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Poseidon Aerospace is building full-size autonomous cargo aircraft capable of carrying two-ton payloads over 1,000+ nautical miles. The company operates from the San Francisco Bay Area with offices in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine, serving defense and homeland security customers.
This dual-track director role combines mission integration leadership with growth strategy execution. You will lead all mission integration activities including operational analysis, modeling & simulation, and mission effectiveness evaluations to develop operational requirements and decompose them into system requirements that inform the product development roadmap. You'll drive customer engagements to articulate operational utility and lead all phases of key demonstrations—planning, execution, and reporting of hardware/software simulations, validation demos, and live operational exercises.
On the growth side, you will identify and capture opportunities across contested airborne and maritime logistics, personnel recovery, advanced sensing, and kinetic/non-kinetic effects for the US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Army, US Coast Guard, and Department of Homeland Security. You'll conduct deep customer analysis, develop capture strategies, manage continuous tactical engagements with current and future clients, and shape requirements. You will provide cohesive business plans and execution models that align capture strategies, investment strategies, win themes, and product roadmaps to position for and secure awards on pathfinder projects and large programs of record.
Additionally, you'll communicate Poseidon's value proposition to clients, partners, competitors, and the public; generate intellectual products including whitepapers, capability decks, and pitch decks; and lead or support proposal activities and responses to customer solicitations (RFIs, RFPs, RPPs, OTAs, CSOs, SBIRs).
REQUIREMENTS:
- Recent operational experience as pilot or aircrew (rank O-4 to O-6) in tactical 5th or 6th generation tactical aircraft (F-35, F-22) or airlift platforms (C-5, C-17, C-130)
- Excellent writing and communication skills with experience presenting to senior executives, Flag officers, and customers
- Low-ego, high-ownership style; comfortable working directly with engineering, growth, and proposal teams
- Able to work on-site in Washington, DC office with ability to travel up to 50% to customer sites, partner sites, conferences, and other Poseidon offices
- Currently possesses and can maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance with eligibility for top-secret clearance
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Prior experience with US Air Force program offices, requirements offices, and/or combatant commands
- Deep understanding of US Air Force customer community, requirements process, and operational needs
- Prior acquisition or operational experience with contested airlift missions and/or uncrewed RPA or autonomous aerospace platforms executing autonomous and/or manned-unmanned-teaming (MUM-T) concepts of operations
- Experience in acquisition program offices, requirements offices, combatant commands, or S&T offices
- STEM background
- Experience shaping and leading capture efforts in the defense industry
- High ownership and ability to work in fast-paced, entrepreneurial start-up environment
- Collaborative, adaptive, and able to lead innovative approaches to market
- Experience collaborating with partners, engineering, and growth teams
