.

Travel: Approximately 20 percent, for technical engagements, site visits, demonstrations, and coordination