Technical Program Manager - Software Systems

The Work: Join a Mission That Matters

Torch.AI is building the AI Control Layer for the United States Government.

Not another dashboard. Not another workflow app. Not another black-box model glued to a PowerPoint.

The AI Control Layer is foundational data and intelligence infrastructure that makes sense of messy, adversarial, multi-domain data at machine speed. Commanders, analysts, and operators can act with clarity when it matters most.

Our platform—ORCUS (data movement), NEXUS (deep semantic vectorization), and HALO (graph-native reasoning)—is accredited, deployed, and operating today across enterprise clouds and tactical edge environments. We support multi-INT fusion, predictive movement analysis, targeting workflows, anomaly detection, and decision support for cross-domain operations including ISR, information advantage, joint effects, and force protection.

We are seeking candidates who want to build systems that operate under real constraints: degraded visibility, adversarial mis/disinformation, intermittent connectivity, low-SWaP hardware, and seconds-to-decision timelines.

This is operational AI.
It ships. It runs. It gets used.

If you’re driven to strengthen U.S. defense readiness and protect national interests, Torch.AI offers meaningful impact at national scale.

What Makes Torch.AI Different

We believe the government must own its data, its decision environment, and its reasoning infrastructure.

Our AI Control Layer increases the value of existing systems of record rather than replacing them. We measure performance by accuracy, latency, and efficiency, not slideware benchmarks.

We are craftsmen.
We build with intention.
We ship with discipline.

You’ll collaborate with engineers, data experts, veterans, and mission practitioners. You’ll own meaningful work, move quickly, and see your systems deployed in production, often within weeks.

We are fast-paced, entrepreneurial, and mission-driven. Every day is a new puzzle.

The Type of Candidates Who Thrive

Torch.AI is not for everyone.

People who succeed here:

• Are builders, not curators. They ship and iterate.
• Are comfortable with messy data, unclear requirements, and real mission constraints without always having the luxury of clear specs.
• Respect operators and prioritize utility over elegance.
• Care about explainability and determinism because real decisions demand auditability.
• Move quickly but understand security boundaries and accreditation realities.
• Measure success by operational impact, not model novelty.

If you need perfect conditions and months of runway, this may not be the right place.

If you want to see your work used in production and feel the weight of that responsibility, we should talk.

Security Clearance

This role requires an active Secret, Top Secret, or Top Secret/SCI clearance. Where required, candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain the appropriate clearance level.

U.S. citizenship is required for all positions. Torch.AI does not sponsor employment visas.

If you do not currently hold a clearance but are eligible, sponsorship may be available depending on role and mission requirements.

Work Location

This role is based in our headquarters in Leawood, KS. Limited travel (<10%) may be required for some roles.

Compensation, Benefits, Incentives

We offer competitive, performance-aligned compensation tied to technical depth, clearance level, and mission impact.

Total Rewards Include:

• Competitive base salary
• Quarterly performance bonuses
• Equity participation within the first 12 months
• Unlimited PTO + 11 paid company holidays
• Professional development in a high-growth, mission-driven environment
• Weekly in-office catering at HQ

Benefits:

• 401(k) plan (no current employer match)
• PPO, HSA, and TRICARE Supplement medical options
• Above-market HSA contributions
• HSA, FSA, and Dependent Care FSA options
• Dental and vision plans above national averages
• Employer-paid life insurance (1× salary)
• Employer-paid Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
• Voluntary Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity coverage
• Up to $300/month in tax-advantaged commuter benefits

Torch.AI is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer committed to building a team that reflects the mission we serve.

If you want to build AI systems that move from ingestion to actionable insight, and know exactly why they produced the answer they did, we should talk.

Role Overview

This role blends program execution, technical fluency, and deployment coordination to deliver mission-critical AI and data platforms across classified and unclassified environments. You will drive cross-functional execution, align engineering delivery with mission objectives, and ensure customer deployments meet operational readiness requirements.

This is not a software engineering role and does not require daily hands-on coding or direct ownership of infrastructure. However, the TPM must be technically fluent and able to:

• Translate mission needs into executable delivery plans and technical requirements
• Track delivery across engineering teams, environments, and security domains
• Communicate program status, technical risk, and delivery tradeoffs to stakeholders
• Coordinate deployment readiness, cutovers, and stabilization activities

This role is accountable for delivery outcomes and mission readiness across multiple environments. The TPM does not build automation frameworks, own CI/CD pipelines, or serve as the primary implementer of software or infrastructure.

Active Secret, Top Secret, or Top Secret/SCI clearance required.

Role Overview

This role blends program execution, technical fluency, and deployment coordination to deliver mission-critical AI and data platforms across classified and unclassified environments. You will drive cross-functional execution, align engineering delivery with mission objectives, and ensure customer deployments meet operational readiness requirements.

This is not a software engineering role, but previous software development in Java, Python, or other languages is a preferred. The TPM must be technically fluent and able to:

• Translate mission needs into executable delivery plans and technical requirements
• Track delivery across engineering teams and validate technical deployments and code, environments, and security domains
• Communicate program status, technical risk, and delivery tradeoffs to stakeholders
• Coordinate deployment readiness, cutovers, and stabilization activities

This role is accountable for delivery outcomes and mission readiness across multiple environments.

Responsibilities

What You’ll Do

• Drive planning and execution of mission-critical technical programs supporting DoD and IC customers.
• Conduct code Peer Reviews for your team.
• Translate mission needs into executable delivery plans, milestones, and measurable acceptance criteria.
• Maintain execution rhythm across sprint planning, readiness reviews, and milestone delivery.
• Track dependencies, risks, and delivery status across engineering, security, and deployment teams.
• Coordinate deployment planning and go-live execution across multiple environments and security domains.
• Communicate program status, technical risks, and tradeoffs clearly to internal and customer stakeholders.
• Support accreditation and operational approval activities by ensuring delivery alignment with compliance requirements.
• Maintain program artifacts including roadmaps, RAID logs, schedules, and customer-facing execution plans.

Core Skills & Qualifications

• B.S. in in a technical discipline (engineering, computer science, information systems) or demonstrated equivalent experience delivering complex technical programs.
• 6–10+ years of experience in technical program management, systems engineering, solutions delivery, or similar roles.
• Demonstrated experience delivering complex technical programs in defense or high-security environments.
• Strong technical fluency across software development lifecycles, cloud environments, APIs, and deployment processes.
• Strong organizational discipline and ability to manage competing priorities in high-tempo environments.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to drive alignment across cross-functional stakeholders.

Additional Valuable Experience

• Experience supporting deployments across SIPR/JWICS/NIPR or isolated cloud domains.
• Familiarity with AI/ML-enabled platforms and data fusion workflows.
• PMP, Scrum, SAFe, or DoD 8570/8140 certifications.
• Prior military or operational mission experience.

Success Measures

• Programs deliver on time with proactive risk and dependency management.
• Engineering execution stays aligned through clear requirements, priorities, and acceptance criteria.
• Deployments and cutovers run smoothly with repeatable readiness and stabilization processes.
• Customer stakeholders trust execution through consistent communication and transparent reporting.
• Cross-functional teams remain aligned through disciplined execution rhythms and timely decisions.