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Founding Advisor Opportunity

Help shape a transition-focused consortium accelerating the delivery of innovation to the warfighter.

The Joint Warfighter Innovation & Transition Consortium (JWITC), an initiative of the American Defense Innovation Foundation (ADF), invites a limited number of senior leaders to serve as Founding Advisors during the consortium’s formative phase.

Founding Advisors play a key role in shaping JWITC’s early direction, focus areas, and engagement model—ensuring the consortium remains operationally grounded, acquisition-aware, and focused on real transition outcomes.

Why Founding Advisors Matter

Despite unprecedented levels of defense innovation, the Department of Defense continues to face structural challenges transitioning proven capabilities from prototype to operational use.

JWITC was created to address this challenge directly—by reducing acquisition friction, clarifying transition pathways, and improving readiness for adoption and scale.

Founding Advisors help ensure JWITC addresses the transition problem realistically, informed by lived experience across warfighting, acquisition, program execution, and innovation.

Role of a Founding Advisor

Founding Advisors serve in a non-fiduciary, non-governing, and non-contracting capacity. The role is strategic and advisory—not operational or managerial.

  • Provide strategic guidance on JWITC priorities and focus areas
  • Advise on transition challenges across OTA, rapid acquisition, and program-of-record pathways
  • Offer perspective on warfighter needs, acquisition realities, and integration risk
  • Help shape early engagement models, convenings, and research themes
  • Serve as trusted ambassadors for JWITC within professional networks

Founding Advisors do not exercise decision-making authority and do not represent the Department of Defense or any government organization.

Who We Are Seeking

JWITC seeks Founding Advisors with deep experience in one or more of the following areas:

  • Joint & Operational Leadership — former or retired O-6, Flag Officer, SES, or equivalent
  • Acquisition & Program Execution — PEO, PM, OTA, rapid capabilities, scaling and sustainment
  • Defense Innovation — DIU, service labs, non-traditional acquisition pathways
  • Technology & Data — AI/ML, C2, sensing, cyber, cloud-to-edge systems
  • Industry Leadership — defense-relevant commercial or dual-use technology

We value credibility, judgment, and a practical understanding of how transition actually happens—not titles alone.

Time Commitment

  • Low-burden, strategic advisory role
  • 2–4 engagements per year (primarily virtual)
  • Optional participation in focused working groups or convenings

Founding Advisor status is honorary and time-bound to JWITC’s initial formation period.

Professional Recognition

Founding Advisors may use the designation:

Founding Advisor, Joint Warfighter Innovation & Transition Consortium (JWITC)

This designation recognizes early leadership and contribution to shaping the consortium’s mission and approach.

Ethics & Integrity

Founding Advisors are expected to uphold high standards of professional conduct, respect applicable ethics rules and information-handling requirements, and disclose potential conflicts of interest.

JWITC and ADF do not provide or imply access to contracts, funding decisions, or privileged government information.

How to Apply or Nominate

  1. Email howard@amdef.org
  2. Subject line: “JWITC Founding Advisor”
  3. Include a short bio or LinkedIn profile
  4. Add 3–5 bullets on relevant experience and perspective

Note: Founding Advisor positions are limited and offered by invitation or selective application.

Related: JWITC Advisory Board