Project Manager, SHIELD Initiative (Temporary/Part-Time)

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative seeks a highly motivated and experienced Project Manager to support a high impact and high visibility Massachusetts Defense Sector initiative.

Through Executive Order #648 signed on October 27th, 2025, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll established the Strategic Hub for Innovation, Exchange, and Leadership in Defense – known as the SHIELD Working Group.

The MassTech Collaborative is the named Chair of SHIELD, rapidly forming and launching a working group from across state government and the entirety of the MA Defense Sector. A key objective of SHIELD is to bring together all parts of our ecosystem – industry, academia, innovation partners, our manufacturing base, military installations, and state government – to write a new playbook for the MA Defense Sector.

To accomplish this, the SHIELD Working Group will engage and activate defense sector leaders to catalyze collaboration amongst the broader technology and innovation ecosystem in support of economic and national security while addressing critical challenges. SHIELD is also leveraging the existing relationships, programs, and initiatives across MassTech’s portfolio that are aligned with economic and national security. Most notably, the Department of War funded Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC).

All findings will be incorporated into a comprehensive report that includes a forward-looking action agenda and recommendations for review by the Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

Role and Responsibilities

The Project Manager will work with the SHIELD leadership team at MassTech to coordinate meetings, site-visits, key ecosystem engagement activities, and support the development SHIELD’s final report. The role focuses on cross-sector stakeholder engagement, collecting and synthesizing ecosystem data and requirements, and drafting substantive content for reporting. This includes supporting Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) sustainability planning as it relates to SHIELD findings and recommendations.

Project Coordination & Ecosystem Engagement

• Support planning and execution of outreach to defense sector stakeholders, including industry, academic research institutions, military installations, workforce partners, and innovation intermediaries.
• Coordinate meetings, workshops, and structured engagements to gather insights on defense-related innovation, workforce development, supply chain challenges, and ecosystem priorities.
• Maintain an engagement tracker and communication plan to ensure representatives across the Commonwealth’s defense ecosystem are included in analysis and reporting.

Information Collection & Analysis

• Gather quantitative and qualitative data from state agencies, partners, and external stakeholders to inform the SHIELD outreach and report.
• Analyze existing and planned defense ecosystem initiatives across technology areas (e.g., artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, microelectronics, advanced manufacturing) and summarize opportunities and gaps.
• Identify emerging trends, federal/state funding opportunities, and alignment of state programs with national security innovation priorities.

Report Development

• Draft and revise designated sections of the SHIELD report, synthesizing ecosystem requirements, cross-agency findings, stakeholder feedback, strategic recommendations, and federal priorities and context.
• Collaborate with policy and subject matter experts to ensure factual accuracy, coherence, and alignment with the executive order’s intent.
• Support review cycles, editing, formatting, and version control for final deliverables.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work with internal program staff to align SHIELD reporting with broader state economic development, workforce, and research strategies. In particular support continued NEMC sustainability planning in context of SHIELD findings in MA and the Northeast region.
• Coordinate with data owners and agency leads to aggregate inputs and resolve inconsistencies.

Administrative & Operational Support

• Prepare meeting agendas, minutes, and action follow-ups for working group sessions.
• Manage shared project documentation in collaboration platforms and ensure confidentiality and records compliance.