Mission Innovation: Where Smart People, Advanced Technologies, and Exciting Projects Intersect

Applying to become a U.S. citizen is a lengthy process – it can take six months to more than a year for applicants to get through all the paperwork, background reviews and interviews. Several IntelliBridge software developers are involved in a large and cutting-edge project to speed up that timeline. 

The DEVSECOPs project will streamline and expedite information requests that go along with citizenship applications. 

“Our talented employees write advanced code to help people become American citizens faster, as well as facilitate the connectivity and information requests from every national security agency that requires person-centric immigration data” said Matthew Candy, executive vice president and chief growth officer at IntelliBridge. “IntelliBridge employees support critical immigration functions such as eProcessing, customer profile management, VISA support and immigration verification.” 

Another IntelliBridge project provides 24x7 intelligence support to the Department of State, “so another Benghazi or raid on the Baghdad embassy doesn't happen,” Candy said. “This effort directly impacts our nation's security.” 

Working at IntelliBridge also offers people the chance to make a difference. 

“A lot of times, friends and family will tell you that their work is unfulfilling and not meaningful,” said Andrew Force, senior director of strategic initiatives and marketing. “Not here. We support very important and frankly, really cool missions. Everything we do has a direct impact on a critical effort that ultimately helps the American taxpayer.” 

“IntelliBridge employees appreciate the opportunity to learn more about advanced technology and other topics that interest them, and then leverage that learning to move up in their careers, while working for managers who are engaged in helping employees,” Force said.

IntelliBridge is a business that provides cloud, agile, cyber, and intelligence solutions to defense, homeland security, federal law enforcement, and civilian government agencies. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, with locations and staff nationwide, IntelliBridge makes its customers successful by delivering best-in-class solutions through a combination of deep domain expertise, advanced technology, and passion for the mission.  IntelliBridge is a portfolio company of Enlightenment Capital.

“We try to provide IntelliBridge employees with numerous opportunities to develop new skills, including an Innovation Lab that applies the latest technologies and IntelliBridge University, where workers can deepen their knowledge of project management, leadership, data analytics, coding, Excel, Salesforce, and other technologies. Intelligence analysts have opportunities to share knowledge, experience, and insight on topics of interest in our Intel Forum,” Force said. 

In addition to employee growth, maintaining a robust feedback loop is a critical effort at IntelliBridge. “We're focused on ensuring our employees are satisfied with their jobs, have all the tools they need to help our customers achieve their missions, and are provided opportunities to grow,” Candy said. “We take pride in maintaining communication with our employee teams and have developed several feedback mechanisms, most recently an effort called IntelliVation, with multiple touchpoints between employees and management.” 

Force is one of many examples of employees advancing internally with the support and encouragement of management. He started in 2010 after separating from the U.S. Air Force. His first job was as a business analyst supporting an FBI customer, but Force was interested in learning and contributing more.

“Company leaders highly encouraged our people to participate in helping the company grow, and to make that interest known to your manager,” he said. “That intrigued and motivated me.” 

Force started helping to grow the business with proposals and resumes. “I was initially responsible for formatting all the resumes, ensuring they were compliant with the requirements of proposals,” he said. “I became the resume ninja.” 

Force soon realized he enjoyed business leadership and marketing. After he earned an MBA in 2015, he developed and proposed his ideal position within the company to the CEO. The CEO supported the idea and said he would make the job happen as soon as the company had grown enough to create the budget. In the meantime, the CEO ensured Force worked on high profile accounts and assignments to gain management experience. In early 2017, Force started that ideal job, focusing on marketing and business development. 

To foster the kind of atmosphere that allows employees to grow, leaders and managers are required to have weekly conversations with employees, not just about how they're doing on project work but also about professional development, Force said. 

“We want employees to be comfortable telling management, ‘This is what I want to do, where I want to be,'” Force said. “Our employees are skilled and good enough to be at any other business. We don't want that to happen. We want to invest time and money in our employees and have them grow with IntelliBridge. That starts with management being engaged in the day to day.” 

IntelliBridge also maintains a strong culture around diversity, inclusion and employee-centric charitable giving. Through IntelliReach, the company's overarching charity program, employees have the opportunity to lead and help define charitable programs and activities throughout the year. One charity works with wounded warriors who have lost a limb to help them learn to ski and participate in other sports. Another raises money to fund college scholarships for the families of fallen FBI agents. Employees also can submit proposals to IntelliBridge asking the company to donate matching funds to causes they individually support. 

“Bottom line is if you're passionate about something and you have the initiative to see it through, this company is going to support you – whether it's a charitable cause, finding a new way to do something on a contract you're working on, or identifying a new piece of technology that we can incorporate into our Innovation Lab,” Candy said. “We are focused on keeping our great people growing with IntelliBridge, innovating around important national security missions with advanced technology, and building an organization we can all be proud of.”