The Director, Defense and National Security Innovation Programs serves as a senior leader responsible for standing up, operating, and growing complex defense innovation initiatives that connect government mission partners with commercial technology companies, investors, academia, state and regional innovation stakeholders, and other partners across the dual-use ecosystem.

This role carries overall responsibility for program success, including strategic direction, operational leadership, team management, stakeholder engagement, ecosystem development, technology scouting, mission alignment, readiness and transition support, reporting, and delivery against program-defined playbooks, standard operating procedures, and performance expectations.

The Director will serve as the principal point of contact for high-level stakeholder engagement, including senior sponsor and mission partner leadership, regional government leaders, major industry partners, and organizations critical to program delivery. The role requires strong judgment, executive presence, and demonstrated experience translating commercial technology, innovation ecosystems, and mission needs into actionable pathways for defense adoption.

This position is contingent upon receipt of funding.

What You'll Do

In this role, you will lead the strategy, execution, and stakeholder partnerships needed to move promising commercial and dual-use technologies toward defense and national security application. Key responsibilities include:

Lead Program Strategy and Operations

• Provide overall direction for complex defense innovation programs, ensuring activities align with sponsor priorities, mission needs, RTI expectations, and program-defined playbooks and operating procedures.
• Set the operating rhythm for assigned programs, including governance, prioritization, resource planning, risk management, escalation, and performance oversight.
• Lead multidisciplinary RTI teams, subcontractors, and partners to deliver high-quality execution across outreach, intake, scouting, assessment, validation, transition support, communications, and reporting.

Build Ecosystem and Stakeholder Partnerships

• Serve as the senior representative for assigned programs with sponsors, mission partners, regional government, industry, investors, academic institutions, and other innovation ecosystem stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain trusted relationships across regional and national innovation ecosystems, including startups, venture capital firms, accelerators, technology developers, nonprofits, and academic partners.
• Design and lead facilitated engagements, workshops, forums, and other convenings that connect mission partners with relevant commercial technologies and expertise.

Translate Mission Needs into Technology Opportunities

• Work with defense and national security partners to understand operational problems, requirements, constraints, funding pathways, acquisition considerations, and success criteria.
• Guide targeted technology scouting efforts that identify commercial and dual-use solutions aligned to specific mission needs, problem sets, or capability gaps.
• Oversee assessment of company and technology readiness, mission fit, transition pathways, and barriers to adoption.

Support Validation, Transition, and Adoption

• Connect promising capabilities with the right stakeholders, funding sources, pilot opportunities, test environments, contracting pathways, and operational deployment needs.
• Coordinate validation and assessment activities, including technology demonstrations, independent evaluation, test facility access, readiness assessments, and transition planning when applicable.
• Help reduce barriers for nontraditional companies by clarifying requirements, navigating process constraints, and supporting practical pathways from engagement to pilot, contract, or operational use.

Drive Reporting, Communication, and Continuous Improvement

• Ensure timely, accurate data capture and reporting on pipeline activity, engagement metrics, participant progression, readiness indicators, financial inputs, and program outcomes.
• Prepare executive briefings, written summaries, decision-support materials, and program updates for sponsors, mission partners, RTI leadership, and external stakeholders.
• Use program data, lessons learned, and stakeholder feedback to improve services, refine playbooks and operating procedures, and strengthen alignment with evolving mission needs.

What You'll Need

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in science, engineering, technology commercialization, business, public policy, national security, or a related field and at least 12 years of relevant experience; or a Master's degree and at least 10 years of relevant experience; or a PhD and at least 6 years of relevant expreience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Significant experience leading complex programs, partnerships, or innovation initiatives involving defense, national security, government, commercial technology, venture, research, or dual-use innovation ecosystems.
• Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, manage operational execution, set priorities, and drive accountability across multiple stakeholders and workstreams.
• Experience engaging senior government, military, industry, investor, academic, or regional economic development stakeholders with credibility and executive presence.
• Strong understanding of technology commercialization, innovation ecosystems, emerging technology assessment, and pathways for moving technology from identification to pilot, validation, acquisition, or operational use.
• Ability to translate mission needs and technical concepts into clear, actionable strategies, engagement plans, briefings, and decision-support materials.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with technical, nontechnical, executive, and external audiences.
• Ability to work onsite or in a program-designated location when required and travel domestically as needed for regional engagement, national meetings, and mission-critical activities.
• Domestic travel is expected and may include in-state or regional stakeholder engagement, sponsor or national program meetings, ecosystem events, mission partner engagements, and mission-critical travel approved by program leadership.
• To qualify, applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States and should not require, now or in the future, sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B visa status, etc.).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in a relevant technical, business, public policy, national security, or related discipline.
• Relevant experience with defense innovation organizations, military service, the Intelligence Community, acquisition pathways, technology transition, or federally funded R&D programs.
• Experience developing or managing regional innovation programs, accelerators, venture engagement programs, public-private partnerships, technology transition programs, or defense-focused commercialization initiatives.
• Experience with technology readiness, commercial readiness, manufacturing readiness, test and evaluation, independent validation and verification, or transition planning.
• Experience leading competitive proposals, capture efforts, sponsor growth, or new program development.

The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below. Our pay ranges represent national averages and may vary by location as a geographic differential may be applied to some locations within the United States. RTI considers multiple factors when making an offer including, for example: established salary range, internal budget, business needs, and education and years of work experience possessed by the applicant. Further, salary is merely one element to our offer.

At RTI, we demonstrate our commitment to rewarding individual and team achievement through a total rewards package. This package includes (among other things) a competitive base salary, a generous paid time off policy, merit based annual increases, bonus opportunities and a robust recognition program. Other benefits include a competitive range of insurance plans (including health, dental, life, and short-term and long-term disability), access to a retirement savings program such as a 401(k) plan, paid parental leave for all parents, financial assistance with adoption expenses or infertility treatments, financial reimbursement for education and developmental opportunities, an employee assistance program, and numerous other offerings to support a healthy work-life balance.

Equal Pay Act Minimum/Range

$166,000 - $205,000