Portfolio Development & Growth Development Director - Civil and Commercial Programs

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation's space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space- delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you'll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

Building on The Aerospace Corporation's reputation as a trusted, impartial, objective advisor, with integrity and dedication to mission success, the Civil Systems Group (CSG) combines deep technical expertise with market-leading innovation to help our customers solve complex systems engineering and integration challenges. CSG is organized by core customer-facing lines of business to manage and grow technical programs within NASA, NOAA, NNSA, and other Federal agencies, while extending our capabilities to other non-Federal organizations, when in the national interest.

The Civil Systems Group is seeking an a highly motivated and experienced Portfolio Development & Growth Development Director (Systems Director- Business Development Strategy & Planning) to lead strategy, capture, and client engagement for CSGs Civil and Commercial Programs portfolio. This role will drive new business growth by shaping new opportunities, leading capture efforts, managing key accounts, and building strong relationships with U.S. Government civil space agencies and commercial space industry partners. The ideal candidate brings both technical credibility and business development expertise - combining a strong technical background with proven experience in pipeline development, capture management, proposal leadership, and go-to-market execution.

Work Model

The selected candidate will be required to work full-time, on-site at our facility in Crystal City, VA.

What You'll Be Doing

• Strategy & Planning: Develop and execute BD strategy and account plans for the civil and commercial space market aligned with CSG's lines of business objectives
• Capture Management: Support end-to-end capture efforts, including shaping opportunities, customer engagement, competitive analysis, PI/Co-I partnering strategies, and technical solution development
• Proposal Leadership: Drive technical content development for bids and proposals; partner with proposal teams to ensure compliant, compelling, and winning submissions
• Pipeline Management: Build, maintain, and report on a qualified pipeline of opportunities in alignment with corporate growth targets; ensure pipeline progression through effective CRM management
• Account Management: In collaboration with CSG's customer facing lines of business, establish and expand relationships with multi-level stakeholders across NASA, NOAA, FAA, commercial primes, and emerging space entrants, in collaboration with our customer facing lines of business
• Go-to-Market Execution: Identify market trends, assess emerging needs, and define differentiators to position the corporation for growth in space systems engineering and integration services
• Collaboration: Partner with engineering and program delivery teams to align BD pursuits with technical capabilities, staffing models, and past performance
• Lead and direct a BD team to maintain and expand customer relationships across the civil and commercial space industry landscape, and partner with program and project management to ensure customer needs are met
• Report and track: (1) growth against strategic plan goals; (2) Resource expenditure actuals vs. plan; (3) opportunity pipeline; and (4) Evolution of Account plans and (5) return on investment
• Think and act strategically and provide thought leadership to strategic planning cycle
• Support interfaces to Aerospace contracts, legal, and pricing for managing contract vehicles and renewals
• Review, update and maintain customer information and business development pipeline databases on a regular basis
• Participate with management in budget planning and allocation of resources and determining organization's structure and staffing
• Implement best practices, and operating processes and recommend improvements to management
• Conduct staff performance reviews and recommend performance improvement, career development, salary and promotion actions; establish staffing needs and recommend reassignments, training, transfers, and other staff deployments; assist other supervisors in evaluation and assignment of staff
• Monitor and direct organization's security processes, compliance, and safety awareness

What You Need to be Successful - Systems Director- Business Development Strategy & Planning

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, science, mathematics, or closely related technical field
• 12 years or more years of progressively responsible technical experience including direct hands-on experience in business development, account management and program management roles with civil agencies and/or the commercial sector, preferably with employment experience with an FFRDC, UARC, or federally funded laboratory
• Strong knowledge of the federal acquisition process, NASA/NOAA/NNSA procurement cycles, and commercial contracting mechanisms.
• Proven ability to lead technical capture teams, develop win strategies, and deliver competitive proposals.
• Experience with CRM systems (e.g., Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce) for pipeline reporting and account tracking.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills with technical and executive audiences.
• Ability to work both as part of a geographically distributed team, and autonomously
• Experience managing business development investment budgets, allocations, and reporting
• Significant experience in a supervisory role; and ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with all levels of customers' and corporate staff
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft 365 and related collaboration technologies
• Ability to travel up to 30% of the time
• This position requires at least a current and active secret clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

How You Can Stand Out

It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:

• Advanced graduate technical and/or business degree
• Established professional network within NASA, NOAA, FAA, and leading commercial space primes, and supply chains.
• Knowledge of emerging commercial space markets (launch services, Earth observation, satellite communications, in-space services etc.)
• Familiarity with government contracting mechanisms such as IDIQs, OTAs, CSOs, and SBIR/STTR pathways.
• Hands-on experience in systems engineering or technical program management.
• Familiarity of Aerospace's ETG matrix and associated expertise, skills, tools, analytical capabilities, computing resources and laboratory facilities
• Experience with Aerospace financial reporting MS Dynamics CRM pipeline management tools
• Experience with current Aerospace management policies, practices, and systems
• Active TS/SCI security clearance

Leadership Competencies

Our leadership philosophy is simple: every employee, regardless of level and role, can demonstrate leadership. At Aerospace, our commitment is our people. To cultivate our talent and ensure that we have a strong pipeline of future leaders, we want individuals who:

• Operate Strategically
• Lead Change
• Engage with Impact
• Foster Innovation
• Deliver Results

Ways We Reward Our Employees

During your interview process, our team will provide details of our industry-leading benefits.

Benefits vary and are applicable based on Job Type. A few highlights include:

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
• 401(k) Plan - Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
• Flexible spending accounts
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
• Relocation assistance
• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
• Education assistance programs
• A work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect

We are all unique, from various backgrounds and all walks of life, yet one thing bonds all of us to each other-the belief that we can make a difference. This core belief empowers us to do our best work at The Aerospace Corporation.

Equal Opportunity Commitment

The Aerospace Corporation is an equalopportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color,religion,geneticinformation, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. If you're an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at 310.336.5432 or by emailat peoplemangmnt.mailbox@aero.org .You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal.