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Principles
We’ve found that we perform best as a team when we work together with some common principles.
Obsess over mission impact
Generate as much mission impact as we can on every deployment. Obsess over your users. Deploy forward. Know their problems better than they do, and be relentless and creative in solving them. Know you can work anywhere - work here to impact national security.
Own the outcome
Know the top three things that matter in your job. Focus deeply on a small number of things. Obsess over them until they are done and done right. Move quickly. Make mistakes - that's okay. Understand failure is a badge of honor - own it and do better the next day. Give away your legos - as we grow, your biggest contribution often comes from enabling others to own what you've built while you take on new challenges.
Win together
Accept your success hinges on other people's success. Recognize the biggest outcomes for us come from working together across teams. Support your colleagues. Talk to someone directly if you have feedback for them directly. Be transparent.
Build a team of jedi
Help us build the best team in defense. Strengthen a culture where we have excellent teammates that thrive under these principles, consistently provide feedback to one another, receive feedback with eagerness and grace, and separate with support when people are not a fit.
Leave your ego at the door
Believe one can be effective while being kind. Treat each other with respect. Own our mistakes and communicate openly so we can all learn. Show that ego is not an asset in a startup.
Put your wellbeing first
Recognize we are a team of high achievers that absorb a great amount of pressure to get the job done. Prioritize well-being first, and Vannevar second, to ensure we all remain resilient in the long run.
Our Core Values
Mission first
We build, deploy, and iterate with our users in the national security space. We care deeply about generating mission wins and we solve problems for customers with maniacal focus.
Ownership mentality
We operate with speed and own the outcomes of our efforts. Our teams have autonomy and trust because we operate with an innate drive for excellence and impact. We create, improve, and iterate without being asked to do so, and we’re only satisfied by a meaningful outcome.
Humility
We move quickly, pivot when needed, and aren’t afraid to admit when we are wrong. We have low egos, don’t take things personally, and foster a working environment of mutual respect. This allows us to be innovative and resilient.
There’s a long history of collaboration between Silicon Valley and defense and the government. We’ve really been our best as a nation when that collaboration is really tight, if you think about World War II and the Space Race. And that’s the kind of legacy we’re referencing in the name Vannevar Labs.