Software Project Lead

Red Cell Partners is an incubation firm building and investing in rapidly scalable technology-led companies that are bringing revolutionary advancements to market in three distinct practice areas: healthcare, cyber, and national security. United by a shared sense of duty and deep belief in the power of innovation, Red Cell is developing powerful tools and solutions to address our Nation’s most pressing problems.

ABOUT DEFCON AI

RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF DISRUPTION. DEFCON AI is an insights company that leverages artificial intelligence, mathematical optimization, data analytics, and software engineering for resilient optimization of complex systems.
In today’s dynamically changing world, DEFCON AI’s technology aligns outcomes with operational goals, better decision making, and empowers customers to anticipate assess, and mitigate the impacts of disruptions.

• →Own the software design, architecture, delivery & deployment for the program
• →Be accountable for delivery; keep the effort honest about scope, schedule, and risk, and raise issues early.
• →Favor proven, open-source and off-the-shelf tools, and reuse what already exists, over building from scratch.

• Sit with the customer and end users, gather requirements, and turn what they need into a design and a plan, including the user experience and UX direction.
• Represent DEFCON's engineering to the customer and work the "how does our software get onto your network" conversation to a resolution.
• Communicate clearly across many audiences: run stakeholder workshops and translate between the customer, the PM, subject-matter experts, and the optimization and data-science staff.

• Background in defense and national-security software, especially anything touching classified, cross-domain, or air-gapped environments
• Hands-on depth in optimization or operations research (e.g. building or integrating solvers), or a track record partnering closely with OR and data-science teams
• Experience standing up software in government-furnished or classified environments (IL-6 or equivalent)
• Experience transitioning systems from an existing or incumbent starting point to a durable production system, or standing one up greenfield
• Experience leading AI-augmented software delivery: directing agent-assisted implementation, critically reviewing AI-generated code, and working inside a gated spec, review, and retro workflow (or a clear track record adopting new delivery methods fast). This is how the team works.
• Familiarity with government secure-software platforms and accreditation pipelines (RMF and cATO, containerized or air-gapped delivery), and with platforms such as Iron Bank, Platform One, Second Front (Game Warden), Stormbreaker, or Black Pearl
• Comfortable across a modern software stack (e.g. Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, SQL databases, containerized cloud deployment)
• Deep optimization or operations-research depth, or full-stack depth beyond the front end
• Range to flex across efforts. The core of this role is owning one program, but a lead who can lend a hand across other efforts and help the broader engineering org is a real plus

• A fully remote, results-based environment
• Competitive salary, bonus, and equity package
• 100% employer paid, comprehensive health insurance including medical, dental, and vision for you and your family
• Unlimited PTO, with your manager’s approval
• Flexible work environment where you manage your work day
• 14 weeks of fully-paid parental leave

• Drive the technical vision and keep the program aligned to it.
• Coordinate across the PM, subject-matter experts, and the software team, sequence the work, define what "done" looks like, and unblock the team.
• Lead a small software team as the effort grows.
• Own the release cadence from capability intake through demonstration and deployment, aligned to government timelines.

• Own the unclassified-to-secure delivery path: design so software built in the open runs unchanged once it moves into the government's secure environment.
• Own the data and schema contract that lets the app ingest securely-prepared data it has never seen before, and keep unclassified fixtures and secure-side data in strict parity.
• Drive the transfer process end to end: offline, self-contained packaging, the low-to-high move, and a secure-side smoke test, working it early so it stays off the critical path.
• Keep sensible CI/CD hygiene (testing, security scanning) as a normal engineering practice, and coordinate with the security team on whatever accreditation the program ultimately requires.