Deployment Strategist, Cleared (TS/SCI)

Government technology has failed citizens, public servants, and service members for decades. Kaizen powers America’s application layer. We replace the legacy systems federal agencies run on with modern software, built with craft. The ticketing platform a resident uses to visit a presidential library. The marketplace DoW uses for counter-drone procurement to protect lives and critical infrastructure. The system a Veteran uses to access benefits. We build systems of record, of national consequence. Our AI-native modules and harness allow us to do so in weeks and months, not years. This year, our revenue has grown 35x. Next year, our software will serve over 100 million Americans across dozens of federal agencies. Founded in 2022 and based in New York City and DC, Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital. CLEARANCE AND ELIGIBILITY This role requires an active Top Secret or TS/SCI clearance. United States citizenship is required, because it is a condition of eligibility for the clearance the role depends on. LOCATION This is a hybrid role based out DC. Candidates must reside in DC or be able to commute to work out of our office at least three times a week (Tuesdays - Thursdays). THE ROLE You'll own the full implementation journey for Kaizen's federal customers: scoping the rollout, configuring the platform, training agency staff, and staying in the room until the deployment is actually adopted, not just launched. You'll work inside classified and accredited environments where every integration decision has to account for what data can move where, and you'll partner closely with the engineering team to make sure what gets shipped actually fits how the agency operates. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own end-to-end federal implementations: discovery, scoping, configuration, data migration, integrations, training, go-live, and post-launch support. - Lead onboarding for agency stakeholders and career staff, translating what they actually need into a rollout plan that survives contact with a live agency. - Work inside classification and data-handling constraints as a design input, not an obstacle, coordinating closely with engineering on what can be built and how. - Translate patterns from the field back to Product and Engineering: edge cases, workflow gaps, and the things agencies never put in the RFP but need on day one. - Act as the connective tissue between customer-facing implementation and the engineers building against Foundry, AIP, and Maven Smart System, so what ships matches what was promised. - Build the playbooks, templates, and internal documentation that make the next federal deployment faster than this one. - Guide public sector partners through the actual change management of replacing a legacy system, not just the technical cutover. WHAT YOU'LL BRING - 5+ years in SaaS implementation, onboarding, solutions engineering, or a product-adjacent delivery role (Implementation Consultant, Solutions Architect, Technical Program Manager), with a track record of owning multi-stakeholder rollouts. - Technical fluency: comfortable working with APIs, data models, and system configurations, and able to hold your own in a conversation with engineers about integration tradeoffs. - Experience translating customer requirements into implementation plans and technical workflows, not just a status tracker. - Comfort operating inside classified or otherwise accredited environments, or a clear ability to pick up new compliance and data-handling constraints fast. - A bias toward action: you'd rather build the process while running the deployment than wait for someone to hand you one. STRONG CANDIDATES MAY ALSO... - Have deployed software inside a classified or accredited environment before and know where the real friction lives. - Have worked a program where Palantir was prime, or have hands-on exposure to Foundry, AIP, or Maven Smart System. - Have touched federal, state, or local government implementation work specifically, versus enterprise SaaS generally. - Have built implementation playbooks or internal tooling from scratch at an early-stage company. DON'T APPLY IF... - You need a mature playbook to follow. Most of what you'll use here, you'll be building. - You want to hand off the hard technical questions to engineering and stay on the process side. This role lives at that intersection. - You're looking for a steady-state customer success role. This is deployment under real constraints, with real agencies, and real consequences if it goes wrong. - Government bureaucracy and slow-moving stakeholders would wear you down instead of something you know how to work with. WHAT KAIZEN OFFERS Health & Insurance - 100% coverage across the board: medical through Oxford/United (Gold and Platinum PPO plans), dental through Guardian PPO, and vision through Beam — all fully covered for employees, with 100% coverage for dependents. - $100,000 in fully paid life insurance. FSA and Dependent Care FSA. - One Medical membership, on us — same-day primary care, 24/7 virtual visits, and offices all over the city. - Fertility and family-building support through Carrot. - 401(k) through Guideline, with a 2% company match. Family & Time Off - 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents. - Unlimited PTO, with a two-week minimum (we mean it when we say take time off!) - Closed for all federal holidays. - Company-wide winter break the week of Christmas. - Company offsites throughout the year. Office & Remote Setup - Up to $750 one-time home office or desk setup stipend for NYC-based employees. $500 for remote employees. - $50/month commuter benefit (company contribution). - Expensed lunch while in the office. - Company-provided laptop of your choice. Wellness - NYC employees: Fully covered gym membership at Grindhouse https://grindhousemhttn.com/ — right across the street from our office at 47 W 17th St (and in Williamsburg). A $225/month value, on us. - Non-NYC employees: $100 per month, dedicated to gym / physical fitness reimbursement. Stipends - $100/month utility stipend. - $500/year professional development. - $250/year recreation. - $300/quarter pet care stipend.