The RoleWe're hiring a
Senior Manager of Aerospace & Defense Business Development to own our government capture strategy end-to-end. You'll report to the SVP of Sales and Customer Success.
As our A&D BD lead, you'll be the connective tissue between nTop's technology and the programs, primes, and procurement offices that need it. You'll identify the right opportunities, build the right partnerships, and shepherd pursuits through the full capture lifecycle - from market intelligence through submission.
Government BD at nTop is still being built. You'll help define how we run captures, work with partners, and coordinate with Sales, Customer Success, and the rest of the company along the way.
What You'll Do- Build a winnable pipeline. Develop and maintain a pipeline of government and DoD programs where nTop's technology is a strong fit, with a focus on near-term winnable opportunities across Aerospace & Defense, Space, and adjacent sectors.
- Find opportunities early. Attend industry days, pre-solicitation events, and conferences to build market awareness, gather intelligence, and identify capture opportunities early in the acquisition lifecycle.
- Build the partner network. Conduct outreach to primes, integrators, and teaming partners to position nTop as a subcontractor or technology provider, and negotiate and execute teaming agreements.
- Lead capture planning. Define win strategy, understand the competitive landscape, shape requirements when possible, and build compelling price-to-win narratives.
- Make the strategy clear. Distill capture strategy into clear, concise plans and briefings that executives can quickly understand and act on.
- Quarterback every response. Organize and coordinate internal resources - engineering, product, legal, finance - to develop responses to RFIs, RFPs, BAAs, and other solicitation types.
- Write the documents that win. Author and manage the development of whitepapers, Rough Order of Magnitudes (ROMs), Statements of Work (SOWs), capabilities briefs, and proposal volumes.
- Read every solicitation closely. Perform thorough solicitation reviews to ensure compliance, surface risks early, and develop a clear response strategy.
- Build relationships across government. Build relationships with program offices, contracting officers, and technical evaluators to increase nTop's visibility and shape future requirements.
- Work as one team. Partner with the Account Executive team to coordinate government sales efforts alongside direct commercial opportunities. We share relationships across accounts because the goal is nTop winning, not territory.
- Run a tight operation. Own and maintain BD pipeline data in Salesforce, including opportunity tracking, gate reviews, and forecasting.
What Success Looks Like- First 6 months: You've built a qualified pipeline of government and DoD opportunities, established relationships with key primes and program offices, and have a repeatable capture process running with Engineering, Legal, and Finance. At least one pursuit is in active capture or submitted.
- First 12 months: You've submitted multiple competitive responses, secured at least one award or teaming agreement, and helped write the capture playbook the next BD hires will use.
What You BringRequired Experience- 8+ years of experience in business development, capture management, or BD-adjacent roles within the Aerospace & Defense or government contracting space.
- Proven experience managing captures from pre-solicitation through award, including direct proposal writing, volume development, and coordination of subject matter experts.
- Strong existing network within the DoD ecosystem - program offices, primes (e.g., Lockheed, Raytheon, Boeing, Northrop, L3Harris), and relevant government agencies.
- Familiarity with government acquisition processes: FAR/DFARS, OTAs, SBIRs/STTRs, and the full range of contract vehicles.
- Ability to read and critically analyze solicitations (RFPs, BAAs, RFIs), identify risks and opportunities, and develop compliant, competitive responses.
- Experience writing or leading the development of technical whitepapers, ROMs, SOWs, and proposal sections.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent pursuits at different stages of the pipeline.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills - you can translate complex technology into compelling government-facing narratives.
- U.S. Person status as defined by ITAR, due to export control requirements.
- Approximately 30% travel to industry days, conferences, and customer and partner sites.
Strongly preferred (we don't expect all of these)- Experience with SBIR/STTR programs, OTA consortia, or other non-traditional acquisition pathways.
- Familiarity with Shipley or similar capture/proposal methodologies.
- Existing relationships with advanced manufacturing, structures, or propulsion programs within the DoD.
Also a plus- Active security clearance or eligibility for clearance.
- Prior experience at a defense-focused software, additive manufacturing, or advanced engineering tools company.
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Aerospace, Business, or a related field; advanced degree a plus.
How you work- You're mission-oriented and excited about the intersection of advanced manufacturing, computational engineering, and national defense.
- You're comfortable wearing multiple hats - strategist, proposal writer, partner manager, and internal coordinator - sometimes all in the same week.
- You're intellectually curious, able to quickly understand nTop's technology and articulate its value to technically sophisticated government buyers.
- You're disciplined and process-driven, with a track record of executing structured capture processes while staying nimble enough to move fast.
- You're a self-starter who thrives in a small-company environment where you're building processes, not inheriting them, and who gets up to speed on our tools and systems quickly and independently.
- You have a track record of reliable follow-through: you make clear commitments and deliver on what you promise
- You're collaborative and low-ego - you value others' input, act on feedback, and win by making the team around you better.
- You own your results and represent nTop with integrity.
Compensation- Compensation: the salary range for this role is $160,000 to $200,000 USD, plus equity and benefits. Final compensation depends on seniority and level of industry experience.
