Defense Engagement Team Part-Time Reservist

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) supports the Department of Defense’s efforts to create and foster commercial partnerships within multiple innovation ecosystems across the United States. It is staffed by active-duty and reserve personnel, government civilians and contracted consultants.

DIU is headquartered in Mountain View, CA with satellite offices in Cambridge, MA, Washington DC, and Austin, TX.

*This is not an opening to a specific billet, rather a means of indicating your interest in serving in a part time IMA capacity at DIU.  The service lead will reach out when we have billet openings and your profile is a match for our current needs.

Responsibilities

Part-time reservists provide support to DIU's Portfolio and Engagement teams based on their military and civilian expertise. Unlike other reserve commands, a reservist's civilian expertise plays a larger role for most of the work they support than their military background. 

The type of support provided will vary dependent on active projects and programs in progress on the active side. Reservists will provide business operations and professional services in support of the Directors and Program Managers. They may act as an interface between the DOD, entrepreneurs, start-up firms, and commercial technology companies to increase DOD access to leading edge commercial technologies, processes and technical talent.

Types of Project Support

• Conducts market research and engages with commercial sector to support project curation and execution (as needed)
• Assists on contracting activities and documents in support of the directors and program/project managers

Types of Content Creation Support

• Technical writing
• Drafting, creating and editing presentations, reports, summaries and minutes of meetings, white papers
• Branding and storytelling materials

The ideal candidate should have:

• Capacity to thrive in a culture where self-motivation is necessary, and communication is paramount. Ability to juggle numerous tasks and competing priorities
• Understand the expectations of supervisors/stakeholders/teammates and develop strong working relationships to achieve shared goals. Build strong relationships with both external candidates and internal business partners. Proven ability to work collaboratively in a team environment
• Strong written and oral communication skills; the ability to present complex matters clearly and simply; effective organizational skills; the ability to be proactive, take initiative and follow through
• Demonstrated ability to gather and analyze a variety of data points (qualitative and quantitative) and whittle that information down to the most salient insights for the Portfolio’s business needs
• Ability to distill and communicate highly complex issues for a technical and at times a non-technical audience
• Proficient computer skills, Google Suite a plus
• High level of responsibility, ownership and accountability
• Able to effectively debate and use data as the basis of your argument
• Passion for great DoD-Silicon Valley customer experiences