Associate Product Manager

Who we are:

Raft (https://TeamRaft.com) is a customer-obsessed non-traditional defense tech company dedicated to empowering U.S. military and government agencies with cutting-edge AI/ML and data solutions. We are a leader in autonomous data fusion and Agentic AI, with a purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development. With headquarters in McLean, VA, our range of clients includes innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting-edge tech stack, and cloud-native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.

About the role:

At Raft, we build data and AI products that power real-world mission outcomes for the Department of Defense. We move fast, iterate often, and operate in an environment where priorities shift, requirements evolve, and the stakes are high. As an Associate Product Manager, you will be embedded directly in the heart of that environment, supporting multiple internal product lines, growth initiatives, and executive-level priorities across the entire company.

This is not a narrowly scoped or siloed role. You will be expected to wear multiple hats across product, program, and project management, contributing wherever the work demands. One day you may be drafting a product roadmap update; the next you may be supporting a business development response, coordinating with engineering on a delivery milestone, or preparing materials for an executive briefing. If that kind of range energizes you rather than overwhelms you, you'll fit right in.

You will interact directly with Raft's executive team and will have visibility into strategic decisions that most early-career professionals never encounter. You will be expected to learn quickly, ask good questions, take ownership of your responsibilities, and grow into a key contributor to Raft's product and business development functions.

What You Will Do:

• Support the development and maintenance of product roadmaps across Raft's core product lines by tracking progress, capturing feedback, and surfacing prioritization inputs to senior PMs and leadership.
• Assist in program and project management activities across multiple concurrent workstreams, helping to track milestones, flag risks, and keep cross-functional teams aligned.
• Coordinate meetings, working sessions, and executive briefings, preparing agendas, capturing action items, and following up to ensure accountability.
• Support business development and company growth efforts by contributing to RFI/RFP responses, capability briefs, slide decks, and other materials that communicate Raft's products and value proposition to prospective customers and partners.
• Conduct market and competitive research to inform product and growth strategies, synthesizing findings into clear, actionable summaries.
• Interface with DoD customers, program stakeholders, and internal engineering teams to relay requirements, document feedback, and help ensure alignment between what is being built and what the customer needs.
• Assist in Agile ceremonies and help maintain team backlogs, user stories, and sprint documentation as needed.
• Develop and maintain internal documentation, SOPs, and product collateral that support both delivery execution and external-facing communications.
• Adapt fluidly to competing priorities, stepping in where the business needs you most and handling ambiguity with professionalism and composure.

What we are looking for:

• 0-2 years of experience in product management, project coordination, business analysis, program support, or a related role. Internship experience counts.
• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field (Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or similar). A technical foundation is important, you don't need to write code, but you need to be comfortable talking to engineers and understanding technical tradeoffs.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distill complex information into clear, concise outputs for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities without dropping balls, organized, detail-oriented, and proactive about staying on top of multiple workstreams.
• Personable, collaborative, and confident enough to interact directly with executives, customers, and senior stakeholders.
• High adaptability and a genuine comfort with ambiguity, you can pivot quickly when priorities shift and don't need a rigid playbook to do good work.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and basic product management concepts (roadmaps, user stories, backlogs, sprint planning).
• Proficiency with common productivity and project management tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Notion, Google Workspace, Microsoft Office).
• Analytical mindset with the ability to structure problems, gather data, and support evidence-based decision-making.
• A natural curiosity about defense technology and a desire to understand the missions and stakeholders Raft serves.

Highly preferred:

• Prior exposure to government contracting, DoD programs, or the defense technology ecosystem.
• Experience contributing to business development activities such as proposals, capability briefings, or white papers.
• Familiarity with defense acquisition concepts (e.g., FAR/DFARS, OTA, SBIR) or interest in learning them.
• Experience working in or supporting a software development environment, even in a non-engineering capacity.
• Background in competitive collegiate or club sports, or other high-commitment team environments, evidence that you know how to juggle real demands, operate within a team, compete to win, and push yourself beyond the minimum.
• Demonstrated ability to create polished, compelling presentation and communication materials for leadership audiences.

Clearance Requirements:

• No active clearance required to start.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen and eligible to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI security clearance.
• You will be sponsored and expected to pursue your TS/SCI clearance upon joining Raft.

Salary Range: $65,000.00 - $90,000.00

• The determination of compensation is predicated upon a candidate's comprehensive experience, demonstrated skill, and proven abilities.

Work Type:

• 100% onsite in Tysons, VA.
• May require up to 25% travel to customer sites, partner locations, and Raft offices.

What we will offer you:

• Highly competitive salary
• Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) and company match
• Take as you need PTO + 11 paid holidays
• Education & training benefits
• Generous Referral Bonuses
• And More!

Our Vision Statement:

We bridge the gap between humans and data through radical transparency and our obsession withthemission.

Our Customer Obsession:

We will approach every deliverable like it's a product. We will adopt a customer-obsessed mentality. As we grow, and our footprint becomes larger, teams and employees will treat each other not only as teammates but customers. We must live the customer-obsessed mindset, always. This will help us scale and it will translate to the interactions that our Rafters have with their clients and other product teams that they integrate with. Our culture will enable our success and set us apart from other companies.

How do we get there?

Public-sector modernization is critical for us to live in a better world. We, at Raft, want to innovate and solve complex problems. And, if we are successful, our generation and the ones that follow us will live in a delightful, efficient, and accessible world where out-of-box thinking,and collaboration is a norm.

Raft's core philosophy isUbuntu: IAm, BecauseWe are. We support our"nadi"by elevating the other Rafters. We work as a hyper collaborative team where each team member brings a unique perspective, adding value that did not exist before. People make Raft special. We celebrate each other and our cognitive and cultural diversity. We are devoted to our practice of innovation and collaboration.