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Salary: USD 243,360 - 310,960 / annual
Varda Space Industries is a commercial space infrastructure company building in-orbit pharmaceutical processing systems, reentry capsules, and related satellite technology. The company operates from El Segundo, CA (headquarters and production facility) with additional offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL.
As Director of Business Development & Capture – Advanced Concepts, you will own the strategy and execution for adapting Varda's proven commercial spacecraft and reentry capabilities to emerging national security missions that do not yet have a formal program of record. This is a senior individual-contributor role with full accountability for a portfolio of advanced-concept pursuits from initial customer engagement through contract award.
Key responsibilities include:
**Strategy & Portfolio Ownership:** Define Varda's target mission set across the U.S. Space Force, Air Force, Army, Navy, Special Operations Command, Combatant Commands, and Intelligence Community. Prioritize pursuits, set capture strategies, and develop a multi-year roadmap translating Varda's spacecraft, reentry, and in-space manufacturing capabilities into new government mission areas.
**Capture & Close:** Own select high-priority pursuits end-to-end, from initial shaping through proposal development, contract negotiation, and closure. Lead competitive capture activities including customer call plans, win strategy, competitive assessment, teaming, and pricing. Develop proposals, white papers, and unsolicited concepts with technical scope, pricing models, compliance documentation, and schedules. Negotiate contract terms (OTAs, CSOs, BAAs, FAR-based contracts, etc.) with contract, program management, and finance teams.
**Mission Shaping & Technical Translation:** Work with engineering and program leadership to translate classified and sensitive customer requirements into feasible mission parameters, concepts of operations, and architectures. Serve as primary interface between special-access customers and Varda's technical teams, managing need-to-know appropriately. Analyze DoD budget exhibits, program documentation, and procurement strategies to understand funding, schedules, milestones, and acquisition pathways.
**Customer & Stakeholder Relationships:** Build and maintain senior-level relationships across government program offices, requirements organizations, acquisition leadership, FFRDCs, and congressional stakeholders. Represent Varda at conferences, industry days, classified forums, and networking events. Identify and develop teaming relationships with primes, integrators, and commercial partners.
**Leadership:** Act as senior leader within Varda's government business organization; mentor BD, capture, and proposal staff and help build the team as the portfolio grows. Report regularly to the executive team on pipeline health, win probability, and resource needs; drive bid/no-bid decisions. Monitor industry trends, policy and regulatory shifts, and emerging technologies.
You will work directly with Varda's executive team and engineering leadership, operate independently in the classified environment, and be expected to understand where customer problem sets are heading before solicitations exist. Significant time in both DC and El Segundo locations is expected regardless of home office. Travel up to 50% domestically and occasionally internationally.
**Requirements:**
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, science, business, or related field
- Active TS/SCI clearance (currently required)
- 12+ years of progressive experience in national security space, hypersonics, or defense aerospace, including at least 5 years in business development, capture, or program leadership roles
- Demonstrated track record of owning and winning competitive government pursuits, including at least one new-start or non-program-of-record capture
- Deep working knowledge of DoD PPBE process, acquisition pathways, and non-traditional contracting vehicles (OTAs, CSOs, BAAs, SBIR/STTR transitions)
- Established, senior-level relationships within U.S. Space Force, Air Force, Army, Navy, SOCOM, Combatant Commands, and/or Intelligence Community space and reentry communities
- Experience shaping requirements and mission concepts in classified environment
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including ability to author compelling white papers, proposals, and executive briefings
- Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills; ability to build and sustain trust with senior government and industry stakeholders
- U.S. citizenship (required for ITAR compliance and clearance eligibility)
**Preferred Qualifications:**
- Current SAP access or SAP access within past 24 months with demonstrated special-access program experience
- Engineering background with ability to engage credibly on mission decomposition
- Experience taking commercial capability into government mission for first time, including building business case, navigating acquisition system, and establishing first contract
- Startup or high-growth company experience; comfort operating with limited process and high ownership
