Project Lead II – DLA Innovation Programs

About the Role:

At BMNT, Project Leads play an integral role in our consulting practice, delivering measurable outcomes for government partners. As a Project Lead 2 supporting the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), you will independently manage key components of the Technology Accelerator and the Innovation Navigators Program, helping DLA cultivate a culture of innovation and accelerate mission-ready solutions from concept to capability.

This is a hands-on role that blends strategy, project management, and customer engagement. You will guide the lifecycle of innovation within DLA from sourcing and validating projects to incubating, testing, and transitioning prototypes into operational environments. The role requires strong leadership, the ability to work independently, and comfort navigating a dynamic environment with evolving priorities.

Location: This is a hybrid position within commuting distance to our Arlington, VA office with the expectation of being in the office three days per week and sometimes more often based on customer needs.  

What You Will Be Doing (Responsibilities):

Program Leadership & Execution

• Lead major components of DLA’s innovation portfolio, including alumni engagement, project curation, and prototype incubation.
  
  
• Own day-to-day execution of projects, ensuring alignment with customer objectives, BMNT methodologies, and contract deliverables.
  
  
• Collaborate with Program Managers and Directors to maintain operational excellence, resource alignment, and customer satisfaction.
  
  
• Anticipate and proactively mitigate project risks, ensuring smooth progress across multiple lines of effort.
  
  

Project Curation & Validation 

• Identify, source, and validate alumni-generated projects for further development.
  
  
• Design structured frameworks for interviews, evaluation, and prioritization to accelerate project intake into the Tech Accelerator.
  
  
• Track project progress and maintain visibility of outcomes through systematic reporting.
  
  
• Lead follow-up coaching efforts for Innovation Navigator alumni and ensure promising initiatives advance toward implementation.
  
  
• Continuously refine team processes to reduce cycle time from project identification to prototype incubation.
  
  

Prototype & MVP Development 

• Lead workshops to design, develop, and deploy MVPs and prototypes aligned with DLA operational needs.
  
  
• Coordinate with DLA stakeholders, external vendors, and BMNT product teams to meet milestones.
  
  
• Oversee prototype testing, experimentation, and data collection to assess mission impact.
  
  
• Develop and maintain business cases outlining efficiency gains, cost savings, and other performance metrics.
  
  
• Prepare transition plans to hand off prototypes to DLA stakeholders for continued development and sustainment.
  
  
• Manage communication and reporting to senior DLA leaders through briefings, dashboards, and progress updates.
  
  

Alumni & Stakeholder Engagement

• Oversee DLA Innovation Navigator alumni communications, events, and engagement strategies.
  
  
• Maintain SharePoint and Teams channels as collaboration hubs for current and former participants.
  
  
• Develop long-term engagement strategies to strengthen organizational learning and identify scalable innovation opportunities.
  
  
• Serve as a trusted liaison across DLA, BMNT, and external partners.
  
  
• Identify, mentor, and connect innovation champions to create a sustainable culture of experimentation.
  
  

Internal & External Coordination

• Serve as the primary point of contact for internal DLA communications and tasking related to Innovation Navigators deliverables.
  
  
• Coordinate production of program deliverables, including AARs, success stories, and communications.
  
  
• Maintain visibility of program achievements, milestones, and outcomes.
  
  
• Represent BMNT in senior-level briefings, client meetings, and external forums.
  
  

Experience and Qualifications You’ll Need to Thrive in this Role:

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent professional experience required.
  
  
• 8 years of relevant experience in project or program management including the ability to scope, plan, and execute complex efforts on time and within budget.
  
  
• 4 years of experience at BMNT or in a similar innovation, consulting, or defense environment preferred.
  
  
• Proven success delivering large-scale, multi-stakeholder projects in government or enterprise settings.
  
  
• Prior experience deploying, testing, or transitioning innovative capabilities within a defense or federal context strongly preferred.
  
  

• Deep understanding of BMNT methodologies, including Innovation Pipeline®, Lean Innovation, and H4X® frameworks.
  
  
• Strong leadership, mentorship, and influencing abilities, including managing cross-functional teams and guiding without direct authority.
  
  
• Expertise in stakeholder engagement, customer relationship management, and executive communication.
  
  
• Experienced facilitator of innovation workshops, training sessions, and design sprints.
  
  
• Proficiency in collaboration and project management tools, including Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and related platforms.
  
  
• Ability to synthesize qualitative and quantitative data into actionable insights to inform decision-making.
  
  
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and adapting to fast-paced, evolving environments.
  
  
• Experience driving organizational change and aligning innovation initiatives with enterprise strategy.
  
  
• Demonstrated ability to manage innovation pipelines or incubator programs from ideation through prototype transition.
  
  
• Experience or familiarity with military, government, or logistics operations, and the ability to apply that context to innovation program execution.
  
  

Additional Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship required.
  
  
• Must be able to pass a low-level background investigation to obtain a Common Access Card (CAC).
  
  
• Willingness to travel occasionally for DLA workshops, on-site events, and innovation activities outside the DC metro area.
  
  
• Passion for BMNT’s mission and commitment to enabling innovation at scale within the federal enterprise.

If you are a self-starter with an obsession for outcomes, not activities and a history of achievements, and enjoy working on projects with collaborative and creative teams, this could be the right role for you!

Compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

#hiring #designthinking  #HCD #DoD #leanstartup #H4D #TSA #DLA