Job Description

Citizen is seeking a Director of Mission Control to lead the real-time distribution of 20,000+ daily safety incidents to millions of users when it matters the most. Each day, our 24/7 analyst team processes and disseminates information from police and fire radio communications to generate Citizen incidents that can notify hundreds of thousands of users in mere seconds.

The Director of Mission Control will be responsible for evaluating, communicating, and distributing these incidents in real time. This role combines the urgency and judgment of a newsroom with the operational discipline of a command center, ensuring safety information is delivered quickly, accurately, and responsibly at scale.

This leader oversees the standards and execution of Citizen’s real-time notification system while partnering with Product and Data Science to improve how incidents are prioritized, communicated, and surfaced to users.

A key priority for this role is identifying opportunities to evolve Citizen’s workflows from manual distribution toward AI-assisted incident prioritization and notification delivery, while maintaining strong editorial standards.

Key Responsibilities

Real-Time Incident Distribution

• Lead and manage the daily push notification distribution of 20,000+ Citizen incidents to guide national or local safety and news coverage.

• Define and oversee the standards, process, and quality controls behind the 29M+ push notifications sent daily by our 24/7 team.

• Direct real-time decision-making and escalation during major or rapidly evolving incidents, ensuring critical safety information is communicated quickly and accurately.
  

Editorial Standards

• Establish clear standards for how serious public safety incidents are communicated to millions of users.

• Ensure notifications reflect appropriate context, accuracy, and tone across all incidents.

• Provide editorial guidance during high-impact or sensitive incidents that require careful judgement.
  

Data & Automation

• Use data and analytics to identify helpful patterns in incident communication and user engagement, partnering with Product and Data Science to improve how incidents are prioritized and distributed.

• Help evolve Citizen’s workflows from manual processes toward scalable AI-assisted incident prioritization and notification delivery while maintaining strong editorial standards.
  

Leadership

• Lead and develop a Mission Control team of 2–3 specialists responsible for real-time incident distribution and escalation.

• Foster a culture of speed, accountability, and sound editorial judgment in real-time safety communications

Qualifications

• A proven leader with 8-10+ years of experience managing a large 24/7 operations center, newsroom, or other high intensity operation where seconds matter.

• Highly collaborative and a superior communicator with strong personal credibility to build trusted relationships and influence and achieve buy-in across levels and audiences.

• Proven ability to make decisions on editorial judgment, daily content, complex operations and logistics in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong operational background and a track-record of analytically setting goals and then leading, inspiring, and motivating others to deliver and measuring results.

• Experience collaborating with product or data teams on automation, AI, or workflow optimization.

• Flexible and open to constantly-changing priorities and managing multiple tasks simultaneously within tight time frames.

• Ability to think outside the box, innovate, and lead the team through periods of rapid growth.

• This role requires eligibility to obtain and maintain CJIS clearance. Continued employment is contingent upon meeting and maintaining this requirement.

Salary Range

This role offers a base salary of $165,000–$210,000 per year, plus equity.

Compensation & Benefits
We offer competitive salary, equity, and a full benefits package, including:

• At least one fully employer-sponsored medical plan option

• Dental and vision coverage, with a small employee contribution

• Unlimited PTO

• Up to 14 weeks paid parental leave (for all parents)

• Monthly tech stipend

• Free mental health support

• Hybrid work environment + catered lunches (NYC HQ)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Citizen
Citizen is an equal opportunity employer. We’re building a team that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve — across race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, and background.

We know that diverse teams make better decisions and build more effective products. If you don’t meet every listed qualification, we still encourage you to apply. Skills, potential, and lived experience matter.