Targeting SME

Job Description

BOAB Ventures is seeking experienced Targeting Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to support an advanced, AI-enabled capability development program within the national security space.

This position sits at the intersection of operational targeting and technical capability development. We're looking for professionals who understand the Joint Targeting Cycle from firsthand operational experience and can translate that knowledge into workflows, requirements, and user stories that technical teams can build against.

The ideal candidate brings expertise in areas such as object-based intelligence, target development, target system analysis, and collection support to targeting, combined with the ability to work directly with engineers, operational users, government stakeholders, and platform owners.

What You'll Do

• Provide Combatant Command-level targeting expertise across the Joint Targeting Cycle.
• Identify opportunities to integrate operational targeting workflows, intelligence data sources, and AI-enabled capabilities.
• Apply advanced, systems-level target development and target system analysis to help shape capability direction.
• Translate operational targeting processes into developer-consumable workflows, requirements, and user stories.
• Communicate operational and technical tradeoffs, risks, integration constraints, and recommendations to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Coordinate across operational users, intelligence professionals, platform owners, government stakeholders, and technical development teams.
• Maintain awareness of theater-level targeting coordination across joint and service organizations.
• Work with joint targeting tools, intelligence platforms, data environments, and associated governance and ownership structures.
• Help ensure emerging capabilities address real operational targeting requirements rather than theoretical use cases.

Required Skills

• Active TS/SCI clearance.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Counterintelligence (CI) Polygraph.
• U.S. Citizenship.
• Demonstrated operational experience supporting the Joint Targeting Cycle at a Combatant Command.
• Deep understanding of intelligence support to targeting, including object-based intelligence and target development.
• Experience supporting COCOM targeting organizations such as CCMD J2T, J2C, J23, or equivalent organizations/functions.
• Advanced target development and target system analysis experience.
• Ability to move between operational targeting environments and technical development teams, translating mission problems into capabilities engineers can build.
• Ability to operate within fast-paced, multi-vendor, government-led development environments with evolving priorities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills across technical developers, operational users, senior leaders, government stakeholders, and external vendors.
• Ability to support periodic travel, approximately every 30 days, to Combatant Commands, service components, operational units, and industry/vendor locations.

Desired Skills

• CENTCOM targeting experience.
• Advanced target development or target system analysis experience at DIA or a Combatant Command J2.
• Familiarity with weaponeering workflows and target-to-effects integration.
• Existing relationships with operational platform or data owners.
• Experience supporting DoD software, AI/ML, data, or operational capability-development programs.
• Experience operating in classified environments and navigating cross-domain data constraints.
• Familiarity with Agile development practices, rapid capability delivery, and iterative user-feedback cycles.
• Prior Military Intelligence or Intelligence Community experience.