Solutions Architect

The Company

TurbineOne is the frontline perception company. We deliver decision-advantage and more effective situational awareness to those serving at our nation’s frontlines. Our customers value how we automate the right portions of the military intelligence cycle while keeping them in the loop. We’re a small, fast-moving, high-performance DefenseTech startup backed by premier national-security investors. Our software, the Frontline Perception System (FPS), brings cutting-edge AI and machine learning directly to the tactical edge, empowering U.S. and allied operators working in real-world, low-connectivity environments.

Team: GTM / Sales Enablement
Location: Remote
Level: Depends on experience
Reports to: VP GTM

The Role

TurbineOne is hiring a Solutions Architect / Sales Engineer to serve as the technical bridge between customers, sales, and product teams. Most national security buyers don’t understand software. But they want their technical systems to work on their sensors, in their networks, and against real mission problems. Without strong technical validation, sales engagements can overscope or underscope requirements, Engineering can get pulled into unproductive demonstrations, and pilots fail because of incorrect assumptions about customer environments. This role ensures that doesn’t happen.

You will validate technical fit early, design deployable FPS architectures, and run demos and pilots that convert into real contracts. By partnering with Business Development while protecting Engineering focus, you help TurbineOne scope deployments correctly, build customer trust faster, and turn technical curiosity into real adoption.

This is a pre-sales technical leadership role, not a product development role. The long-term measure of success for this function is if the company’s strategic engagements are priced well to balance risk and financial margins.

What You’ll Do

Customer Technical Engagement

• Lead technical discovery sessions with operators, PMs, and acquisition teams. 
• Design FPS solution architectures aligned to customer sensors, platforms, and workflows.
  Serve as a trusted technical advisor during pilots, evaluations, and proposal cycles.
  Deliver technical briefings to both engineering teams and senior leadership.

Demo & Pilot Ownership

• Build and maintain demo environments reflecting real mission use cases.
• Operate Edgeworks demo stacks for customer visits and field trials.
• Ensure demos are reliable, repeatable, and aligned with current product capability.Support pilot deployments and technical validation.

Technical Sales Support

• Partner with Sales Principals to design technically credible solutions.
• Scope deployments to ensure mission success and realistic pricing.
• Contribute technical content to RFIs/RFPs when needed.
• Help Sales explain FPS architecture, integration paths, and operational impact.

Internal Translation & Feedback Loop

• Translate customer problems into structured product feedback.
• Convert field insights into actionable user stories for the Engineering team.
• Identify gaps in product usability, deployment workflows, or documentation.
• Help prioritize features based on real operational needs.
• This role focuses on real customer use cases and the current product.

What This Role Is Not

• Not a software engineering role. 
• Not responsible for long-term engineering strategy.
• Not a “defense capture” or policy role.

How This Role Works With Others

• Business Development: Sales opens doors. Solutions Architect proves the tool works and then scopes the customer integration.
• Engineering: Engineering builds the product. Solutions Architect ensures it fits within the customer’s existing operations and systems.
• Mission Team: This is the non-technical customer success team. Solutions Architect ensures engagements are scoped correctly so that the Mission team can be set up for success.

What We’re Looking For

Required

• 5–10+ years in Sales Engineering, Solutions Architecture, technical pre-sales, or similar role.
• Experience with complex software systems, edge computing, military intelligence workflows, or sensor integration.
• Strong ability to explain technical systems clearly to operators and acquisition teams.
• Experience running demos, pilots, or technical evaluations.
• Comfortable working with DoD, IC, or allied defense customers.
• Willingness to travel to customer sites and field environments.

Preferred

• Experience with AI, military targeting / Intel / Fires, or sensor-driven workflows.
• Background in defense operations, systems engineering, or mission integration.
• Experience building demo stacks or prototype environments.
• Active or prior security clearance.

If You Thrive Here

• You like translating hard technical problems into real-world solutions.
• You’re comfortable in front of generals and engineers alike.
• You enjoy building demos, solving integration puzzles, and helping customers succeed.
• You want to deliver AI tools that actually work for warfighters at the edge.

SkillBridge Fellowship

Company Intro: TurbineOne is the frontline perception company. We deliver decision advantage, better situational awareness, and stronger force protection. Our customers love how we automate the right portions of the military intelligence cycle while keeping them in the loop. The company is a small, fast-moving, and high-performance startup that is backed by the best DefenseTech venture capitalists with over $50M in funding. We recently raised our Series B round and are valued at $300M. TurbineOne is actively deployed by every branch of the Department of Defense to solve their most critical missions.

About SkillBridge 

The DOD SkillBridge program is an opportunity for service members to gain valuable civilian work experience through specific industry training, apprenticeships, or internships during the last 180 days of service (or as DOD determines). DOD SkillBridge connects transitioning service members with industry partners in real-world job experiences.

For service members, DOD SkillBridge provides an invaluable chance to work and learn in civilian, private-sector career areas. For industry partners, DOD SkillBridge is an opportunity to access and leverage the world's most highly trained and motivated workforce at no direct cost. Service members participating in DOD SkillBridge programs continue receiving their military compensation and benefits, while industry partners provide industry exposure, civilian training, and work experience.

Installation and unit commanders who have members about to transition from active duty, bridge the gap between their service members' end of service and the beginning of their civilian careers with the DOD SkillBridge participation. Commanders ease this military-to-civilian transition period for their members when they permit SkillBridge participation with trusted employers.

Service members can be granted up to 180 days of permissive duty to focus solely on training full-time with approved industry partners after their chain of command, field grade commander, provides written authorization and approval. These industry partners offer real-world training and in-demand work experience while having the opportunity to evaluate the service member's suitability for future employment.

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Job Description

• The ideal candidate will be an energetic, detail-oriented professional who is interested in national security, technology, and comfortable operating in a fast-moving team-centric environment. 
• Candidates should have excellent writing skills and be proficient in conducting basic research, drafting background papers and presentations. 
• This is a client facing role that requires exceptional communication skills and ability to learn and synthesize complex information quickly and effectively.

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Responsibilities

• Serve on a client-facing team. Fellows are expected to quickly understand the priorities of each client and the nature of TurbineOne’s work.
• Must be able to understand specific and implied tasks, conduct independent research on cross functional topics, develop materials for internal and external use, and identify and communicate issues and potential solutions. 
• Engage in technology, business development and other role-specific trainings to build out additional professional skillsets.
• Assist with the strategy and tactics around business development opportunities, including identification of mission needs and potential clients, as well as market research and analysis. 
• Develop and maintain a professional network within the national and international security ecosystem. 
• Perform other professionally appropriate assigned tasks as required. 

Qualifications

• Sustained superior performance in military career, with desire to learn and grow in a highly mission-driven, defense-focused startup. 
• Passion for supporting those that take risks for all of us. 
• Enthusiasm and curiosity for technology.
• Willingness to continuously learn and push outside of one’s comfort zone.

Startup Culture Expectations:

• Please refer to Elad Gil’s High Growth Handbook for general expectations on what should be “normal” for a company like TurbineOne.
• Just like in the White House, you will need to make your own photocopies. No great startup can afford Executive Assistants or most other luxuries.
• Every employee will develop quarterly goals and metrics in order to transparently communicate, and objectively measure one’s own performance.
• Everyone on the Team needs to be very comfortable with constant change, moving fast, sharing failures, embracing grit, and building things themselves. Most startups fail and no one will come to save us.

Company Intro: TurbineOne is the frontline perception company. We deliver decision advantage, better situational awareness, and stronger force protection. Our customers love how we automate the right portions of the military intelligence cycle while keeping them in the loop. The company is a small, fast-moving, and high-performance startup that is backed by the best DefenseTech venture capitalists.

Sales Team: You would join a successful team whose leaders include three former Commanders of the Joint Intel Brigade. Our advisors include a former Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, two former Directors of the Defense Intelligence Agency and National Geospatial Agency, and the most senior leaders of Service Branch' s Intel organizations.You will also have inspiring partners in the Product and Engineering teams, who are highly responsive to customer needs.

Job Title: Principal, Business Development Air Force 

• Reporting directly to the Chief Revenue Officer
• Geographically flexible for home-office and moderate domestic travel (~25%) should be expected.

Primary Responsibilities:

1. Deliver new revenue to TurbineOne through direct sales to the U.S. Air Force.
1. You will identify sales opportunities, drive leads into the sales funnel by directly engaging buyers, pitch our product (with support from the Sales team), document the scope of work (in collaboration with the CTO), and negotiate the contract (with pricing approval from the CEO).
2. Identify a military leader with the right kind of power, then with the utmost care and ethical conduct, convince that person to become a fanatical champion for TurbineOne’s product.
2. Contribute to the product & engineering roadmap.
3. Drive expansions with current customers.
4. Contribute to the company's overall business strategy and marketing positioning.
5. Translate national security requirements to Silicon Valley engineers and similarly educate government Buyers on the tech industry’s best practices.

In a Typical Week You Will:

• Fly to a military base to witness our product being used by uniformed service members in classified operating environments.
• Host a Zoom call with military exercise Coordinators and pitch them on why TurbineOne should be included in the event.
• Deliver live product demonstrations to help convince those with unobligated government funds to spend it on TurbineOne.
• Write a short Scope of Work document so that T1’s Capture Manager can expand the 1-pager into a 25-page package for a Contracting Officer.
• Get rejected by a personal friend that you thought would give us a giant contract, but for some undefined reason, is newly unresponsive to your messages.
• Educate old colleagues on why they should not buy the snake oil from a large Defense contractor.

Desired Experience:

• You’ve served in the Air Force for over 20 years.
• You have led technology-related projects for DoD to solve pressing problems.  
• You’ve personally closed, signed or negotiated at least one >$1M contract.

Startup Culture Expectations:

• Please refer to Elad Gil’s High Growth Handbook for general expectations on what should be “normal” for a company like TurbineOne.
• Just like in the White House, you will need to make your own photocopies. No great startup can afford Executive Assistants or most other luxuries.
• Every employee will develop quarterly metrics in order to transparently communicate, and objectively measure, one’s own performance.
• Everyone on the Team needs to be very comfortable with constant change, moving fast, sharing failures, embracing grit, and building things themselves. Most startups fail and no one will come to save us.