FEDERAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT REPRESENTATIVENew York, NY • Full-time • Hybrid (3+ days/week in office)
ABOUT THE ROLEWe're hiring a Federal Business Development Representative to build our federal sales motion from the ground up. You'll work directly with the CEO and the GovSignals Federal team and own the full sales cycle, carrying a number from first conversation through contract award.
You are not managing a pipeline someone else built - you are creating it. Your job is to find the openings, get in the room, and start the conversations that turn into revenue across the federal government. Selling here means understanding bureaucracies, building trust over time, and knowing when to push and when to listen. There is no playbook for this motion yet. You are writing it.
WHAT YOU'LL DO- Own the full cycle. You carry a number and you're accountable for hitting it - from first conversation through contract award, building direct relationships with contracting officers, program managers, and senior decision-makers across target agencies.
- Develop and own your territory. Research agencies, map org charts, identify budget flows, and build an account strategy that puts you in front of the right people at the right time.
- Work conferences, industry days, and agency events as a primary engagement channel - not just attending, but working the room, setting meetings, and following up relentlessly while you build a network across the federal acquisition community.
- Navigate complex federal procurement - FAR/DFARS, contract vehicles, and agency-specific acquisition pathways - to position GovSignals for wins, and prepare tailored pitches, capability briefings, and product demonstrations for federal audiences.
- Partner with the CEO and federal team to shape go-to-market strategy from what you're hearing in the field, and support capture by contributing win themes and customer-facing narratives.
- Keep the team informed with clear, concise readouts on opportunities, competitor activity, and shifts in agency priorities.
WHAT YOU BRING- 3-7 years of experience in business development, sales, or capture in the federal or defense market. You've closed deals and can talk about them specifically.
- A demonstrated ability to build a network from scratch. You've walked into a new territory or market and made things happen - you don't wait for leads to be handed to you, you go find them.
- Deep comfort navigating federal procurement. You understand how agencies buy, how decisions get made, and where the leverage points are.
- Strong written and verbal communication. Federal BD takes crisp emails, sharp briefs, and presentations that earn credibility in the first sixty seconds - you produce materials that open doors, not just check boxes.
- A genuine interest in national security, government technology, or public sector innovation, and the drive to think strategically about territory and accounts while pursuing the opportunities where GovSignals has a real shot at winning.
- Energy for the hunt and real ownership. You're not intimidated by government bureaucracy, you don't confuse motion with progress, and you thrive on the pace of building a function where none existed.
Nice to have: military service, prior government civilian experience, existing relationships within DoD acquisition, familiarity with contract vehicles (GSA, GWACs, BPAs), or experience selling AI/software to the federal government; a background in government contracting, the military, or the intelligence community.
THE TEAMGovSignals was founded by four cofounders who lived with this problem from both sides - selling to the government and serving inside it - with backgrounds across the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Department of Energy, Palantir, Amazon, federal contractors building for missiles, and state contractors building for prisons. You'll work directly with all four. The team at GovSignals has shipped to defense companies, scaled venture-backed startups, and founded companies of their own.
HOW WE HIRE- Intro conversation (30 min) - your background and how you sell.
- Deal exercise (45 min) - run a live mock discovery, sell us on a product.
- Co-founder conversations (15 min) - meet the cofounders.
- Paid work trial (1 day) - real work with the team.
- Offer.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS- Base Salary: $100,000 - $120,000
- Commission: Uncapped, tied directly to deals closed
- Equity: Meaningful stake in a well-funded, fast-growing startup
- Benefits: medical, vision, and dental, unlimited PTO
- Brooklyn Navy Yard office, 3+ days a week in person, with travel to your vertical's buyers. The Yard built ships for the Navy from 1801 to 1966, now we build systems for Navy program offices.
