Mission Operations Manager

What we're looking for

We need someone with 4+ years of experience owning complex technical programs or deployments in defense or national security environments who has demonstrated accountability for mission outcomes—not just schedules. You should be comfortable working directly with government customers in classified settings, translating ambiguous mission needs into scoped and prioritized engineering work, and leading teams through high-stakes, fast-moving engagements. Prior management experience is required, and defense industry experience is strongly preferred. Bonus points if you have prior military service or hands-on experience with Palantir Foundry or comparable enterprise data platforms.

What you'll do

• Own the end-to-end success of customer engagements, serving as the program lead paired with a Tech Lead and supported by a team of engineers
• Establish ground truth on how customer systems and workflows are actually used by working directly with data and end users—not just reading requirements documents
• Translate customer outcomes into scoped and prioritized work, distinguishing genuine mission requirements from distractions, individual preferences, and broader noise
• Serve as the critical bridge between government customers and the engineering team, conveying what needs to be built and delivered to meet mission requirements
• Work blockers to resolution—clear the path rather than document the delay—and redirect efforts when evidence says the plan is wrong
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with end users, program leadership, technical stakeholders, and acquisition/contracting personnel
• Bring customer and field lessons back to product and engineering to shape what Bridge Defense builds and how it delivers
• Lead and manage internal and external teams, with the opportunity to scale and build out your own team as the company grows