Role at a GlanceWe're looking for a Contracts Capture Strategist to help turn complex customer needs into executable acquisition strategies and competitive, winnable deals across the U.S. Government market. Working early in the opportunity lifecycle, you will partner with Business Development, Finance, Legal, technical, and program teams to shape how government customers can buy Gecko's technology - including the acquisition pathway, contract vehicle, offer structure, pricing, partner strategy, and procurement engagement. You will bring a practical understanding of how agencies buy, credibility with contracting officers and acquisition professionals, and the commercial judgment to move opportunities forward through ambiguity. Success in this role requires enough command of government contracting rules to navigate them pragmatically and recognize when specialized legal or compliance support is needed.
What You Will Do- Partner with Business Development teams to develop opportunity-specific capture and acquisition strategies that connect customer mission needs, funding, competitive dynamics, procurement constraints, and Gecko's business objectives
- Evaluate and recommend acquisition pathways and contract vehicles-including IDIQs, BPAs, task orders, OTAs, SBIR/STTR, FAR-based procurements, and prime or subcontract arrangements-to create practical paths to award
- Build trusted, productive relationships with contracting officers, acquisition professionals, program offices, and other customer stakeholders; surface constraints early and help shape approaches the customer can execute
- Lead the development of pricing and deal structures, including ROMs, quotes, proposals, options, phased approaches, licensing models, and service configurations, in close partnership with Finance, Legal, and technical teams
- Drive capture-to-award execution by establishing decision points, coordinating proposal inputs, resolving obstacles, and supporting customer communications and negotiations through contract award
- Shape teaming, subcontracting, and partner strategies that improve access, competitiveness, delivery confidence, and long-term account position
- Serve as a pragmatic acquisition advisor to business and executive leaders, translating procurement requirements into choices and tradeoffs, identifying issues that require specialist support, and building reusable playbooks from lessons learned
About YouRequired Skills - 7+ years of experience in U.S. Government acquisition, capture, government contracting, or complex public-sector business development, gained in government, industry, or both
- Demonstrated success shaping and advancing complex government opportunities from early customer engagement through acquisition strategy, proposal, negotiation, and award
- Strong practical knowledge of the federal acquisition lifecycle, contracting vehicles, and the roles of contracting officers, program offices, requirements owners, resource sponsors, and other acquisition stakeholders
- Hands-on experience with pricing, deal structure, proposal strategy, and business-case development for complex technology, services, or major systems opportunities
- Excellent judgment, communication, relationship-building, and project leadership skills, with the ability to align cross-functional teams and drive decisions in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment
Preferred Skills - Experience working on major systems, mission-critical platforms, or other complicated government business deals, e.g. ships, aircraft, autonomy, robotics, defense technology, or critical infrastructure
- Experience leading capture or acquisition strategy within a defense, aerospace, technology, or other government-facing company
- Current or former Federal Contracting Officer or 1102 acquisition professional, or comparable industry experience partnering closely with contracting officers
- Established credibility and relationships across DoD or other federal acquisition communities
- Experience structuring complex pricing, licensing, commercial-item or commercial-service, and technology-enabled services offerings
- Experience with multiple acquisition pathways and vehicles, including IDIQs, BPAs, task orders, GWACs, OTAs, and SBIR/STTR
- Working knowledge of FAR and DFARS sufficient to identify material acquisition or deal implications and engage Legal or outside specialists when appropriate
- Experience with prime/subcontract structures, teaming arrangements, partner strategy, proposal pricing models, or Excel-based deal analysis
At Gecko, our people are our greatest investment. In addition to competitive compensation packages, we offer company equity, 401(k) matching, gender-neutral parental leave, full medical, dental, and vision insurance, mental health, ongoing professional development, family planning assistance, and flexible paid time off.
Gecko values collaboration, innovation, and partnership, and we believe we do our best work when we're together in person. We're an office-first culture but understand that sometimes you may need to work from home. Many people are in the office five days a week, others need a bit more flexibility. Ultimately, we care about the outcomes we achieve - and creating a culture of autonomy and trust that enables that impact.
