Job Description
About the role Spear AI is modernizing legacy submarine sensor systems - replacing decades-old C code with cloud-native, Rust-based pipelines backed by a modern messaging solution. We're good at building software. What we need is someone who excels at driving results within a complex defense customer environment.
The Technical Integrator is the connective tissue between our engineering team and the customer. You secure access, coordinate test times, identify the right POC, ensure forms are filed, and validate our software against real requirements before it matters. This is a "get things done" role as much as a technical one - the person who knows which door to knock on and isn't afraid to knock on it.
We care more about your ability to operate in this environment than your years of experience. If you've navigated DoD bureaucracy, worked alongside engineers, and made integration timelines move - whether that was in a lab, a program office, or a submarine - we want to hear from you.
What you'll do - Navigate customer bureaucracy - track down forms, approval chains, and the right POC so engineers stay heads-down on code.
- Own test coordination: schedule lab time, stand up environments, and confirm software behavior against acceptance criteria.
- Surface, clarify, and document requirements - performance thresholds, interface specs, operational constraints - in terms that the engineering team can act on.
- Maintain a living map of stakeholder contacts and escalation paths within the customer organization.
- Represent Spear AI at integration events, demos, and working groups with technical credibility.
- Identify blockers and integration risks early and propose solutions before they become program-level problems.
- Document outcomes, open items, and decisions in real time so nothing falls through the cracks.
What we're looking for - Experience operating in or alongside DoD program environments - a program office, a defense lab, a ship, or a submarine all count.
- Enough technical fluency to hold an informed conversation with software engineers: you don't need to write code, but you need to understand what's being built and why it matters.
- Strong written and verbal communication - you write emails that get read and responded to, and you can brief a room without losing people.
- Organized and relentless about follow-through - you track open items, own them, and close them.
- Comfortable finding the right person in an unfamiliar organization and building relationships quickly.
- Active Secret clearance required; TS/SCI a strong plus.
- Familiarity with the LM ARCI lab environment or AN/BYG-1 / submarine C4ISR integration pipelines is a significant advantage, but not required.
Nice to have - Navy background in submarine sonar, fire control, or C4ISR (STS, FT, ET ratings or equivalent officer designators).
- Direct experience with NUWC Newport, NAVSEA, or PEO IWS organizations.
- Familiarity with modern message bus architectures (Redpanda, Kafka) in a defense context.
- Exposure to Rust, C, or Protocol Buffers - enough to read code and ask informed questions.
Why Spear AI - Small, expert team - your work directly shapes modernization outcomes for the fleet
- Clear growth path toward Technical Program Manager or Principal Integrator as the program scales.
- Compensation and level set to match your experience.
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