HIRING: Director, Defense Innovation Unit
\The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) seeks a mission-driven executive with an established track record for innovative engagement with both the commercial and government sectors to lead the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). The mission of DIU is to strengthen national security by leveraging the U.S. and international innovation marketplaces to accelerate the adoption of commercial technology into the DoD. DIU carries out its mission by partnering with cutting-edge commercial firms to identify, prototype, and field advanced solutions that address national security challenges. DIU is headquartered in Silicon Valley (Mountain View, California) with additional offices in Washington, DC; Austin, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; and Chicago, Illinois. As of September 2021, DIU’s staff included 23 civilians, 10 special government employees, 34 active-duty military personnel, 38 part-time reservists, three Intergovernmental Personnel Act staffers, 26 detailees and liaisons, and 77 full- and part-time contractors. DIU also oversees the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), which partners with academia and the venture community to address national security challenges, and the National Security Innovation Capital (NSIC) initiative, which accelerates the development of dual-use hardware technology to our nation’s economic competitiveness.
The Director will be a thought leader in the field of defense technology transition, and play a high profile role in communicating the Department’s vision and shaping public discourse on the topic. The Director of DIU will have an established reputation for identifying and implementing new processes, products, services, and methods of delivery that can be applied to how the DoD adopts commercial sector technology. They will also demonstrate a commitment to cultivating an inclusive and collaborative workplace culture.
The Director of DIU is a direct report to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering – the DoD’s Chief Technology Officer. In this role, they will lead a diverse workforce of DoD civilians and military service members from the interagency and private sector who are dedicated to innovation for the DoD. The Director and their staff will focus on improving practices, process, and effectiveness in the delivery and transition of state-of-the-art commercial technology solutions to the DoD.
The Director of DIU will have extensive experience in industry and/or the private sector – with expertise in technology commercialization and the broader innovation ecosystem. They will also have exposure to and knowledge of U.S. government and/or DoD processes (with an emphasis on science & technology development and acquisition processes) to:
Increase the adoption and application of capabilities to end-users in the DoD;
Improve the Department’s agility, knowledge, and practices to effectively and responsibility transition and scale proven innovative solutions; and
Expand engagement and opportunities to work with non-traditional vendors across the U.S. and international innovation base.
The Director will have demonstrated success working with a wide range of stakeholders (Congress, Military Departments, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense). These skill sets will provide them the tools needed to help the DoD work with the private sector to innovate and adopt new technology.