VP Maritime Intelligence Operations

About The Position

As VP of the Maritime Intelligence Operations Center (MIOC), you will lead Windward’s flagship intelligence unit in the US — the team that turns Maritime AI™ into the timely, decision-grade intelligence that shapes how governments, defense agencies, energy majors, and global financial institutions act on what is happening at sea.

You will own the agenda, the output, and the people in the US. From sanctions evasion and dark fleet activity to live geopolitical events — Iran, the Red Sea, the Strait of Hormuz, the Russian shadow fleet, IUU, CN — MIOC analysis is read for senior decision-makers and customers in the US federal space, and increasingly drives the public narrative around maritime intelligence. You will continue to build the team, set the priorities, and make sure every report we publish raises the bar.

You will sit at the intersection of intelligence operations as part of our Customers group — partnering closely with Customers, Sales, Product, R&D on tooling and platform requirements, with Marketing on the content engine, and with Windward’s US locales and subsidiaries to enable their cleared and in-market analytical work.

Core Responsibilities:

1. Own and Operate the MIOC

• Lead the Maritime Intelligence Operations Center end-to-end: people, process, output quality, and operational tempo.
• Run an intelligence-grade operation capable of responding to breaking maritime and geopolitical events on demand.
• Set the standards for tradecraft, sourcing, review, and quality control that make MIOC products trusted by the most demanding consumers.

2. Own the Intelligence Agenda

• Define what MIOC researches and why — aligned to customer demand signals, geopolitical priorities, and Windward’s strategic narrative.
• Prioritize across recurring products (daily/weekly intelligence, situation rooms, deep-dive analyses) and event-driven rapid response.
• Set the analytical methodology: sources, models, confidence levels, and how findings are corroborated and communicated.

3. Build Capacity — Hiring, Training, and Tradecraft

• Recruit, develop, and retain a senior team of maritime, geopolitical, and intelligence analysts.
• Build the training curriculum, career paths, and quality bar for analysts.
• Scale the organization responsibly as demand grows — across functions, geographies, missions and time zones.

4. Collaborate with back office customers, DataOps, Product and R&D

• Translate analyst needs into clear backend tooling and platform requirements.
• Partner with Product Management and R&D as the executive voice of the MIOC — on Maritime AI™ capabilities, internal analyst tooling, data quality, and analyst workflow.
• Champion analyst productivity and automation: cut time-to-insight.5. Empower Windward’s mission US Subsidiaries
• Work and collaborate with Windward’s US, UK, and other regional entities to enable their cleared and local analytical work.
• Provide the methodology, frameworks, training, and intelligence backbone covering US needs to deliver in-market without duplicating effort.
• Maintain consistency of tradecraft and quality across the Windward intelligence footprint.

6. Drive the Content Agenda with Marketing

• Partner with Marketing to plan and deliver high-impact public intelligence content — blogs, situation rooms, reports, briefings, webinars, and events.
• Establish MIOC as the most cited, most credible voice in maritime intelligence in the US.
• Balance public-facing visibility with the operational and commercial sensitivities of customers and partners.

7. Brief Customers and Senior Decision-Makers

• Brief senior government, defense, and intelligence stakeholders in the US on maritime developments and Windward’s analysis.
• Represent Windward at high-level forums — classified and unclassified — as the company’s senior voice on maritime intelligence in the US.
• Build trusted, principal-level relationships with our most strategic customers and partners.

Required Experience & Qualifications:

• Senior intelligence leadership. 10 years in intelligence, defense, or national security, including a senior leadership role running an intelligence-producing organization — military and\or Maritime intelligence, national agency, or an equivalent commercial intelligence / analytics unit.
• Maritime and/or geopolitical depth. Strong domain expertise in maritime, naval, sanctions, counter-proliferation, or related geopolitical fields. Deep familiarity with the Middle East and Iran-related maritime threat picture is a significant advantage.
• Operational tempo. Proven ability to run a high-tempo, intelligence-grade operation — tasking, production, quality control, and crisis response.
• Team builder. Track record of recruiting, developing, and retaining senior analysts and team leads. Experience designing training and tradecraft frameworks.Experience with building such an organization globally - advantage.
• Briefing credibility. Comfort and credibility briefing senior decision-makers — ministers, generals, agency heads, and C-level executives — in both Hebrew and English.
• Product partnership. Experience working with DataOps, engineering, R&D, and product teams to define analyst tooling, data, and platform requirements.
• Public voice. Ability to lead a public-facing content agenda in partnership with Marketing — without compromising operational or customer sensitivities.

Strongly Preferred

• Active TS\SCI Clearance
• Background in Military Intelligence, Intelligence agency, MoD, DoD, allied intelligence communities, or equivalent.
• Hands-on familiarity with OSINT, AIS, RF, satellite imagery (EO/SAR), and maritime data sources.
• Prior experience inside a commercial AI / data-product company.

Reporting & Logistics

• Reports to: SVP Customers
• Location: Washington DC — hybrid
• Travel: Some international travel expected