Resume Disclosure Decision Tree

The rule

Safe to write:

• Type of problem you solved.
• Type of customer or mission you supported.
• Type of impact, in scale terms that are not capability-revealing.

Not safe to write:

• Program names, code names, nicknames.
• Specific system or sensor names not in public press.
• Specific targets, adversaries, or geographic locations.
• Specific performance numbers tied to a fielded system.
• Unit designations below the level your organization publicly discloses.

Three worked examples

Example 1: an AI engineering bullet

BAD:

Built a computer-vision model for Project NIGHTHAWK that detected Russian T-90 tanks in Syria with 94 percent accuracy across 12,000 ISR frames per day.

Problems: program name, adversary, country, capability number, throughput.

GOOD:

Built and deployed a computer-vision model for a DoD ISR mission. Tuned the model on operational data, integrated with downstream analyst tooling, and reduced manual review time for a multi-analyst team.

Keeps: the problem (CV for ISR), the customer (DoD), the impact (reduced analyst review time).

Drops: program name, adversary, country, performance number, throughput.

Example 2: a data engineering bullet

BAD:

Designed the data pipeline for the NSA's MAVEN ingest at Fort Meade, processing 4 PB/day from SIGINT collection platforms ECHELON-3 and FORNSAT-7.

Problems: agency, program name, location, capacity number, system names.

GOOD:

Designed a high-throughput data ingest pipeline for a cleared customer. Worked across collection systems and downstream analytics. Improved time-to-availability for analyst queries.

Keeps: the problem (high-throughput ingest), the customer type (cleared), the impact (faster query time).

Drops: agency, program, location, capacity, system names.

Example 3: a leadership bullet

BAD:

Led a team of 14 contractors on the JADC2 ABMS effort at Hanscom AFB, delivering the targeting cell integration for the Pacific Air Forces command.

Problems: program name, location, sub-program name, geographic command.

GOOD:

Led a 14-person engineering team on a major DoD command-and-control effort. Owned the integration of a targeting workflow with a service-level command. Delivered on a fixed milestone.

Keeps: team size, problem type (C2 integration), customer type (DoD, service command), impact (delivered on milestone).

Drops: program name, location, geographic command identifier.

When to ask your security officer

Ask before you publish if any of the following is true:

• You are unsure whether a program name has been publicly announced.
• You want to name a specific tool, vendor, or partner.
• You want to include a number that is tied to a fielded capability.
• You are writing about work done at a specific facility you are unsure is public.
• You are writing about a customer you have never seen named in open press.

A five-minute review by your security officer is free. A pre-publication review is the cheapest insurance you have. Many cleared employers require it. Even when they do not, do it.

If the security officer says no, the answer is no. Do not negotiate the wording. Rewrite at a higher level of abstraction.