Head of Immigration (Washington)
Zealot, Washington, District Of Columbia, United States
About us:
Offensive cyber startup based in DC. We build capabilities for the U.S. government and allied nations We're hiring dozens of international engineers, researchers, and operators per quarter — immigration is mission-critical, not a second thought back-office function.
If a hire's H-1B falls through or a visa interview slips 90 days, we lose the candidate, the project slips, and the customer waits. We need someone who treats immigration as an operational system to be engineered — not a queue of paperwork.
What you'll own:
You'll build and run our immigration function from scratch.
Operating at scale (10s of hires/quarter)
• End-to-end ownership of every employment-based filing: H-1B (cap and cap-exempt), O-1, L-1A/B, TN, E-3, J-1 waivers, EB-1A/B, EB-2 NIW, PERM
• Build the pipeline: candidate intake → strategy memo → filing → adjudication → arrival → onboarding
• Define and hit time-to-start SLAs — think weeks, not months
• One source of truth (Linear), every case status visible
Pre-empt failure modes
• Identify hard cases before an offer is extended (export control, prior denials, derivatives, cap subjection)
• Aggressive use of premium processing, expedite requests, third-country processing, interview waivers — every legitimate speed lever, by default
• Mandamus + AAO appeals when warranted; you decide, we execute
Manage the legal stack
• Own the relationship with outside counsel
• Decide what stays in-house vs. outsourced based on volume, complexity, and cost — and own the math
• Reduce per-case legal spend while improving outcomes
Own ITAR/EAR-adjacent immigration
• Coordinate deemed-export licensing for foreign nationals on controlled work
• Track export-control posture for every international hire from offer through term
Be the candidate's advocate
• International hires are betting their families on us. You make sure they don't get burned.
• Personally manage senior hires; build self-serve for the rest
• Drive arrival logistics: SSN, banking, housing, schools, licenses
Build the team behind you
• Sole IC for the first 6-9 months; team grows with hire volume
Who you are
Required:
4+ yrs employment-based immigration experience · Deep hands-on filing across H-1B, O-1, L-1, PERM/EB · Track record at volume (Fragomen, BAL, Erickson, Ogletree, Trow & Rahal, Lepore Taylor Fox, or in-house at scale) · Operationally minded — you've built or rebuilt a system, not just executed cases · DC area · U.S. citizen or PR
Strongly preferred:
Direct U.S. consular experience (former FSO / Vice Consul / Visa Specialist) · Defense or IC background · Deemed-export / DDTC / EAR licensing experience · JD with active bar · AILA member · Existing USCIS / consular relationships
Mindset signals:
• You think in systems, not tickets
• You've fired a slow law firm before
• You've gotten a stuck case unstuck through the right escalation, not the loud one
• You've told a hiring manager no and been thanked for it later
What we offer
Highly competitive base + meaningful equity. Housing stipend that covers rent for most of our employees. Founder of a function that doesn't exist yet — real authority, real budget, full ownership. Mission-driven work; our customers defend the country. Role grows into VP / Chief of People & Immigration as we scale. Full benefits.
Offensive cyber startup based in DC. We build capabilities for the U.S. government and allied nations We're hiring dozens of international engineers, researchers, and operators per quarter — immigration is mission-critical, not a second thought back-office function.
If a hire's H-1B falls through or a visa interview slips 90 days, we lose the candidate, the project slips, and the customer waits. We need someone who treats immigration as an operational system to be engineered — not a queue of paperwork.
What you'll own:
You'll build and run our immigration function from scratch.
Operating at scale (10s of hires/quarter)
• End-to-end ownership of every employment-based filing: H-1B (cap and cap-exempt), O-1, L-1A/B, TN, E-3, J-1 waivers, EB-1A/B, EB-2 NIW, PERM
• Build the pipeline: candidate intake → strategy memo → filing → adjudication → arrival → onboarding
• Define and hit time-to-start SLAs — think weeks, not months
• One source of truth (Linear), every case status visible
Pre-empt failure modes
• Identify hard cases before an offer is extended (export control, prior denials, derivatives, cap subjection)
• Aggressive use of premium processing, expedite requests, third-country processing, interview waivers — every legitimate speed lever, by default
• Mandamus + AAO appeals when warranted; you decide, we execute
Manage the legal stack
• Own the relationship with outside counsel
• Decide what stays in-house vs. outsourced based on volume, complexity, and cost — and own the math
• Reduce per-case legal spend while improving outcomes
Own ITAR/EAR-adjacent immigration
• Coordinate deemed-export licensing for foreign nationals on controlled work
• Track export-control posture for every international hire from offer through term
Be the candidate's advocate
• International hires are betting their families on us. You make sure they don't get burned.
• Personally manage senior hires; build self-serve for the rest
• Drive arrival logistics: SSN, banking, housing, schools, licenses
Build the team behind you
• Sole IC for the first 6-9 months; team grows with hire volume
Who you are
Required:
4+ yrs employment-based immigration experience · Deep hands-on filing across H-1B, O-1, L-1, PERM/EB · Track record at volume (Fragomen, BAL, Erickson, Ogletree, Trow & Rahal, Lepore Taylor Fox, or in-house at scale) · Operationally minded — you've built or rebuilt a system, not just executed cases · DC area · U.S. citizen or PR
Strongly preferred:
Direct U.S. consular experience (former FSO / Vice Consul / Visa Specialist) · Defense or IC background · Deemed-export / DDTC / EAR licensing experience · JD with active bar · AILA member · Existing USCIS / consular relationships
Mindset signals:
• You think in systems, not tickets
• You've fired a slow law firm before
• You've gotten a stuck case unstuck through the right escalation, not the loud one
• You've told a hiring manager no and been thanked for it later
What we offer
Highly competitive base + meaningful equity. Housing stipend that covers rent for most of our employees. Founder of a function that doesn't exist yet — real authority, real budget, full ownership. Mission-driven work; our customers defend the country. Role grows into VP / Chief of People & Immigration as we scale. Full benefits.