Staff Technical Product Manager at Vannevar Labs

Job description

Vannevar is a defense technology company building AI to deter our adversaries. In the 21st century, conflict moves at algorithmic speed and foresight equals firepower. Our agentic AI is purpose-built to compete with China—from cross-Strait conflict to gray zone coercion. Trained on the most mission-relevant datasets in defense, our technology models adversary behavior, simulates campaigns, and recommends the best course of action to decision makers. Our AI systems are some of the most trusted in the industry and actively used on the front lines of the Indo-Pacific to keep the peace and save lives. Exceptional technology starts with exceptional people. Vannevar is a small agile team combining world-class engineers with veteran strategists who bring deep expertise in defense and tradecraft. We’re building a company defined by mission impact, user empathy, and disciplined growth. In just three years, we grew from $3M to $80M in ARR, achieved early profitability, and reached unicorn status—proving that disruption doesn’t require an ego, and staying power doesn’t mean standing still. About the role We’re hiring a Staff Technical Product Manager to lead definition and evolution of foundational platform capabilities spanning multiple engineering organizations. This role reports directly to the CTO and operates at the system level - shaping the structures and primitives that underpin our products rather than managing feature-level roadmaps. You will own problems that cross organizational boundaries and cannot be solved within a single team. The objective of this role is improving structural coherence across the platform - defining durable system structures and primitives, aligning stakeholders, and ensuring they translate into real capability. Operating in close partnership with engineering leadership, this role progressively assumes independent ownership of convergence and cross-organizational decision resolution. Execution coordination is part of the role, but performance is measured by durable system improvement and structural convergence. Example problem spaces include: Authorization and policy models Identity and ownership boundaries Data access structures Platform abstractions and shared primitives What you’ll do Define and evolve cross-platform system primitives and structures, translating mission and product needs into durable system behaviors and producing artifacts that clarify system intent (PRDs, specs, evaluation criteria) Drive resolution of structural problems spanning multiple engineering organizations Build alignment across engineering leadership, design, and mission stakeholders Maintain convergence momentum across teams implementing shared capabilities Partner with Engineering Managers to translate structural intent into execution plans and hold convergence through delivery Stay engaged through delivery to ensure implementations converge on intended outcomes Identify architectural divergence early and drive corrective action Identify and drive resolution of cross-team dependencies arising from shared platform primitives and structural initiatives What we’re looking for Experience operating at Staff level in TPM, product architecture, or engineer-to-PM hybrid roles Strong systems reasoning across distributed systems, identity/authorization, or platform architecture Demonstrated success shaping technical direction across multiple teams Demonstrated ability to drive cross-organizational technical initiatives through to outcome - articulating tradeoffs, aligning stakeholders, and landing durable decisions Credible communicator able to influence senior engineers and technical leadership across domains without relying on formal authority structures High ownership mindset in ambiguous environments Outstanding driver and communicator who identifies structural risks early - such as unclear ownership, missing definitions, or weak execution setup - and intervenes to correct course Nice to have Background in platform, infrastructure, or security domains Experience with policy or authorization systems Multi-tenant or regulated environment exposure Experience operating in environments with decentralized ownership or competing platform abstractions What we offer Comprehensive Benefits We’re proud to offer competitive benefits that support our employees. Some key highlights of our benefits package include: Health, dental, and vision insurance Remote friendly with WeWork access Unlimited PTO, shared downtime during the federal holiday calendar, and company-wide off time at the end of each year 401(k) match Lifestyle & wellbeing stipends Salary top-up during military reserve duty Fully paid parental leave Child and pet care reimbursement during travel Vannevar is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply, even if you don't feel like you're a perfect fit. If you're passionate about contributing to our mission, we'd love to hear from you! IMPORTANT NOTICE We are committed to protecting the privacy of all applicants. Official emails from the company will come from an @vannevarlabs.com domain. Under no circumstances will a legitimate representative from our company contact you to request passwords, financial information, or other sensitive personal data. Please be vigilant of potential scams.

Requirements

Must-haves

Authorization and policy models
Identity and ownership boundaries
Data access structures
Platform abstractions and shared primitives
What you’ll do
Define and evolve cross-platform system primitives and structures, translating mission and product needs into durable system behaviors and producing artifacts that clarify system intent (PRDs, specs, evaluation criteria)
Drive resolution of structural problems spanning multiple engineering organizations
Build alignment across engineering leadership, design, and mission stakeholders
Maintain convergence momentum across teams implementing shared capabilities
Partner with Engineering Managers to translate structural intent into execution plans and hold convergence through delivery
Stay engaged through delivery to ensure implementations converge on intended outcomes
Identify architectural divergence early and drive corrective action
Identify and drive resolution of cross-team dependencies arising from shared platform primitives and structural initiatives
What we’re looking for
Experience operating at Staff level in TPM, product architecture, or engineer-to-PM hybrid roles
Strong systems reasoning across distributed systems, identity/authorization, or platform architecture
Demonstrated success shaping technical direction across multiple teams
Demonstrated ability to drive cross-organizational technical initiatives through to outcome - articulating tradeoffs, aligning stakeholders, and landing durable decisions
Credible communicator able to influence senior engineers and technical leadership across domains without relying on formal authority structures
High ownership mindset in ambiguous environments

Nice-to-haves

Background in platform, infrastructure, or security domains
Experience with policy or authorization systems
Multi-tenant or regulated environment exposure
Experience operating in environments with decentralized ownership or competing platform abstractions

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

aiagile

Platform: greenhouse
Effort: quick

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Dental

Vision

401(K)

Pto

Parental Leave