New NSIN fellowship will connect top tech talent with key policy makers in the DoD and Congress

For Immediate Release

April 6, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), a program office within the U.S. Department of Defense, is launching a unique fellowship that will embed STEM talent in the offices of key decision makers throughout the U.S. Department of Defense and United States Congress. Fellows will embed for year-long assignments to help those decision-makers make the best possible choices when it comes to evaluating the cutting edge of technology in a national security context.

The Technology and National Security Fellowship places early and mid-career technologists in paid, yearlong fellowships within offices at the Pentagon or Capitol Hill. The fellowship application will launch on April 6, and is open to any U.S. citizen throughout the country who has earned undergraduate or graduate degrees in the STEM disciplines. The inaugural cohort will be embedded in their assigned offices from August 2020 to August 2021.

“Too often there is a gap between the technical talent residing in academia and the venture community and the policy makers who need that knowledge to effectively evaluate and make decisions that directly impacts our national security,” said Morgan Plummer, Managing Director of the National Security Innovation Network. “The Technology and National Security Fellowship is meant to address this gap by fast tracking talented early and mid-career technologists into positions where they can add substantive value to our country’s national security policy makers the second the fellows arrive in their offices.”

Host offices for Fellows placed within the Department of Defense include front offices from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force. Congressional hosts include member or committee offices in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives among the four defense committees of jurisdiction. Once selected, Fellows will be matched based on their unique skill sets with a host office that can best utilize their specific expertise.

Persons interested in applying to participate in the NSIN Technology and National Security Fellowship must meet the following criteria:

  • must be a U.S. citizen;
  • for placement in a DoD office, possess a STEM-related undergraduate or graduate degree;
  • for placement in a Congressional office, possess a STEM-related undergraduate or graduate degree with 3+ years of relevant work experience; and
  • All selected Fellows must be available for a year-long placement in Washington, D.C.

Fellows within the inaugural cohort will be paid a competitive salary within the GS-10 pay band for compensation, inclusive of a cost of living adjustment for DC.

“Maintaining technological superiority in a rapidly changing landscape is critical to our national security. By injecting talented technologists and entrepreneurs into the staffs of key decision makers we can help speed the development of our national security policy at closer to the speed of relevancy. Time and time again we have seen evidence that our country’s top tier tech talent will rise to the occasion to support our national security efforts, if we provide an opportunity for them to do so,” Plummer said. “By giving STEM graduates a clear pathway to service through a one year fellowship program within critical offices in the DoD or Congress, we are opening up new avenues for our country’s brightest minds to make invaluable contributions to the national security enterprise.”

ABOUT NSIN

The NSIN mission is to “build networks of innovators that generate new solutions to national security problems.” NSIN is headquartered in Arlington, VA, and has regional offices in 11 commercial innovation hubs throughout the United States. Through its headquarters, regional hubs, and embedded university partnerships, NSIN builds a national network of innovators and delivers programming that solves real-world, DoD problems through collaborative partnerships with non-traditional problem-solvers within the academic and early-stage venture communities.

COVID-19 Notice

NSIN is closely monitoring the fluid situation surrounding the COVID-19 virus and may make adjustments to the Fellowship’s structure and timing as the situation warrants.