Functional Lead; Hands-on AI Product Development

Net Impact Strategies is seeking a Functional Lead (Hands-on AI Product Development) to join our delivery team supporting Federal clients. The ideal candidate combines client-facing leadership skills with hands-on functional expertise, bridging the gap between business needs and technical implementation. This role will lead delivery activities, manage project scope and timelines, and work directly with stakeholders to define and document business requirements, ensuring successful outcomes aligned with mission objectives.

Ideal candidates are strong problem solvers, technically superb, naturally curious, and driven to deliver high-quality outcomes.

• Provide thought leadership for product development, solution implementation, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as the primary client-facing lead, managing communication, expectations, and stakeholder engagement.
• Lead project planning, coordination, and execution across Agile or hybrid delivery methodologies.
• Manage project scope, schedules, risks, dependencies, and quality to ensure successful delivery.
• Facilitate requirements-gathering sessions and develop clear functional and non-functional requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
• Act as the functional expert for a proprietary toolset, advising on capabilities, constraints, and solution feasibility.
• Collaborate with technical teams, architects, and QA to ensure alignment between business needs, system design, and implementation.
• Provide functional guidance during solution design, recommending approaches that balance usability, performance, and system constraints.
• Review and guide development of functional deliverables including process flows, configuration documentation, and design artifacts.
• Analyze existing business processes and recommend improvements that drive efficiency and mission success.
• Support development of test scenarios, provide guidance throughout testing cycles, and assist with UAT execution.
• Support training, deployment planning, and transition-to-operations activities.
• Ensure all deliverables and project artifacts comply with Federal standards and quality assurance requirements.
• Apply strong problem-solving, technical understanding, curiosity, and delivery focus to proactively address issues and identify opportunities for improvement.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Business Administration, Information Systems, or related field
• 8+ years of experience in IT project delivery roles, including at least 3 years in project management or business analysis within Federal environments
• Experience interacting with AI (Artificial Intelligence) to support delivery of software modernization projects
• Proven ability to interface with clients and senior stakeholders, facilitating discussions and driving consensus
• Experience with requirements elicitation, process mapping, and functional documentation
• Strong understanding of software delivery methodologies
• Proficiency with project management and collaboration tools
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to tailor communication to both technical and non-technical audiences
• US Citizenship required; must be eligible for a Secret clearance

• Prior Software Development background
• Prior experience in Federal IT consulting or program delivery
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certification
• ITIL or Agile Certification
• Experience supporting modernization or digital transformation initiatives
• Familiarity with Software Development and SaaS platforms in Federal environments
• Knowledge of Federal acquisition, governance, and reporting processes

Note:

This description reflects the current responsibilities and requirements for the role and is not a contract or job offer."