Field Program Manager (Active Top Secret Clearance)

Striveworks; Falls Church (VA); Hybrid; USD 145,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/dental/vision insurance

401(k) plan

Unlimited PTO

Paid parental leave

Job summary

Striveworks in Northern Virginia seeks a Field Program Manager to own delivery, nurture client relationships, and expand our mission footprint across the War Department ecosystem. You’ll lead a cross‑functional team to drive programs from inception to completion, ensuring accountability and client success.

We value hands‑on leadership, deep defense technology delivery experience, and clear, credible communication with both Soldier‑level staff and senior decision-makers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and technical fluency to engage software engineers and data scientists as an informed, non‑technical counterpart.
• 4–6+ years of experience in defense technology delivery.
• Experience planning and directing execution of complex, multi‑stakeholder projects; proven small‑team leadership (2–6).
• Proven ability to build rapport and trust with War Department stakeholders across organizational levels.
• Strong written and verbal communication with both Soldier‑level and executive‑level audiences in the same day.
• Active Top Secret US security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Own delivery for assigned programs and manage customer relationships.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to drive program execution and milestones.
• Travel up to 20% and work in a hybrid remote/on‑site environment in the greater Northern Virginia area.

Skills

Defense tech delivery

Stakeholder management

Small-team leadership

Communication

Security clearance

Technical fluency

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

“In 36 months, agentic AI systems will be an operating reality across major institutions. We intend to be central to it.” — Dr. Jim Rebesco, Cofounder and CEO, Striveworks

The government’s demand for AI is growing far faster than the systems required to support it. Fewer than 15% of federal AI programs have reached sustained production, despite billions of dollars invested. The models perform in testing, but they degrade in the real world. And when performance drops, trust goes with it.

Striveworks was built to solve that problem.

What you’ll build

Since 2018, we have delivered the most trusted AI systems operating in real-world use cases—providing a layer of assurance underneath hundreds of deployed models that monitors performance, manages drift, and sustains systems long after they leave the lab.

A Field Program Manager for Striveworks will be challenged—and trusted—on day one. The Field Program Manager is a hands‑on leader aligned to a portfolio of clients based in the greater Northern Virginia area who serves as Striveworks’ primary program leadership presence: owning delivery, customer relationships, and the growth of Striveworks’ mission footprint within the formation. This is not a coordination role. The FPM collaborates across a small, cross‑functional project team to drive execution against the program roadmap and is the person Striveworks’ leadership calls when something is at risk.

This role is built for someone who has operated in complex technology delivery environments, who knows how organizations in the War Department make decisions with technology, and who is done watching technology fail to land because nobody owned the last mile.

What it’s like here

We lead with trust, treat each other with respect, and use candor consistently, kindly, and constructively. We care deeply about our work, and we find genuine satisfaction in doing it well. Above all, we take ownership—because we feel the weight of collective results personally. We are looking for people who share these values and are eager to put them into practice.

What we’re looking for

• A bachelor’s degree and sufficient technical fluency to engage software engineers and data scientists as an informed, non‑technical counterpart
• 4–6+ years of relevant professional experience with defense technology delivery
• Demonstrated experience planning and directing execution of complex, multi‑stakeholder project activities; proven small‑team (2–6 person) leadership in high‑accountability environments
• Track record of building and sustaining rapport and trust with War Department stakeholders across organizational levels
• Strong written and verbal communication; able to operate credibly across Soldier‑level and executive‑level audiences in the same day
• Active Top Secret US security clearanc

The following isn’t required, but we’d love to see it:

• Direct experience implementing or integrating defense technology; you’ve seen a capability succeed or fail at the unit level and know why
• Familiarity with DOW IT, network, and communications infrastructure as an operational reality, not just a technical concept
• Working knowledge of agile software delivery practices; able to hold a technical team accountable to a cadence without micromanaging the engineering
• Meaningful exposure to machine learning/AI capabilities in operational or defense contexts—enough to recognize value, identify misuse, and advocate credibly for the customer
• Prior experience in a customer success or account management role with a defense technology vendor

This position operates in a hybrid remote/on‑site work environment at our customer sites in the greater Northern Virginia area; you will be on site 60% of the time. You will be expected to travel up to 20% of the time, including some international travel.

Compensation

The anticipated base pay range for this position is $145,000–$185,000/year. Striveworks’ total compensation package includes a competitive base salary, equity grants, and cash bonuses.

Benefits include:

• Medical/dental/vision insurance
• Voluntary life, long‑term disability, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance
• HSA and FSA (including dependent care FSA) plans
• 401(k) plan
• Unlimited PTO
• Paid parental leave

Striveworks is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, belief, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity or expression), national origin, social or ethnic origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non‑merit factors. Striveworks will not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind.

If you require assistance or a reasonable accommodation in the application process, please contact People Operations at [e-mail].

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify their identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete an employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

Striveworks is a participating employer in the E‑Verify program.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self‑identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Striveworks’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A “disabled veteran” is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

A “recently separated veteran” means any veteran during the three‑year period beginning on the date of such veteran’s discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An “active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran” means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An “Armed forces service medal veteran” means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

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