Principal Mission Architect - Security Research and Tactical Platforms

Clarity Innovations is a trusted national security partner, dedicated to safeguarding our nation’s interests and delivering innovative solutions that empower the Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD) to transform data into actionable intelligence, ensuring mission success in an evolving world.

Our mission-first software and data engineering platform modernizes data operations, utilizing advanced workflows, CI/CD, and secure DevSecOps practices. We focus on challenges in Information Warfare, Cyber Operations, Operational Security, and Data Structuring, enabling end-to-end solutions that drive operational impact.

We are committed to delivering cutting-edge tools and capabilities that address the most complex national security challenges, empowering our partners to stay ahead of emerging threats and ensuring the success of their critical missions. At Clarity, we are people-focused and set on being a destination employer for top talent, offering an environment where innovation thrives, careers grow, and individuals are valued. Join us as we continue to lead innovation and tackle the most pressing challenges in national security.

Position Overview

The Portfolio Principal Mission Architect (PMA) role leads delivery, solution architecture, and technical excellence in mission outcomes for our customers. The PMA is focused on blending the technical domain, operational context, and business ecosystem to continuously improve the mission fit, effectiveness, and cost of solutions across the portfolio.  

We are seeking a driven, technically-excellent and mission-experienced leader to make an impact on Day Zero. You will be leading some of the most talented Engineers and Security Researchers in the industry at a pivotal time of growth and acceleration to give our customers the tools and systems they need to Fight and Win. 

Key Responsibilities

Technical Processes

• Provide engineering oversight of project execution within their assigned portfolio
• Drive integration, awareness, and adoption of lessons learned across the assigned portfolio and the Vertical
• Help drive how we engineer tools internal to our company
• Proactively identify potential Concept of Operations (CONOPs) and technical challenges in initial and follow-on requirements refinement
• Provide ongoing guidance to keep technical leads and teams aligned with customer intent

Technical Contribution

• Collaborate with the Portfolio Manager to document and communicate the combined technical vision for the Portfolio both internally and across Clarity
• Advise technical teams on the structure and effectiveness of capability testing to ensure applicability, completeness, and realism
• Mentor technical team members on how each of the portfolios systems integrate into the customer wider software ecosystem
• Monitor software development status of all adjoining software systems in the customers software ecosystem, to ensure our Portfolio is well integrated
• Ensure teams meet customer release processes and pass all government test and evaluation events
• Lead engineering and design reviews of the programs within the portfolio
• Develop long-term product roadmaps and strategic vision for how products will impact customers across the mission
• Build prototypes for new project efforts and stay on the cutting edge of current research and design practices for technology that impacts our customers
• Identify problems in current projects before they manifest, and help come up with solutions to get through them

Business Development

• Identify opportunities for new and existing programs through direct sales and competitive efforts
• Evaluate and shape proposal solutions to maximize mission fit
• Write and review white papers, RFIs and other proposal documentation as requested

Staffing

• Bring a daily positive attitude to the teams, and excitement about projects that we're working towards
• Provide leadership and mentorship to aspiring technical leads
• Support Directors of Practice in engagement with Strategic hires to communicate the attractiveness of the position, team, opportunity for outcomes, etc.
• Support the Portfolio Lead in forecasting of portfolio staffing needs to the Directors of Practice
• Support Directors of Practice in mentoring the team in customer knowledge and operational expertise

Customer Engagement

• Develop and maintain the lasting trust of customer groups and their operational partners
• Influence customer technical direction through depth of knowledge, shape how customers engineer systems to support their mission
• Direct customer support activities across the Portfolio, including travel to customer sites (at least quarterly with intermittent travel as mission needs arise)
• Review tool usage with customers and advise on current and new solutions to meet their gaps, including application of Clarity Products where applicable
• Understand customers’ mission gaps and use them to refine current and proposed solutions
• Help shape timelines and convey realistic deliverables for the customers
• Draft whitepapers, briefings, and roadmaps to enable customer understanding, planning, and decision making
• Teach our customers about the state-of-the-art practices that can transform their operational work
• Deeply understand how our portfolio projects function, integrate, and have a keen sense of where the customer wants to take them next 

Innovation

• Be honest with ourselves and customers about the value of what we are building.  Push great ideas, and stop bad ideas
• Identify IR&D ideas based on mission opportunities or capability gaps
• Drive Clarity and Cyber Dominance internal research & development (IR&D) activities for execution through Clarity Labs processes & reporting
• Support IR&D execution as the voice of the customer for the Badlands portfolio
• Employ tactical IR&D prototyping to drive business growth

Qualifications

• Demonstrated technical expertise in CNO & Software Development technologies, technical practices, architectural designs, and delivery methods
• Demonstrated broad understanding of military CNO customer missions and the business context by which technical decisions are shaped and curated
• Proven ability to effectively engage with customer problems and shape technical solutions development to meet their concepts of operations (CONOPS)
• Demonstrated experience leading and guiding large engineering teams
• Proven record of delivering for our mission and customers
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

The eminently qualified candidate will have 5-10+ years of experience in the following areas:

• Experience performing CNO project and system development in C, Python and Go
• Performing system and device level RE and VR
• Developing systems architecture and APIs
• Taking full advantage of containerization, with a preference towards deep Kubernetes knowledge
• Having a Close working relationship with and intimate knowledge of one or more of our customer groups with a Tactical and Operational CNO mission.
• Demonstrative ability to present challenging technical topics to customers in a way that they can understand
• Clear record of team building and communication skills

Personality Traits

Servant Leader

Collaborative

Comfortable taking charge

Comfortable with ambiguity

Able to kindly and confidently arbitrate disagreements

Passion for the Cyber Dominance Mission

Details

Currently located near Herndon or Fort Meade strongly preferred.

Currently TS Cleared, SCI/Poly Preferred

Willing to travel 4x per year to Washington DC metro region for planning events and key customer engagements

Hybrid/Remote possible if candidate is an excellent fit.

 

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.