Director Of Business Development (Defense)

TL;DR

Director of Business Development (Defense): Leading federal growth strategy and capture operations for advanced swarm autonomy software with an accent on defense procurement, government relations, and revenue scaling. Focus on building capture infrastructure, managing high-value pursuits, and representing the company to senior military and government stakeholders.

Location: Must be based in San Diego, CA

Company

Apium Swarm Robotics (a hirify.global company) develops cutting-edge swarm autonomy software for air, surface, and ground vehicles in dual-use commercial and defense environments.

What you will do

• Define and execute federal capture strategy, including target identification and bid/no-bid decisions.
• Manage senior-level relationships with program executive officers, acquisition leadership, and prime contractors.
• Lead end-to-end proposal development for RFIs, RFPs, OTAs, SBIR/STTR, and other federal vehicles.
• Deliver executive-level briefings and represent the company at defense industry conferences and forums.
• Partner with engineering and product teams to translate customer demand into roadmap priorities.
• Instrument CRM systems and pipeline forecasting to support organizational scaling.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Residence required (due to ITAR/EAR compliance).
• 10+ years of experience in defense business development, government sales, or military acquisition.
• Deep working knowledge of FAR/DFARS procurement processes and federal contracting workflows.
• Proven track record of capture leadership across RFIs, RFPs, OTAs, and IDIQs.
• Director-level presence with experience briefing senior military and government officials.
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 50% for customer sites and field exercises.

Nice to have

• Active U.S. Secret security clearance (TS/SCI preferred).
• Prior U.S. military service (SOF, aviation, or robotics communities).
• Existing relationships within USSOCOM, Army, Navy, Air Force, or DARPA.
• Experience scaling a defense technology startup business development function.
• Formal training in capture management methodologies (Shipley, APMP).

Culture & Benefits

• Opportunity to lead and scale a critical business function within a high-growth defense tech environment.
• Direct impact on product roadmap and strategic decision-making at the senior leadership level.
• Exposure to advanced autonomy, AI-enabled ISR, and tactical robotics programs.
• Comprehensive EEO and professional work environment.