About this role
Job Title: Director, Autonomy Division JOA: CDAO-2026-000111 Pay Scale: $139,395-$197,200 Open Date: 11 August 2026 Close Date: 1 September 2026 About the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office The Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) mission is to accelerate the adoption of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) across the Department of War (DoW). The CDAO works across the Military Departments and Services, Joint Staff, Combatant Commands (CCMDs), Office of the Secretary of War (OSW), and other DoW Components to design, develop, field, and scale technologies, capabilities, strategies, policies, and other guidance related to data, analytics, and AI in support of DoW's warfighting and business functions, including responding to crises and emerging challenges with state of the art digital solutions. The CDAO has three broad goals of enabling, speeding, and scaling adoption of AI in the DoW. Rapid and scalable adoption of AI is a critical capability for DoW support in national security, and the CDAO executes that strategy. The CDAO’s role in facilitating the rapid adoption of frontier AI and autonomy will enable the DoW’s other objectives by informing future investments into policies, partnership, and infrastructure, enabling the adoption of AI at scale throughout the department. Adversaries collectively produce millions of unmanned systems (UxS) each year across all domains. While global military unmanned systems production has skyrocketed over the last three years, the United States has been slow to field these capabilities at scale. The Department of War (DoW) is moving at speed to bolster the U.S. drone manufacturing base, arm combat units with low-cost unmanned systems, and training the Joint Force to fight and win with these capabilities. As the Director, Autonomy Division within CDAO’s Enterprise Directorate, your mission is to deliver the digital capabilities that make rapid autonomy development and deployment possible, enabling the deployment of highly effective, safe, and reliable autonomous systems in days or weeks, rather than years. This position is covered by the Department of War (DoW) Civilian Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project (AcqDemo). The position is located in Washington, DC. The pay plan and broadband level for this role is NH-0340-04, which is equivalent to the GS-14/15 grade level. This role will close for submissions at 11:59pm on September 1st, 2026. Division Leadership & Strategic Alignment: Lead the CDAO’s Autonomy Division, defining the strategic roadmap for digital infrastructure and software capabilities that enable rapid autonomy development across the Joint Force. Align the division’s objectives with Direct Reporting Program Manager for Unmanned Systems and broader DoW warfighting concepts. High-Level Stakeholder Integration: Coordinate with the Services, Military Departments, Combatant Commands (CCMDs), Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)), and other UxS stakeholders to ensure synchronized joint capability. Commercial & Industrial Base Acceleration: Partner with DIU and commercial industry to rapidly deliver autonomous platforms and capabilities to the DoW. Accelerate the transition of cutting-edge commercial technology, including AI, navigation algorithms, and other technologies, into DoW autonomy programs. Budgetary & Programmatic Execution: Strategically direct and plan programmatic funding lines, program elements (PEs), and budget submissions for the Autonomy Division, utilizing rapid acquisition pathways to optimize cost, schedule, and technical performance.