---
title: 'Technical Program Manager - DOD/IC at Kestrel Intelligence'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/technical-program-manager-dod-ic-kestrel-intelligence-united-states-rm3gtxbynsc3'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-20'
---

# Technical Program Manager - DOD/IC at Kestrel Intelligence

- **Company:** Kestrel Intelligence
- **Location:** United States
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-10-15
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-20
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/kestrel-intelligence/ab2567cf-9f0d-4d48-8f29-6a94cca1e3e2

## Job description

The Mission At Kestrel, we are building the future of scalable autonomy across domains. Our systems enable commercial and national security customers to sense and act in support of complex missions without significant autonomous system expertise. This technology bridges domains (e.g., space, air, land, sea) and fields (e.g., AI, orbital dynamics, geospatial), so it requires a team with both breadth and depth in these related topics.

## The Role

As a Technical Program Manager at Kestrel, you will drive the execution of our government contracts, pilots, and prototype efforts from kickoff through delivery. You will coordinate engineering, product, business development, and customer stakeholders to ensure Kestrel meets its technical milestones, contract deliverables, and mission commitments. You will understand the technology well enough to spot risks early, make informed tradeoffs, and communicate progress with credibility. This role requires organization, technical fluency, and a deep respect for the mission. Core Responsibilities: Lead the execution of DoD and IC programs, including SBIR, OTA, and pilot efforts, from contract award through final delivery. Build and maintain integrated master schedules, work breakdown structures, and delivery plans that align engineering work with contract milestones. Serve as the primary day-to-day point of contact for government program managers, contracting officer representatives, and technical leads. Track contract deliverables, such as monthly status reports, technical reports, demos, and final reports, and ensure the team delivers them on time and at high quality. Partner with engineering managers and technical leads to scope work, estimate effort, and sequence development across data pipelines, APIs, agentic AI components, and user interfaces. Identify, track, and mitigate technical, schedule, cost, and compliance risks, and escalate issues to leadership with clear options. Coordinate customer engagements, including kickoff meetings, technical interchange meetings, demos, and site visits. Manage program budgets and burn rates in coordination with finance, and support invoicing against contract milestones. Support security and compliance activities, such as ATO preparation, RMF documentation, and facility or personnel security coordination. Help business development and proposal teams build realistic technical approaches, schedules, and cost estimates for new pursuits. Capture lessons learned and continuously improve Kestrel’s program delivery processes, including the Pilot Playbook. Required Qualifications: 6+ years of experience managing technical programs or projects, with at least 3 years supporting DoD or IC customers. Direct experience executing government contracts, such as SBIRs, OTAs, or other federal R&D or prototype agreements. Enough technical background to engage credibly with software engineers on architecture, scope, and delivery tradeoffs. Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to brief government stakeholders and company leadership. Proficiency with program management and tracking tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, MS Project). Bonus: PMP, PgMP, or DAWIA Program Management certification. Prior experience in ISR, collection management, GEOINT, or space programs. Familiarity with agile delivery for software and AI programs. Experience transitioning prototypes or pilots into follow-on production contracts or programs of record. Experience at a startup or venture-backed defense technology company. Location near Colorado Springs, CO, or Washington, DC (with work at customer sites in Crystal City, VA, and Herndon, VA). Active Top Secret // Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS//SCI) clearance with a counterintelligence-scope polygraph (CSP) or full-scope polygraph (FSP). Must be a US Citizen.

## About Kestrel Intelligence

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Kestrel Intelligence builds an agentic AI platform that autonomously orchestrates and tasks intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) sensors across space, air, land, and sea for military, intelligence, and commercial operators.
- **Entity Type**: Private (early-stage startup, venture-backed)
- **Headquarters**: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA (with offices in Rosslyn, Virginia and Boise, Idaho)
- **Founded**: 2025
- **Founders**: Thomas Higginbotham (CEO) and Eric T. Straub (Co-Founder)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Defense / National Security / Space ISR
- Target customers: U.S. Department of Defense (especially Space Force), intelligence community, commercial enterprises in agriculture, infrastructure monitoring, disaster response, and critical infrastructure operators (B2G, B2B)
- Mission or purpose statement: "Transforming sensing tasking and orchestration with an AI-driven, marketplace approach" — making geospatial intelligence collection "as seamless as calling a ride" while removing the busywork that prevents analysts from focusing on high-level intelligence

## Products & Services
- **[Kestrel Intelligence Platform]**: A multi-agent AI system that automates the allocation, prioritization, and coordination of ISR collection across hundreds of heterogeneous sensors (satellites, aerial, ground, maritime). The platform uses agentic AI to plan, negotiate, and re-task assets in real time, with human-on-the-loop oversight. It is deployed as a cloud/secure environment software service for government and enterprise customers.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total employee count of 7 (as of early 2026), growing 450% year-over-year; selected for the U.S. Space Force Catalyst Accelerator 16th cohort
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Navigate VC (portfolio company); U.S. Space Force Space Delta 7 (accelerator partner & operational end user)
- **Growth Signals**: Rapid headcount growth (from ~1 to 7 employees in first year); acceptance into a competitive defense accelerator focused on AI/ML for ISR; hiring for hybrid engineering and data science roles in Colorado Springs and Crystal City, VA

## Competitive Advantages
- **Agentic AI approach** that goes beyond traditional automation — the system reasons about objectives, negotiates competing priorities, and dynamically reallocates resources across domains.
- **Founding team** combines operational intelligence experience (CIA, U.S. Air Force) with deep AI expertise (Stanford, Google X, C3 AI), giving them both domain credibility and technical capability.
- **Multi-sensor, multi-domain orchestration** that connects 3,500+ global autonomous sensors — a rare integration layer in a fragmented market.
- **Human-on-the-loop design** ensures trust and adoption by military/intelligence operators while achieving machine-speed execution.

## Strategic Focus
- Current priority: Refining the platform for space-based ISR missions through the Catalyst Accelerator (Jan–Apr 2026), working directly with Space Delta 7 operators and technical advisors.
- Near-term direction: Expanding commercial use cases (agriculture, industrial monitoring) and scaling the engineering team to build out the platform’s marketplace and agent capabilities.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven work** at the intersection of AI, space, and national security — every engineer and data scientist contributes directly to solving high-impact intelligence problems.
- **Small, growing team** (~7 people) means outsized ownership and influence; employees wear multiple hats and work closely with founders and former operators.
- **Hybrid work policy** with office hubs in Colorado Springs, CO and Crystal City, VA (across from the Pentagon) — offering flexibility while maintaining in-person collaboration for sensitive work.
- **Cutting-edge tech stack** dealing with agentic AI, multi-sensor fusion, and real-time orchestration — an opportunity to build novel systems not available in the commercial sector.
- **Culture highlights**: Tight-knit team with backgrounds in intelligence, defense, and big tech; emphasis on removing busywork rather than removing humans; transparent hiring process (uses AI tools to screen, but final decisions are human-led).

## Sources
1. [kestrelintelligence.com](https://kestrelintelligence.com/)
2. [kestrelintelligence.com/blog/inside-delta-7-catalyst-accelerator](https://kestrelintelligence.com/blog/inside-delta-7-catalyst-accelerator)
3. [linkedin.com/company/kestrel-intelligence](https://linkedin.com/company/kestrel-intelligence)
4. [navigatevc.com/portfolio-companies/kestrel-intelligence](https://www.navigatevc.com/portfolio-companies/kestrel-intelligence)
5. [jobs.lever.co/kestrel-intelligence](https://jobs.lever.co/kestrel-intelligence)

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